Payer

Open enrollment on Minnesota's ACA exchange — MNsure — began with technical problems and long waits at call centers, among other difficulties, reports Star Tribune.

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna will offer Medicare Advantage Part D plans in an additional five New York counties for 2017 coverage, reports Madison County Courier.

The first day of open enrollment for 2017 ACA marketplace health coverage saw a 50 percent increase in applications over last year's start date, reports CNBC.

A recent Xerox study found 54 percent of ACA exchange enrollees experience challenging or frustrating issues during open enrollment.

Indianapolis-based Anthem will consider pulling back its 2018 ACA exchange footprint if it continues to financially underperform in the program next year, reports Bloomberg.

Third quarter profit for Indianapolis-based Anthem's fiscal year 2016 dropped 5.7 percent from the same period last year to a total of $617.8 million.

The fourth open enrollment season for Arizona's insurance exchange boasts health plans with noticeably narrower provider networks than in previous years, reports Arizona Daily Star.

Negotiators from CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, Tenn., and UnitedHealthcare failed to reach a network agreement before their previous contract expired Monday, affecting coverage of roughly 5,000 UnitedHealthcare members in the region, Times Free Press reports.

Blue Shield of California is paying money it owes to about 240,000 people with job-based health coverage, according to a California Healthline report.

Kevin Counihan, CEO of HealthCare.gov, said the Obama administration and consumer advocates are going "all out" with an education campaign and more on-the-ground partnerships aimed at encouraging eligible people to enroll in health plans through the marketplace exchanges, according to…