Payer

Health insurer Independence Blue Cross will cover Belgium-based MDxHealth's prostate cancer test.

Health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will cover minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using San Jose, Calif.-based SI Bone's device indicated for fusion for certain disorders of the joint.

Health insurer Aetna will reduce the number of Pennsylvania counties it offers small group Affordable Care Act plans in next year, Aetna spokesperson Walt Cherniak told Becker's Hospital Review.

Health insurer Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield will drop its individual Affordable Care Act plans in South Dakota next year, KOTA Territory News reports.

For the first time, health insurer CareSource will sell Medicare Advantage plans in Ohio, following its advantage plan expansion in Kentucky and Indiana earlier this year, Dayton Daily News reports.

Chicago-based consulting firm Mercer appointed Brian Marsella, former Aetna vice president, as partner in its health and benefits business.

To cut healthcare costs, health insurer Cigna is extending its telehealth services in 2017 to most of its employer-sponsored group plans and on- and off-exchange plans.

Virginia legislators were told at the state's Health Insurance Reform Commission meeting that individual health plans sold through Virginia's Affordable Care Act marketplace will rise up to 20 percent next year, WVTF reports.

The House approved legislation calling for individuals who lost health insurance because of co-op closures to be excused this year from the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, The Hill reports.

Iowa's largest payer, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, will not offer preferred provider organization plans on the state's individual market for 2017, The Des Moines Register reports.