Payer

The following insurers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.

Uninsured individuals in Illinois' Cook County will receive increased healthcare assistance following the county board's Wednesday approval of an ordinance to create a health expansion program, the Chicago Tribune reports.  

Although individuals with high-deductible health plans face fewer medical expenses, they pay the most out-of-pocket, a study from the nonprofit Health Care Cost Initiative found.

Health insurer Humana and Chicago-based provider Oak Street Health partnered to add four primary care practices to the payer's Medicare Advantage Plan in Michigan and Indiana.

Benefits provider Symetra will offer three gap plans for employees with high out-of-pocket healthcare costs.  

Health insurer Centene filed requests with the Arizona Department of Insurance and CMS to offer health plans on Arizona's Affordable Care Act exchange in the state's most populous counties.

Progressive senators and activists want to ensure that Americans have access to a public option health plan, reports USA Today.

Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg, Ohio, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ohio have implemented a bundled payment structure for total joint replacement surgeries, reports Crain's Cleveland Business.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont has engaged the state in a reconciliation process to procure $6.2M the insurer said it paid in patient claims and is owed in premiums, reports Times Argus.

As out-of-pocket expenses increase with the prevalence of high-deductible premium plans, gap plans — purchased to cover out-of-pocket expenses — are also on the uptick, NPR reports.