Policy Updates

Effective June 7, United Healthcare will require and Optum will manage prior authorization for the following outpatient radiation therapies:

Anthem Blue Cross is halting reimbursement of consultation services for its commercial plans. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia plans to end its "avoidable emergency room" program on March 18.

UnitedHealthcare is rolling out a new obstetrical ultrasound policy for commercial members starting June 1, the payer said March 1.  

Georgia lawmakers are pitching a bill that would require families to be rescreened for possible eligibility if they lose their health insurance — a failsafe as states brace for an ACA enrollment cliff — according to the Augusta Chronicle. 

The FTC is requesting large, vertically-integrated players in the pharmacy benefit management industry share insights on their influence over drug pricing and access. 

Two Iowa lawmakers are calling on CMS to extend the eligibility for transitional health plans through 2023. 

Maine is the first state to combine its individual and small group insurance markets under the ACA, according to the Press Herald. 

CMS is looking to receive feedback from stakeholders on how Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program can increase healthcare access. 

Forty senators penned a letter calling on HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to implement more consumer protections against "junk insurance."