SPRINGFIELD— The health insurance company providing coverage for many Springfield city employees said Baystate Health is poised to stop accepting its members as patients after Dec. 31. In a recent letter to its insureds, Wellpoint Insurance said it has been unable to renegotiate a contract with the region’ s largest health care provider, and its current…
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Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced Thursday it would not put time limits on anesthesia after all, reversing a controversial new policy that was met with widespread backlash from the medical community. “To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services,” the insurance…
Dec. 5— Mercy and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield have announced an agreement that will allow tens of thousands of Anthem customers in the region to continue to access Mercy health care in network. In a joint statement, the two companies said they have "have reached a new multi-year agreement providing Anthem members with continued access to affordable,…
2024 DEC 05– By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily– New research on HIV/AIDS is the subject of a new report. According to news reporting out of the University of Virginia by NewsRx editors, research stated,“ With access to and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis, the United States can prevent new HIV infections. The news reporters…
Commentators across the internet heaped scorn on UnitedHealthcare on Thursday as the Minnetonka- based health insurer mourned the murder of a chief executive who was shot just before an investor conference to reveal plans for greater profits next year. Police have not publicly speculated on the motives of the person who shot Thompson at least three times at…
The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has triggered a wave of rage-filled reactions on social media, most of them expressing contempt and dissatisfaction for the health insurance industry he represented. Thompson was gunned down early Wednesday in Midtown Manhattan, in what police have called a“ premeditated, preplanned, targeted…
Social media and the comments sections of news stories covering Thompson’ s slaying in New York filled with vitriol Wednesday and Thursday. We see it after mass shootings at schools, after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump or even when Gus Walz cheered his father Gov. Tim Walz at the Democratic National Convention.
Ensuring that they continue to have accessibly priced coverage should be reason enough for Congress to continue the more generous ACA financial assistance put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and then extended through 2025 with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. And because most people choose a health plan in the fall for the coming year, this…
Health insurance giant Anthem, a large subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield, backpedaled Thursday, Dec. 5, on a November policy change that would have limited their coverage of anesthesia during certain operations in Missouri and elsewhere. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change,” said Anthem spokesperson Emily Snooks in an email.
Anthem BCBS backs down on plan to limit anesthesia coverage
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is backing down from a plan that would have set limits on the amount of time it will pay for anesthesia in certain surgeries.
Beginning in February, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut, New York and Missouri would have only paid for anesthesia within a time limit set previously by the insurer, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists. "To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary…
A message left at the scene of a health insurance executive’ s fatal shooting—“ deny,”“ defend” and“ depose”— echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. The three words were written on the ammunition a masked gunman used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The…
A new Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield policy to limit anesthesia coverage will reportedly not take effect in Connecticut after state Comptroller Sean Scanlon negotiated with the company, he said Thursday. “After hearing from people across the state about this concerning policy, my office reached out to Anthem, and I "m pleased to share this policy will no longer be…
The masked gunman who killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies in front of Manhattan surveillance cameras remained at large Friday as the nation’ s largest police department hunted for him. Thompson was walking to the company’ s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown, blocks from tourist draws like Radio City Music Hall…
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B+ from B++ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to“ bbb-” from“ bbb” of Humana Insurance of Puerto Rico, Inc. and Humana Health Plans of Puerto Rico, Inc. These companies are domiciled in Puerto Rico and collectively are referred to as Humana Health of Puerto Rico Group. These subsidiaries collectively are…
By Michael Balsamo, Jake Offenhartz and Michael R. Sisak. NEW YORK— The masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk used ammunition emblazoned with the words“ deny,”“ defend” and“ depose,” a law enforcement official said Thursday. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in a dawn…
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++, the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of“ bbb”, and the Vietnam National Scale Rating of aaa.VN of Petrolimex Insurance Corporation. The outlook of these Credit Ratings is stable. The ratings reflect PJICO’ s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance,…
Thompson, UnitedHealth kept probe secret and misled investors, lawsuit claims
UnitedHealthcare and late CEO Brian Thompson are named in a new amended complaint alleging that executives sold stock while keeping a DOJ probe from investors.
With Donald Trump's return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block. More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that's enabled states…
Health care costs, vendor accountability and the impact of the 2024 election are among the health and well-being Trends to Watch in 2025, Business Group on Health announced.
