Highmark Health maintained a strong balance sheet with more than $12 billion in cash and investments and net assets of more than $10 billion as of December 31, 2021. "As we shift from a COVID-19 pandemic to an endemic environment, we are looking forward and building for the future," said David Holmberg, president and chief executive officer of Highmark Health.

The state has officially stepped in to a situation involving the insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Springfield Clinic. Blue Cross Blue Shield filed notifications of these changes in March, leading the state agency to fine Health Care Service Corporation, the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield $1,000 per day.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- An Alabama State Representative is fighting to get a bill passed that will allow new moms to stay insured longer. The postpartum mortality rate for women after birth has increased dramatically in that state of Alabama, mainly as a result of a lack of Medicaid coverage. "I was seven months postpartum when my postpartum depression came on," Jane Adams…

Mar. 23— JEFFERSON CITY— Missouri lawmakers waded into a nationwide fight between independent pharmacies and companies that negotiate prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurers. With smaller, non-chain pharmacies claiming pharmacy benefit managers are unfairly setting drug prices and clawing back a percentage of sales later, the Missouri…

On January 31, 2022, Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek issued an order prohibiting Salvasen Health from issuing new policies and…

The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio board approved a one-time, 3% cost of living adjustment for eligible retirees starting July 1. The Ohio STRS board eliminated the 60 years old requirement. Teacher Julie Sellers and retiree Elizabeth Jones said in a written, joint statement that "A one-time COLA is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what…

When Jamie Rogers was arrested last year on drug charges, she started down a path she hopes will finally break the hold that heroin and other opioids had over her. "I don't think I would be sitting here today," she told the Tribune in January, recounting her last arrest and how it led her to Peru's recovery house. Data from the United State Department of Health and Human…

A health insurance agents’ association went to Washington recently as part of its ongoing fight for its members’ ability to…

Anthem, Inc. today announced its intent to change its name to better reflect the company’ s business and its bold purpose of improving the health of humanity. Anthem intends to become Elevance Health, Inc., subject to shareholder approval. We must address whole health and the physical, behavioral, and social drivers that impact it,” said Anthem President and CEO…

Californians who depend on Medi-Cal coverage also will be affected if another pandemic-related measure ends as expected in mid-April. As part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Congress required that states provide "continuous coverage" for beneficiaries of Medicaid coverage, known as Medi-Cal in California, during the public health…

The Hartford, a leading provider of employee benefits and absence management, has introduced a new critical illness insurance 1 product that is designed to cover more health conditions and provide a wider range of benefits based on the severity of an individual’ s diagnosis. “The pandemic has put a spotlight on the value of employee benefits, and we have seen a…

—The White House says 40% of COVID-19 tests ordered through its program to distribute free at-home rapid tests have gone to Americans in distressed areas. That's an upward revision from an estimate of around 20% of free tests ordered by people in“ high vulnerability Zip Codes” that White House officials had earlier provided to The Associated Press.

Colorado is one of four states partnering with Medicare to try to pay doctors based on whether they can keep their patients healthy, but it's not clear how they're going to do that. Colorado health officials think their partnership with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could help change that. If it works, Medicare could decide to take some…

MedicarePlans.com, a trusted platform for affordable health care resources for the elderly and disabled communities, has published a survey report that examines how the recent premium increase for Medicare Part B will affect American seniors. Sixty-five percent of respondents who make $50,000 or less say it will be very or somewhat difficult to afford…

This week a jury unanimously found that Conduent engaged in insurance fraud and bad faith in connection with the settlement–defenses to Conduent's lawsuit. In the settled case, Texas had sued Conduent under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act for $2 billion in civil penalties and treble damages for having allegedly misrepresented to Texas the…

Sixteen people, including two doctors, have been charged with felonies after the state attorney general’ s office said it uncovered a scheme in which people who were not terminally ill were enrolled in expensive hospice care without their knowledge by two Inland Empire treatment facilities that fraudulently billed Medicare for millions of dollars.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2022:. The Department of Justice, together with Attorneys General in Minnesota and New York, filed a civil lawsuit today to stop UnitedHealth Group Incorporated from acquiring Change Healthcare Inc.. "The proposed transaction threatens an inflection point in the health care industry…

–Aetna Better Health of Louisiana, a CVS Health company, today announced that the Louisiana Department of Health intends to award the company a new statewide Medicaid contract through the Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Program. "We appreciate that the state of Louisiana continues to have confidence in Aetna Better Health's commitment to better health…