Latest Health Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Expected to Sue to Stop Anthem, Aetna Deals
Jul 20 2016 // U.S. antitrust officials are poised to file lawsuits to block Anthem Inc.’s takeover of rival health-insurer Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc.’s deal to buy Humana Inc., according to a person familiar with the...
Insurer Competition Vital for Healthcare Consumers: U.S. Health Official
Jul 18 2016 // The Obama administration’s top health official highlighted the importance of competition to insurance markets, as the Justice Department is poised to decide on two massive deals among four of the health-plan...
Failing Illinois Health Insurance Co-Op to Be Shut Down
Jul 14 2016 // An Illinois health insurance co-op with 49,000 policyholders in the state has become the latest casualty among a dwindling group of nonprofit alternative insurers set up under the Affordable Care Act. Illinois regulators...
Michigan Seeks Comment on Proposed Health Insurance Rate Changes
Jul 12 2016 // State insurance regulators are seeking public comment on requested health insurance policy rate changes. The Department of Insurance and Financial Services said that insurers’ proposed changes for individual rates in...
New York Gives Aetna-Humana Merger Green Light with Conditions
Jul 12 2016 // New York’s insurance regulator has conditionally approved Aetna Inc.’s $37 billion takeover of Humana Inc., one of the last state sign-offs needed for the deal, people familiar with the matter said. The...
Connecticut Places ‘Unsteady’ Health Insurance Startup Under Supervision
Jul 11 2016 // Connecticut’s insurance commissioner announced Tuesday that nonprofit health insurer HealthyCT must be placed under state supervision to protect the company’s 40,000 policyholders. Commissioner Katharine Wade...
Information-Heavy Healthcare a Huge Target for Cyber Crime
Jul 11 2016 // Healthcare organizations contain a wealth of personal information, making them them the number one target for cyber breaches, according to a Houston-based attorney who specializes in healthcare privacy. Lynn Sessions, a...
Illinois Stepping in to Help Struggling Insurance Co-Op
Jul 8 2016 // The state of Illinois has tried an unusual maneuver to save a health insurer with 49,000 Illinois policyholders from possible financial failure by blocking it from paying a $31.8 million bill to the federal...
Justice Department Has ‘Significant Concerns’ with Aetna-Humana Marriage
Jul 8 2016 // The U.S. Department of Justice has significant concerns about Aetna Inc’s proposed acquisition of health insurer Humana Inc., a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday, sending shares of Humana down as...
DataPath Launches System to Monitor Workers’ Comp Medicare Settlement Funds
Jul 5 2016 // DataPath, a payment processor and provider, has launched RelianceCard, a card-based payment option for workers’ compensation Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) arrangements. The customizable card provides MSA recipients access...
Health Insurer Merger Interest Could Turn to Smaller Plans
Jul 5 2016 // A breakup of Anthem Inc.’s $48 billion bid for Cigna Corp., under scrutiny by U.S. antitrust regulators, could spark new deals for smaller health plans in a continued wave of industry consolidation. Smaller insurers...
Democratic Senators Oppose Health Insurer Mergers
Jun 23 2016 // Seven Democratic senators urged the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to block two mergers of major health insurance companies, saying that the proposed deals would mean higher premiums and lower-quality healthcare for...
New Hampshire Warns of Improper Billing for Mammograms
Jun 20 2016 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department issued a consumer alert on June 6 concerning health insurance denials and mammograms. The department said that since Jan. 1, it has heard from 67 New Hampshire women who received...
California’s Commissioner is Asking U.S. to Stop Anthem-Cigna Deal
Jun 17 2016 // California’s insurance commissioner wants the U.S. Department of Justice to block health insurer Anthem Inc.’s acquisition of Cigna Corp, saying he is concerned it will raise premiums in the state. California...
Industry Concerned About Wisconsin’s Plan to Self-Insure
Jun 10 2016 // Wisconsin insurance industry leaders are worried a potential state move toward self-insurance is already on its way to a done deal. At a Wisconsin Health News panel, panelists and audience members critiqued the possible...
Connecticut Reviewing Health Insurers’ Rate Hike Requests
Jun 8 2016 // Connecticut’s Department of Insurance is reviewing rate increase requests filed by 14 health insurance companies that range on average from 2.1 percent to 32 percent. The private plans, offered on and off the...
New Hampshire Issues Consumer Alert on Insurance Denials and Mammograms
Jun 6 2016 // The New Hampshire Insurance Department has issued a consumer alert Monday on health insurance denials and mammograms. The department said that since Jan. 1, it has heard from 67 New Hampshire women who received notice from...
Governor Wants State to Run Arkansas Health Insurance Exchange
Jun 6 2016 // Arkansas officials say they want the state to take responsibility for its health insurance exchange for individuals but continue enrolling them in coverage through the federal system’s mechanisms. Gov. Asa...
Health Insurers File for Rate Hikes in Kansas
Jun 2 2016 // The Kansas Insurance Department is reviewing requested rate filings for individual and small group health plans in Kansas for 2017. The range of requested average rate revisions by insurance companies is from 3.3 percent...
Former Mass. Health Insurance Official Charged With Stealing $122K
Jun 1 2016 // A former official at the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) has been indicted in connection with allegedly stealing more than $122,000 from the state agency. Ennio Manto, 52, of Braintree, Massachusetts, was...
