Florida continues to lead the nation in the number of new people enrolling in Obamacare health plans during a special enrollment period that began earlier this year, according to data released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In all, 1.5 million people in 36 states that use a federal health insurance exchange enrolled in plans available under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, between Feb. 15 and June 30.
HealthPartners UnityPoint Health will offer insurance plans for small businesses, further expanding its reach into the employer-based market. The West Des Moines-based company said Monday it will begin offering health insurance plans to businesses and organizations with fewer than 50 employees for coverage starting in 2022. These plans will only be available in 38 counties statewide that include Iowa’s biggest metro areas, such as Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Waterloo. These areas are also home to 80 percent of Iowans who enroll for insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act marketplace, HealthPartners UnityPoint Health President Becky Woody said.
Medicare officials are beginning a review of Biogen Inc.’s new Alzheimer’s drug to decide whether to standardize coverage of the medicine nationally, a widely-anticipated step that would allow the government to place limits on who can receive the medicine. The review of Biogen’s drug, called Aduhelm, will include an analysis of published clinical studies and medical society guidelines, as well as two public hearings later this month to assess the therapy’s benefits, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Monday.
The Biden administration’s decision to reevaluate Georgia’s plan to overhaul how state residents buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act came as a "surprise" and suggests it wants to revisit the plan’s approval, which is not allowed, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said. Georgia’s plan — dubbed "Georgia Access" — would improve the experience of shopping for insurance and encourage the private sector to enroll uninsured Georgia residents, the director of Kemp’s Office of Health Strategy and Coordination said in a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Highmark Inc. continues to expand membership, this time with agreement to buy the half of Medicaid managed care insurer Gateway Health that Highmark doesn’t already own. Highmark, a health insurer and hospital network operator, is seeking state regulatory approval to acquire Downtown-based Gateway Health from Trinity Health of Livonia, Mich. Highmark has owned 50% of Gateway since the founding of the nonprofit insurer in 1992.