UC Davis Health alerted roughly 6,900 of its patients on Friday that they will likely have to pay substantially higher fees to see its physicians starting April 22 because it has not negotiated a new contract with health insurance giant Aetna.
Norton Healthcare will no longer consider Cigna Healthcare as one of its accepted insurance providers if a new deal between the two companies isn't reached soon, a letter sent to patients said.
As Alabama lawmakers appear to warm up to the idea of Medicaid expansion, Arkansas has emerged as a potential model for the program. The Alabama Hospital Association has previously stated they are working on an “Alabama-specific” model that draws from the best of other states, with Arkansas as a major source.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan wants to scale back a planned rate increase for small businesses that renew their employee health policies in the latter half of the year. The state’s largest health insurer secured approval last year from regulators to increase small group rates by a statewide average of 5.3 percent for employers with a preferred-provider organization (PPO) plan.
The Affordable Care Act may be struggling with its own success. Record enrollment over the last two years brought more consumers into the health insurance market. At the same time, many insurers began offering smaller networks of doctors and hospitals, partly to be price competitive.
Health insurance providers do not want the new guaranty fund, or law to ensure a person's claims will be paid if their insurance company becomes unable to satisfy their debts, that Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature included in their budget proposals to make it into the state's final spending plan.