A Pennsylvania woman started calling hospitals, doctor's offices, and collection agencies and realized that nobody could tell her what she was paying for and why she was being charged a certain amount. Some bills had been forgiven; some were miscoded. "I was like, I'm not going to just send you $500 for this random you-know-what," says the woman identified as "Catherine." "My takeaway was: Nobody knows what these bills are for." So she did not pay them. She tossed new ones in the trash. She sent unknown numbers straight to voicemail. Getting on top of her debts meant ignoring them.
One of the country's largest providers of private Medicare plans saw its stock sink to its lowest level in 15 years after the federal government cut the rating for one of its most popular offerings. Shares of Humana plunged Wednesday after the company revealed in a filing to the SEC that only 1.6 million people — about a quarter of its members — are signed up for Medicare Advantage plans rated four stars or higher for 2025. This year, 94% of its members are enrolled in them.
CMS has taken a step in its ongoing efforts to manage healthcare costs by extending the negotiation timeline for Medicare drug price cuts. This decision, announced on Wednesday, is part of a broader strategy to ensure that the process is both fair and effective. CMS is tasked with selecting the costliest prescription medications for negotiation by February 1, with new prices set to take effect in 2027. This initiative is being closely monitored by pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly those producing the 15 drugs most likely to be chosen for these negotiations.
CVS Health said Monday that they are planning to lay off 2,900 employees nationwide, including Hartford-based health insurer Aetna, saying they'll be able to share more detail on the impact in Connecticut after the corporation files official notice with the Department of Labor. CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said the company is planning on the job cuts as part of a plan to increase cost savings by $2 billion over the next several years through "reducing expenses and investing in technologies to enhance how we work." The company previously noted that those technologies included more "artificial intelligence and automation." "To achieve this goal and position for sustainable growth, we will reduce our workforce by less than 1 percent- approximately 2,900 colleagues across CVS Health," DeAngelis said. "Impacted positions are primarily corporate roles. The reductions will not impact front-line jobs in our stores, pharmacies, and distribution centers."
Health insurance companies that are the biggest players in privatized Medicare Advantage coverage are pulling back a little bit after years expanding their geographic footprints even while they offer new benefits. With more than half of the nation's eligible seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, competition has been fierce offering seniors more lucrative benefits and more choices. But this fall, seniors will find during open enrollment that many of these plans including Aetna, Cigna, Humana and some regional insurers and startups are no longer offering Medicare Advantage in certain states and counties for the 2025 health benefit year.
Sentara Health is cutting nearly 200 positions, the company said in a statement shared with News 3 on Friday. The company says the cuts are due to the Medicaid redetermination process, which resulted in a significant decline in Medicaid membership across the U.S. and in Virginia.