A contract dispute between Empire BlueCross BlueShield and Westchester Medical Center Health in Valhalla, N.Y., is due to WMC's proposed 30 percent rate hike, the insurer told the Rockland/Westchester Journal News.

In a rare move, Humana quieted rumors that the health insurer is pursuing a transaction with Centene, according to a June 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association wants Congress to establish a payment benchmark for out-of-network clinicians, such as emergency room physicians, as part of a legislative solution to surprise medical bills, according to Bloomberg Law.

On May 31st, 2019, LexisNexis® Risk Solutions announced that it would be expanding its LexisNexis® Active Insights platform with the addition of Death in Network intelligence, a new event that will help insurers engage with their policyholders when life insurance is top of mind. 

Over the course of about seven months of negotiations, WellCare Health Plans rejected several of Centene's acquisition bids, which at one point hit a high of $380 per share before a market downturn, according to a joint proxy statement filed by the companies May 23.

The CEO of Cigna threatened to leave Connecticut if the state supported a bill to create a public health insurance option, a move that killed the legislation, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo said May 29, according to the Hartford Courant.

Allina | Aetna, the joint health plan created by Minneapolis-based Allina Health and Aetna, enrolled roughly 12,000 people in its first quarter of operations, according to a regulatory filing cited by the Star Tribune.

Passport Health Plan, a health insurance company controlled by healthcare providers in Louisville, Ky., will sell 70 percent of its stake to health plan administrator Evolent Health, according to local news station WDBR.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court sent a case involving UPMC and Highmark back to a lower court, stating more information is needed to make a decision on the deadline of an upcoming split between the Pittsburgh-based rivals, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

A court review of CVS Health's $69 billion takeover of Aetna threatens to leave out the government, the Department of Justice told a judge overseeing the hearing, according to Law 360.

Executives from Aetna, Anthem and other payers called on Connecticut's governor to stop legislation aimed at creating a public, state-subsidized health plan, according to the Hartford Courant.

Here are the 22 members of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, a national leadership organization for community-based health plans covering more than 21 million Americans:

Here are the 173 members of America's Health Insurance Plans, a national trade group for health insurers, in alphabetical order:

Hospitals have until July 22 to apply for CMS navigator funding to help patients enroll in health plans on the federal ACA exchanges, according to CMS.

Activist hedge fund Third Point wants Centene to look into selling itself before buying WellCare Health Plans, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Patients overspend on diagnostic tests when healthcare prices are high and vary significantly from provider to provider, according to a research brief from UnitedHealth Group.   

UnitedHealth Group has yet to complete its $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group, which was originally expected to close in 2018, according to Forbes contributor Bruce Japsen.

Parkview Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in southern Colorado, may soon be considered out of network for Cigna members, according to local TV station KRDO.

Steve ErkenBrack, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, made a surprise announcement May 21 that he is leaving the company, according to The Daily Sentinel.

Under the impression they're choosing comprehensive health coverage, more consumers are purchasing "skimpy" health plans due to misleading websites, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.