The following payer executives changed their positions in March.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina named Tunde Sotunde, MD, president and CEO effective June 1.

Humana and Cigna joined Aetna in waiving cost-sharing for treatment related to COVID-19, the health insurers said March 30. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina said it will cover two drugs currently being investigated as possible treatments for COVID-19 patients: hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, according to The Charlotte Observer. 

UnitedHealth Group plans to launch a self-administered COVID-19 test in an effort to reduce risk to healthcare workers who are running short on personal protective equipment, according to The Wall Street Journal.

UnitedHealth Group plans to invest an initial $50 million to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the health insurance giant said March 26. 

CVS Health-owned Aetna will waive copays and cost-sharing for COVID-19 inpatient hospitalizations, the insurer said March 25.

More health insurance scams and misleading marketing for short-term health plans is cropping up amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System and Cigna agreed to extend their contract again as the U.S. deals with a growing COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Health insurers should direct premium dollars to providers who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic now, two academics wrote in an op-ed for the Harvard Business Review.

Fitch Ratings revised its stable outlook for the U.S. health insurance industry to negative due to adverse effects from the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Michael Neidorff, the CEO of Centene Corp., took home more than $26 million for the second year in a row, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

Humana priced a public offering of $1.1 billion in senior notes, the insurer said March 23.  

Here are six notes on how COVID-19 is affecting health insurers and how they're responding:

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is urging health insurers who employ physicians and nurses to release them from their duties so they can help treat COVID-19 patients, according to Bloomberg. 

As explained by VisitPay's Will Reilly, VisitPay's 2020 Annual Report, reveals through direct patient research, significant insights into what constitutes a more compassionate financial experience that benefits both patients and providers.  

UnitedHealth Group changed its policies to promote more remote work after the insurer had asked tens of thousands of its employees to continue coming on-site amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Here are six notes on how COVID-19 is affecting health insurers and how they're responding:

Highmark Health said it's seeing members rejoin the company after the insurer and rival UPMC ended a long contract feud last year, according to Trib Live.

A severe COVID-19 pandemic could cost health insurers in the U.S. more than $90 billion in medical claims, according to analysis from S&P Global Ratings.