The Defense Department issued Optum a $172 million contract modification for its indefinite-delivery bridge contract, according to a Dec. 13 news release. 

Managed care organizations are being asked to prioritize social determinants of health through state Medicaid contracts, according to a Together for Better Medicaid report shared with Becker's. 

Centene CEO Michael Neidorff is retiring in 2022, ending a 25-year tenure leading the company.  

Vermont's Department of Financial Regulation issued an emergency rule Dec. 8 that requires payers to fully cover over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen tests without cost-sharing, according to The Center Square. 

Artificial intelligence is woven across Humana, from finding value to training employees, Slawek Kierner, Humana's chief data and analytics officer, said during an AI Summit panel discussion, according to InformationWeek. 

On the heels of a legal victory out of a Nevada courtroom, TeamHealth CEO Leif Murphy told Becker's that he is both proud of a decisive win against UnitedHealthcare and wary that the company's remaining lawsuits against the payer won't shift a larger paradigm. 

Centene is considering divesting "strategic alternatives" for "non-core assets," including its international ventures, in an effort to streamline its business portfolio, according to a Dec. 10 news release. 

Employer-sponsored health costs rose 6.3 percent on average in 2021, nearly doubling 2020's average increase and raising questions about what 2022 may bring, according to a Dec. 13 Mercer report. 

Here are 79 C-level payer executives who entered or left leadership since Jan. 1, 2021, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review:

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its subsidiary, the Accident Fund, received a labor complaint over its COVID-19 vaccination requirements and subsequent employee suspensions, according to the City Pulse. 

Nearly the same percentage of insured and uninsured Americans fear that a medical bill could bring with it financial hardship, according to a MITRE-Harris Poll survey.

Officials at Capital Blue Cross in Allendale, Pa., recently celebrated the completion of a $4 million building renovation project, which includes a ground-floor wellness center.

The health insurance landscape is poised to see less industry volatility, making for a stable 2022, according to a Dec. 9 report from Fitch Ratings. 

Centene hosted its annual Investor Day Dec. 10, which provided insight into its current business standing and outlined goals for growth. 

About 400,000 affected patients are following contract negotiations between Atlanta-based Northside Hospital System and Anthem, which has set a  Dec. 31 deadline to reach an agreement, according to 11ALive.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas issued a change to its gender-affirming surgery coverage that removed a requirement that the patient had to legally change their name. 

A handful of payers were flagged throughout 2021 by HHS' Office of the Inspector General for coding or reimbursement errors.

New York-based Hydrogen Health, a joint venture between Anthem, investment firm Blackstone and digital primary care company K Health, is launching its virtual primary care offerings nationwide, the provider announced Dec. 9. 

Here are nine payers that broadened their businesses through recent expansions and partnerships:

CMS is continuing to use discretion on enforcing payer data exchange guidelines introduced in a May 2020 interoperability rule, HHS stated in a Dec. 7 notice.