The National Committee for Quality Assurance ranked Jai Medical Systems Managed Care Organization and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States its top two highest-performing Medicaid health plans for 2019-20.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance ranked Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Medical Associates Health Plan among its highest-performing Medicare health plans for 2019-20.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance ranked Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States and Tufts Benefit Administrators among its highest-performing commercial health plans for 2019-20.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina should name an interim CEO until criminal charges against its current chief are resolved, the state's insurance commissioner said Sept. 20, according to local news station WRAL.

Humana CEO Bruce Broussard told CNBC that increasing competition and innovation among drugmakers is the best way to cut drug costs.

Here are five recent articles posted by Becker's Hospital Review that concern payer-provider relationships:  

IBM Watson Health gathered multiple perspectives from healthcare leaders representing providers, payers and government agencies on the opioid crisis. 

Health insurance CEO and former CMS administrator Patrick Conway, MD, was charged with driving while impaired and misdemeanor child abuse after a car accident in June, according to The Charlotte Observer. 

Alabama had the least competitive commercial health insurance market in 2018, according to a study published by the American Medical Association.

In 2018, 75 percent of commercial health insurance markets were highly concentrated, according to a study published by the American Medical Association.

Centene Corp. and WellCare Health Plans received approval from 17 states to combine operations, the health insurers said Sept. 19.

Health insurance for union workers striking against General Motors abruptly ended the week of Sept. 16, according to local news station ABC News.

One of Humana's longtime CEOs and co-founder David Jones died Sept. 18 at age 88, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

Cigna extended its individual healthcare exchange products for the 2020 plan year, the insurer said Sept. 18.

Oscar Health has tapped former Uber executive Meghan Joyce to serve as its COO, according to CNBC.

UnitedHealth Group faces a lawsuit that accuses the health insurer of illegally denying mental health and addiction benefits to maximize profits.

Stanford (Calif.) Health Care and its Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., are no longer in network for Anthem members after negotiations to renew their contract failed.

Amazon-owned Whole Foods will cut medical benefits for almost 2,000 part-time employees to "better meet the needs of our business," the company told Business Insider.

One of the most frustrating things for consumers of healthcare is the surprise medical bill. This is generally a bill that takes months to process before the consumer sees it. Moreover, there remains a lack of cost transparency throughout the healthcare system, leaving consumers in the dark. By the time the healthcare consumer receives that surprise bill, he or she has forgotten the details of the service and thinks all bills have been resolved, making the cost an unexpected burden.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan knowingly paid improper and inflated medical claims, a Fiat Chrysler subsidiary claimed in a lawsuit filed against the insurer, according to the Detroit Free Press.