On May 26, U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., sent a letter to David Wichmann, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, that questioned whether the health insurance company has moved to narrow its provider network and decrease reimbursement during the pandemic.

LaMonte Thomas, who heads up Cigna's North Texas and Oklahoma markets, is stepping down from his role July 11, according to DMagazine. 

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources awarded Aetna Better Health of West Virginia a statewide contract to manage health coverage for Medicaid-eligible residents. 

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission released its June 2020 Report to Congress, which included recommendations on dually eligible beneficiaries, the Medicare Savings Programs and coordination between Medicaid and Tricare.

High-deductible health plans are changing the way patients pay for and access care, and not in a good way, according to a survey of independent physicians conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.

In recent years, large commercial health insurers have been expanding their reach into the clinic space.

Two nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans are planning on combining.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island launched a grant program to help behavioral health providers transition to a population health model.

As insurers develop their premium rates for the 2021 plan year, they face new uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To improve member satisfaction, payers are considering how they can meet experience expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. A Salesforce survey of 8,000 consumers, released in January, found 84 percent of consumers say the experience a company provides is as important as the company's products and services. It also found that 78 percent of consumers expect consistent interactions across departments and 75 percent expect personalized engagement across each interaction.

Seattle-based UW Medicine will no longer be in Cigna's network if the organizations don't negotiate a new contract before August.

Global nonprofit Points of Light named five health plans to its annual list of the most community-minded companies in the U.S.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Independence Blue Cross have signed a five-year agreement aimed at expanding the hospital's value-based care initiatives. 

Patrick Conway, MD, announced on Twitter June 9 that he joined Optum as the company's CEO of Care Solutions.

Anthem reaffirmed its profit guidance for 2020 as the insurer expects continued financial growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a June 9 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The following payer executives changed their positions in June.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed a $225 million fine against a Texas-based telemarketer that allegedly made 1 billion spoof calls to sell health insurance. 

The number of uninsured Americans would decrease by 3.9 million if the 15 states that haven't expanded Medicaid under the ACA did so, according to research from the Urban Institute.

CMS issued a document that outlines state requirements for covering the cost of COVID-19 testing for uninsured Americans, and lists flexibilities that states can use to meet the requirements. 

The COVID-19 pandemic could cost health plans between $30 billion and $547 billion, according to a commissioned report from America's Health Insurance Plans.