Health insurer Centene has pledged $100 million to Washington University in St. Louis to advance research on personalized treatments for conditions like Alzheimer's, breast cancer, diabetes and obesity.

The federal judge reviewing an agreement between the government and CVS Health, which allowed the pharmacy chain to purchase Aetna, said April 5 he wants to hold a hearing for opponents of the deal, according to Reuters.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will open 10 advanced primary care medical centers in Dallas and Houston under a partnership with global primary care provider Sanitas.

About 128,000 children in Tennessee, or 1 in 8, have lost health insurance during the last two years, according to NPR.

When a Pennsylvania woman required a partial foot amputation to stop a sepsis infection from spreading, she found the surgeon required an upfront payment — and the woman's "skimpy" health plan denied coverage for the procedure, according to The Inquirer.

Short-term health plans, once largely banned by the ACA, have expanded under the Trump administration and brought with them familiar stories of patients being denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A California consumer watchdog group is urging state lawmakers to address a bill that may allow health insurance companies to bypass some privacy laws, according to Insurance Business America.

Here are four articles recently published by Becker's Hospital Review on "Medicare for All" proposals:

Here are five articles recently published by Becker's Hospital Review on national and state news concerning Medicaid:

Avella Specialty Pharmacy, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group's pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx, is ending its drug compounding services at two Houston sites, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina formed a nonprofit health insurance company, the organizations said April 2.

CMS issued a final rule April 1 to update 2020 payment policies for Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans.

The percentage of children in Missouri who reported thoughts of suicide or attempted suicide doubled after private insurers began managing the state's Medicaid program, according to a Missouri Hospital Association analysis cited by Kaiser Health News.

CMS gave Utah the OK to implement work requirements less than two days after a federal judge struck down the policy in Arkansas and Kentucky, according to Kaiser Health News.

A UnitedHealthcare executive disagreed with statements from Iowa officials that the health insurer is departing the program because it didn't want to comply with pay-for-performance measures, according to the Des Moines Register.  

UnitedHealthcare will pull out of Iowa's managed Medicaid program, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said March 29.

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's move to loosen regulations around association health plans doesn't comply with the ACA, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said March 26 he supports eliminating private health insurance companies, according to The Hill.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal that "Medicare for All" proposals would harm seniors' access to care by bringing all Americans into a system created to support just older adults.

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