Between December 2017 and June 2019, more than a million children were no longer enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to census data analyzed by The New York Times.

Mobile-based University of South Alabama hospitals will no longer be in UnitedHealthcare's Mississippi Medicaid managed care and children's provider networks, according to the Clarion Ledger.

CMS said Oct. 22 that the average premium for silver plans on the ACA health insurance exchange fell for the second year in a row.

Insurance departments in five states approved Centene's proposed $17.3 billion acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, bringing the total number of state approvals to 24.

Humana filed a lawsuit Oct. 18 accusing 37 pharmaceutical companies of partaking in a conspiracy to increase generic drug prices, according to Louisville Business First.

UnitedHealth Group will lose two contracts with large employers to provide their workers retirement healthcare benefits, according to Bloomberg.

More insurers are covering genetic tests for psychiatric medications despite federal warnings and questions surrounding the validity of the tests, according to NPR.

Medicaid enrollment is dropping across states while total spending in the program increased modestly in fiscal year 2019, according to a policy brief published by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance rejected a proposal from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey that would have outsourced some claim reviewal and medical necessity determination to a third-party company, according to the North Jersey Record.

Here are 11 recent articles posted by Becker's Hospital Review that concern payer-provider relationships:

After more than 10 months of negotiations, Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., agreed to a new three-year contract with Cigna, according to Mass Live.

Molina Healthcare entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Medicaid assets from a New York health plan, the health insurer said Oct. 16. 

UnitedHealth Group and its health services subsidiary Optum are undertaking a new effort to combine health insurance and medical care, according to Forbes contributor Bruce Japsen.

U.S. News & World Report published its annual list of the best health insurance companies offering Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in 2020.

U.S. News & World Report published its annual list of the best health insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage coverage in 2020.

Aetna's vice president of consumer experience, Stan Nowak, joined the board of directors for third-party risk management company Censinet.

Insurer Oscar filed a notice of appeal Oct. 16 after a judge dismissed the startup's lawsuit against Florida Blue, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Gainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System will stop considering Anthem members in-network Dec. 31, three months after its contract with Anthem expired, according to The Gainesville Times. 

A member of Humana's board of directors resigned to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest, according to an Oct. 15 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In December 2017, a survey of more than 500 likely voters revealed patients' desire to better understand their healthcare costs ahead of time. The Foundation of Government Accountability found that 82 percent of respondents — regardless of political affiliation, age or gender — wanted to know the cost of nonemergency procedures in advance.