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:

Sutter Health | Aetna, the joint health plan launched by Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health and Aetna, added Stanford (Calif.) Health Care to its provider network, according to the North Bay Business Journal.

Centene Corp.'s recent agreement to buy Wellcare Health plans and create a government-sponsored healthcare giant could have implications for a host of other companies, including CVS Health and Humana, according to Barron's.

A judge struck down policies backed by the Trump administration that required Medicaid beneficiaries to work in Kentucky and Arkansas to maintain benefits, according to NPR.

Virginia became the first state in the nation to require insurers to count drugmaker copay coupons toward deductibles and catastrophic coverage, according to Inside Health Policy.

UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, spent more than $400 million on affordable housing investments, the company said March 26.

Centene Corp. will acquire WellCare Health Plans in a cash and stock transaction valued at $17.3 billion, the health insurers said March 27.

St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare became a part of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri's Medicare Advantage provider network March 25.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas agreed to pay a $75,000 settlement after a deaf job applicant accused the health insurer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the Dallas Morning News.

"Medicare for All" proposals to replace private health plans with a government insurance option would overhaul how the current healthcare system functions, according to The New York Times.

The three largest private health insurers held 80 percent or more of the employer market in 2015-16, according to a Government Accountability Office analysis.