UnitedHealthcare will expand its ACA marketplace presence in 2021 after mostly leaving the business in 2017, according to Bloomberg/Quint.

MaineHealth is promoting a program that aims to assist residents who don't have health insurance, possibly a new reality for those who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

An estimated 27 million have lost employer-sponsored health insurance and become uninsured after losing their job, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

Humana added Cincinnati and Detroit to its Bold Goal initiative, which is a population health strategy that aims to improve the health of the communities in the program, the insurer said May 11. 

Major health insurers like UnitedHealthcare and Cigna are waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment and testing. However, those who get health insurance through their job could be on the hook for unexpected medical bills if their employer opts out of the cost-sharing program, according to MarketWatch.

Employers are enhancing, rather than slimming, their employee health benefits despite new financial challenges brought by COVID-19, according to a survey from global advisory company Willis Towers Watson. 

CMS issued its final Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2021 benefit year for the ACA marketplace.

A growing number of commercial insurers are providing their members with discounts as their medical claim costs fall due to restricted elective services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cigna and Phoenix-based Banner Health reached a long-term agreement so Cigna members can access Banner hospitals at in-network rates.

Cigna will pay out-of-network providers market-based rates for treatment provided to its members with COVID-19, the health insurer said May 6.

UnitedHealth Group is providing members more than $1.5 billion in discounts, including premium rebates, the healthcare company said May 7.

Health Care Service Corp., the Chicago-based parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in five states, has added CEO to Maurice Smith's title.

Humana is waiving all cost-sharing for in-network primary care, behavioral health and telehealth visits for its Medicare Advantage members through the end of 2020. 

Between 25 million and 43 million Americans could no longer be insured through their employer if the unemployment rate rises to an expected 20 percent in the coming months, according to a report from left-leaning think tank the Urban Institute.

Commercial health plans are anticipating more enrollment in their ACA marketplace and Medicaid businesses as more Americans lose their jobs and employer health benefits due to COVID-19, according to Forbes contributor Bruce Japsen. 

Hospitals are getting assistance like accelerated payments and loans from insurers who are seeing their balance sheets improve as claim payments for elective services drop, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Through its philanthropic arm, Humana will donate $50 million in aid to organizations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Molina Healthcare entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a managed care unit within Magellan Health, the companies said April 30. 

Health insurance startup Bright Health closed its acquisition of Brand New Day, a California-based Medicare Advantage health plan, on April 30.

About 28 million Americans have been laid off or furloughed since early March due to COVID-19, and it's likely 12.7 million lost health insurance through their employer as a result, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.