Wellesley, Mass.-based Harvard Pilgrim Health Care announced a collaboration with Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health and health innovation center Ariadne Labs on TeamBirth, an initiative to improve maternal healthcare throughout New England.

It's been five years since Iowa moved its Medicaid program from a state-run system to one led by private, out-of-state insurance companies, but criticism of the transition has continued, The Gazette reported.

Andrew Witty, the new CEO of UnitedHealth Group, said many negative effects felt by the insurer during the COVID-19 pandemic will fade in 2022, according to Bloomberg. 

President Joe Biden announced 1 million people have signed up for health coverage during the ACA marketplace's special enrollment period issued earlier this year, ABC News reported.

Health insurer Centene's stock jumped 8.1 percent and closed at $70.45 a share, according to a Nasdaq article published May 10. The payer's stock has increased 5.9 percent over the past four weeks.

Here are five recent lawsuits involving commercial payers:

The insurance arm of ProMedica in Toledo, Ohio, filed a lawsuit seeking documents from the state Medicaid department on its managed care contract awards, according to the Toledo Blade.

The IRS raised the annual limit people with high-deductible health plans can contribute to their health savings accounts.

Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health announced it is starting its own health insurance company, Central Mass Health. 

Several commercial health insurers recorded all-time high share prices on May 10, according to historical share price data.

Centene has named Drew Asher executive vice president and CFO, effective May 7.

Cigna CEO David Cordani said preventive care procedures including mammograms, colonoscopies, childhood vaccinations and cervical cancer screenings among its members are back to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 shutdowns of early 2020.

Though 2020 was a reportedly stressful year, treatment rates for mental health problems did not increase, according to a published Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield report called "State of the Nation's Mental Health."

Seven for-profit health insurers saw their revenues and profits increase during the first quarter of the 2021 fiscal year.

Medicaid enrollment increased by 5 million people between March and September of 2020, a study published in JAMA Network Open shows.

Healthcare providers and insurers must make changes to their processes and technology systems to comply with the No Surprises Act by Jan. 1, 2022 — a feat 95 percent of insurers are worried about achieving.

The Concord, Calif.-based Sutter Health and Aetna joint health plan is offering three new clinical programs for members, according to a news release shared with Becker's.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee is sending refunds worth an average of $250 to 100,000 state residents who purchased individual plans from the ACA's health insurance marketplace in 2018. This is the second time in eight months the Chattanooga-based payer has issued refunds to members, according to the Times Free Press. 

A federal judge denied Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois' motion to dismiss allegations that the health insurer improperly denied gender reassignment surgery to a transgender teen.

One in 6 adults remain at jobs they might leave if it wasn't for their health insurance coverage, according to a new poll from West Health and Gallup.