The following payers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.
1. HCSC, BCBS of Michigan tap Hortonworks data analytics platform
Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation and Detroit-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan are using Hortonworks Data Platform to update their data systems and enhance analytics usage.
2. CareFirst selects Cogito for IT solutions
Baltimore-based CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield tapped Boston-based emotional intelligence solution Cogito to help service representatives engage in personalized and empathic conversations with policyholders.
3. Blue Cross, Fairview network spat could affect 170k patients
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's and Fairview Health Services' current network contract expires Dec. 31, after which nearly 170,000 patients could lose access to Fairview services at discounted prices.
4. Premera Blue Cross steers resources toward patient research, tech
Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based Premera Blue Cross is investing in research and technology to streamline health plan selection and utilization.
5. Centene wins Nevada Medicaid bid
Nevada officials chose St. Louis-based Centene to service the state's Medicaid beneficiaries effective July, pending regulatory approval.
6. Humana teams up with MDLive for virtual care in Georgia, South Carolina
Louisville, Ky.-based Humana partnered with telemedicine services and software provider MDLive to provide Humana Medicare Advantage members remote physician access in select Georgia and South Carolina counties.
7. Cigna retracts planned ACA exchange expansion in 3 states
Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna will ditch plans to expand its federal exchange presence into 10 states from seven, following the likes of UnitedHealthcare and Aetna in limiting ACA marketplace footprints.
8. UPMC Health Plan opens retail insurance store
UPMC Health Plan opened a retail service and sales associate location at Monroeville (Pa.) Mall to assist policyholders with their insurance questions and basic healthcare needs.
9. Blue Cross Blue Shield launches claims-sharing program with academic medical center
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association partnered with a group of academic medical centers to improve university researchers' access to commercial insurance claims data.