The following payers made headlines this week, beginning with the most recent.
1. Aetna to withdraw from all ACA exchanges for 2018
Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna will exit ACA exchanges in Delaware and Nebraska in 2018, marking the insurer's full exit from the individual marketplace.
2. Humana collaborates with 11 orthopedic groups in North Carolina, Virginia
Louisville, Ky.-based Humana established an orthopedic value-based care model with 11 specialty groups in North Carolina and Virginia.
3. Geisinger, Highmark sign LOI to create joint venture, health campus
Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System and Pittsburgh-based Highmark, a Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization, inked a letter of intent to establish a clinical joint venture.
4. BCBS, Lyft launch national partnership
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and rideshare company Lyft forged a nationwide partnership to enhance healthcare access in communities lacking reliable transportation.
5. BCBS of Tennessee to reenter Knoxville region in 2018 following improved ACA exchange results
Chattanooga-based BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will resume selling individual health plans in the Knoxville area following its retraction from the market in 2017.
6. Premier, UnitedHealthcare reach Medicare Advantage agreement, but lack consensus on other plans
Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health and Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare settled an in-network contract for Medicare Advantage policyholders through the end of 2017, but the parties have yet to negotiate terms for individual and employer-based health plans.
7. UnitedHealthcare, Northwest Healthcare agree to contract; more than 40k Tucson area residents back in network
Tucson, Ariz.-based Northwest Healthcare reached a network agreement with Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer UnitedHealthcare.
8. Maryland's largest insurer seeks average rate increase of more than 50% for exchange plans
Maryland insurers are looking to significantly increase rates for individual health plans sold on the state's ACA exchange in 2018.
9. Anthem brings rejection of Cigna deal to Supreme Court
Anthem filed a petition Friday calling for a U.S. Supreme Court review of the U.S. Court of Appeals' decision to deny a $54 billion merger between Indianapolis-based Anthem and Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna.