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Medicare Advantage forced disenrollments rise as insurers exit markets: study
The average rate of forced disenrollments where enrollees had to find a new plan rose from 1% in 2024 to 10% this year, according to research published in JAMA.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 25, 2026 -
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Medicare Advantage growth decelerates as insurers shed members for 2026
A Healthcare Dive analysis lays out just how drastically insurers retrenched their MA businesses for 2026, with UnitedHealthcare, CVS and Elevance discarding hundreds of thousands of members.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 24, 2026 -
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TrendlinePayer/provider relationships
As M&A intensifies and companies embrace more holistic and value-based care models, partnerships have become more closely intertwined.
By Healthcare Dive staff -
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GOP’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ erases 12 years of solvency for Medicare trust fund: CBO
Congressional scorekeepers expect the Hospital Insurance trust fund to run dry more than a decade earlier than they previously expected, after Republicans’ megabill slashed the revenues it receives from taxes.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 24, 2026 -
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Worker did not plausibly argue obesity was a disability, 1st Circuit finds
In a lawsuit filed against Cigna for refusing to cover weight loss medication, a Maine worker described the condition and its impact too generally, the appeals court said.
By Emilie Shumway • Feb. 23, 2026 -
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Justice Department sues OhioHealth over alleged anticompetitive insurer contracts
The DOJ filed a lawsuit last week accusing OhioHealth of leveraging its market power to force insurers to include its providers in their networks.
By Sydney Halleman • Feb. 23, 2026 -
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Sponsored by Stax PaymentsPayments for healthcare: How membership-style saves money
Discover how membership-style payment processing helps healthcare providers reduce fees, control costs, and simplify payments without compromising patient experience.
Feb. 23, 2026 -
Courtesy of Humana
Humana’s CenterWell buys primary care provider MaxHealth
The addition of 82 owned and affiliated clinics in Florida comes as Humana doubles down on its primary care portfolio.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 17, 2026 -
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Sponsored by ElavonWhy every practice should simplify billing – and how
All providers share an ethical obligation to help their patients avoid unnecessary delays in care, but for small and independent practices the impact can be particularly significant.
Feb. 17, 2026 -
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Lowering drug costs is on Republicans’ minds. Democrats say GOP policies don’t help.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle decried the nation’s high drug costs during a House subcommittee hearing last week. Democrats argued Medicaid cuts and lapsed ACA subsidies are worsening the problem.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 12, 2026 -
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Kaiser reaches settlement with DOL over alleged mental healthcare access failures
The Department of Labor alleged Kaiser didn’t offer adequate provider networks and used patient questionnaires to prevent members from receiving care.
By Ginger Christ • Feb. 11, 2026 -
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House Republicans subpoena 8 health insurers over ACA fraud
The subpoenas request additional documents and information from CVS, Centene, Elevance and more, and suggest House Republicans are considering legislation to combat what they view as rampant fraud in the ACA exchanges.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 11, 2026 -
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Humana could end 2026 as the largest Medicare Advantage insurer
Humana is nabbing MA members while UnitedHealthcare sheds lives. That leaves the companies neck and neck when it comes to MA enrollment, though Humana’s growth is a gamble at a time of elevated medical spending.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 11, 2026 -
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Cigna to lay off 2,000 workers worldwide
Cigna’s layoffs follow other recent downsizing announcements from health insurers looking to cut costs during an era of heightened medical spending.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 10, 2026 -
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CMS proposes sweeping ACA exchange rule
The CMS said the regulation should remove barriers to more affordable health plans like catastrophic coverage, as enrollment on the exchanges falls following the expiration of stronger financial assistance.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 10, 2026 -
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CVS holds 2026 guidance steady as turnaround plan bears fruit
The healthcare giant outperformed to close out 2025, and expects its finances to improve further this year. Still, proposed Medicare Advantage rates could be an issue moving forward.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 10, 2026 -
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Centene swings to loss but predicts stabilization in 2026
Centene outperformed in the fourth quarter, while predicting earnings growth in 2026 — a rarity among managed care companies’ generally dour outlooks.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 6, 2026 -
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Cigna posts ‘low-drama’ fourth quarter following major FTC settlement
Cigna is hoping the settlement it reached with regulators paired with recent legislation will mollify calls to reform PBMs — without affecting Express Scripts’ profitability.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 5, 2026 -
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Express Scripts reaches ‘landmark’ settlement with FTC in insulin suit
The agreement includes sweeping changes for Cigna’s PBM, including no longer preferring expensive drugs over cheaper equivalents on standard formularies and reshoring its controversial rebate aggregator.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Feb. 4, 2026 -
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One-quarter of Medicaid doctors don’t actually treat Medicaid patients: study
The new research published in Health Affairs adds to concerns about low physician participation in the safety-net insurance program, especially among mental health practitioners.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 4, 2026 -
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Trump signs funding bill with PBM reforms, hospital-at-home and telehealth extensions
The funding package ends a partial government shutdown and enacts several healthcare policies, including preserving telehealth flexibilities in Medicare through 2027.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 4, 2026 -
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Genetic testing takes greater share of Medicare Part B test spending: OIG
Spending on the tests, which analyze genetic material from both people and pathogens, rose 20% year over year in 2024, the analysis found.
By Susan Kelly • Feb. 4, 2026 -
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CMS presses ahead on accelerated Medicare Advantage audits
The agency quietly released a memo updating MA plans on how it’s approaching risk adjustment data validation audits after a Texas judge’s ruling last year threw the expanded reviews into doubt.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 4, 2026 -
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Prices rise at surgery centers acquired by Optum: study
The full financial impact of the price hikes could exceed $67 million each year in two dozen markets, according to the new study published in Health Affairs.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Feb. 3, 2026 -
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Medicare Advantage prior authorization requests rise in 2024: report
Nearly 53 million prior authorization requests were sent to insurers in 2024, compared with nearly 50 million in the prior year, according to KFF. Almost 8% of those requests were partially or fully denied.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 3, 2026 -
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Humana deploys AI support tool for call centers
Agent Assist, developed with Google Cloud, summarizes conversations between workers and beneficiaries while highlighting relevant information, like enrollees’ benefit and eligibility details.
By Emily Olsen • Feb. 3, 2026
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