Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska will expand its 2020 Medicare Advantage (MA) offerings to 11 new counties in the state, bringing its total reach to 26 counties. The insurer currently enrolls just 1,434 MA members, but is still the fifth-largest provider of MA plans in the state.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska will expand its 2020 Medicare Advantage (MA) offerings to 11 new counties in the state, bringing its total reach to 26 counties. The insurer currently enrolls just 1,434 MA members, but is still the fifth-largest provider of MA plans in the state.

Source: AIS’s Directory of Health Plans

Seattle-based insurer Group Health Cooperative is the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit that alleges the company manipulated its Medicare Advantage risk scores to receive additional reimbursement dollars from the federal government. The allegations date back to 2012. Kaiser Permanente acquired the renowned health plan, now known as Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, in 2017. The insurer currently serves 698,305 members, with 13.6% enrolled in Medicare Advantage products.

Seattle-based insurer Group Health Cooperative is the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit that alleges the company manipulated its Medicare Advantage risk scores to receive additional reimbursement dollars from the federal government. The allegations date back to 2012. Kaiser Permanente acquired the renowned health plan, now known as Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, in 2017. The insurer currently serves 698,305 members, with 13.6% enrolled in Medicare Advantage products.

Source: AIS’s Directory of Health Plans

Citing ongoing legal challenges in other states, Arizona has suspended implementation of its Medicaid work requirements program, which was set to begin Jan. 1, according to an Oct. 17 letter from the state to CMS. About 7% of Arizona’s 1,730,071 Medicaid beneficiaries would have been affected by the new program at launch. While work requirements have proved a popular reform idea in many states, implementation of approved changes has been rocky, as legal arguments in favor of the programs have not held up in court, and administrative changes proved more of a strain on state budgets than originally thought.

Citing ongoing legal challenges in other states, Arizona has suspended implementation of its Medicaid work requirements program, which was set to begin Jan. 1, according to an Oct. 17 letter from the state to CMS. About 7% of Arizona’s 1,730,071 Medicaid beneficiaries would have been affected by the new program at launch. While work requirements have proved a popular reform idea in many states, implementation of approved changes has been rocky, as legal arguments in favor of the programs have not held up in court, and administrative changes proved more of a strain on state budgets than originally thought.

Source: AIS’s Directory of Health Plans