Reimbursement

The right to marry in any state won't be the only gain for gay couples from last week's Supreme Court ruling. The decision will probably boost health insurance among gay couples as same-sex spouses get access to employer plans, say analysts and benefits consultants.

The study labeled 11 percent of plans "extra small" because they covered fewer than 10 percent of physicians in a plan's region. Another 30 percent were "small," meaning they covered between 10 and 25 percent of physicians.

Most organizations support the 6-3 vote to preserve federal subsidies.

Insurers can focus on optimizing individual plans with cost-comparison and provider-choice tools and value-based benefit designs, expert says.

Customers and healthcare providers are accusing Blue Cross Blue Shield companies of exploiting the franchising model to inflate premiums and unfairly control market share, according to lawsuits that threaten Anthem's M&A strategy and could empower health systems and other insurers across the country.

The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed the challenge to the Affordable Care Act's subsidies in federally-facilitated exchanges, a victory for the Obama Administration but certainly not the last health reform battle.

The Blues have been accused of running health insurance like a mafia for years, but now lawsuits could stick and compromise the family's future.

To ease the financial burden, the California agency that governs the state's Affordable Care Act marketplace issued landmark rules recently that will limit the amount anyone enrolled in one of those plans can be charged each month for high-end medicine.

Despite looming consolidation, health plans and insurers broadly need to attract more younger workers as Baby Boomers retire and markets evolve.

There will soon be one less member company of America's health insurance trade group, a sign of the industry's evolutionary turmoil.