Susan Morse

New mandatory bundled payments for cardiac care and rehabilitation will qualify for incentive payments under MACRA's new alternative payment model starting in 2018, according to CMS.

Arizona is again allowing enrollment in the state's Children's Health Insurance Program known as KidsCare, six years after enrollment was frozen, according to an announcement Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday cut out former Tricare West Region contractor UnitedHealthcare and has given the contract to Health Net Federal Services, which also manages the Tricare North Region.

S&P Global Ratings has placed Aetna and Humana on creditwatch following the Department of Justice's announcement Thursday to block their merger.

Anthem and Aetna plan to pursue in court the Department of Justice's injunction to block their respective mergers with Cigna and Humana, according to statements from both insurers.

Sources close to the deals are saying the U.S. Department of Justice is about to block the proposed mergers between Anthem and Cigna, and Aetna and Humana. Federal regulators are expected to file a lawsuit as early as this week or next on the proposed deals.

UnitedHealth Group revenues grew 28 percent, or $10.2 billion year-over-year to $46.5 billion, but that was countered by greater losses in the exchange market than projected, according to a second quarter earnings report released Tuesday.

While sources have said they expect a decision in August, Bloomberg said the DOJ could file the lawsuits this week or next.

Cigna has launched CareAllies Inc., a new service company to help providers make the move to value-based care by easing their administrative burden across payers and even supporting the launch and management of their own health plans.

Three participating providers in Next Generation have dropped out, with two citing financial targets as the reason for the departure.