Health Equity

Medicaid Health Plan Will Reimburse Health Equity Certification

March 22, 2024 - Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, Inc.—a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation that offers Medicaid coverage—announced that it will cover part of the fee hospitals must pay to undergo health equity certification through the Joint Commission. “We're thrilled to be the first Medicaid health plan in the country to...

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Elevance Health’s $2.5B Acquisition of BCBSLA Paused a Second Time

by Kelsey Waddill

Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana (BCBSLA) announced that it will not move forward with plans to be acquired by Elevance Health. “We continue to hear from our stakeholders that they want Blue...

7 Out of 10 Americans Struggling With Medical Debt Owe Over $1,000

by Kelsey Waddill

One in twelve adult Americans owe medical debt, largely those who are uninsured, low-income, or disabled, according to a report from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. Research on rampant medical...

Medicare Advantage Intake Surveys May Draw Insights, But Not Always

by Kelsey Waddill

New Medicare Advantage plan members can self-report their health literacy status during the enrollment process, but may not be as responsive in an enrollment survey of perceived healthcare...

Underserved MA Beneficiaries Opt for Plans with Supplemental Benefits

by Victoria Bailey

Black Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and those with lower income or educational attainment were more likely to choose health plans that include supplement benefits, such as dental and vision...

NY Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Amendment Improves Access to Care

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has approved an amendment to New York State’s Medicaid section 1115 waiver that will address health disparities and improve access to primary and behavioral healthcare, Governor Kathy Hochul...

2024 Employer Sponsored Health Plan Predictions: GLP-1s, Vendors, Data

by Kelsey Waddill

Employers are stuck between a rock and a hard place in 2024, with unsustainable healthcare spending in their employer-sponsored health plans and a reticence to shift any more of the cost to their...

2024 Payer Strategies: Population-Based Plans, MA Differentiation

by Kelsey Waddill

The new year may look remarkably like 2023 from the payer perspective with a similar set of headwinds, but payer strategies may change. Health insurers will build on last year’s progress in...

Humana Awards $169K in Health Equity Grants to Community-Based Orgs

by Victoria Bailey

Humana has granted $169,000 to 24 community-based organizations committed to advancing health equity, according to a press release HealthPayerIntelligence received via email. The payer’s health...

How Public, Private Payers Cover Care for the LGBTQ+ Population

by Victoria Bailey

In a country with rampant health disparities, health insurance coverage can be the difference between accessing necessary services and going without care. How health plans cover care for socially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations...

Medicaid Expansion Improved Health Equity for Redlined Areas

by Kelsey Waddill

In historically redlined areas, states that adopted Medicaid expansion saw lower uninsurance rates than nonexpansion states, a study published in Health Affairs uncovered. Redlined areas were...

How to Evaluate Benefits to Ensure Health Equity for All Members

by Kelsey Waddill

Although the healthcare system has made great strides in health equity awareness and promotion, women pay more and get less out of their employer-sponsored health benefits than men do. Employed women are more likely to hit their...

An Overview of the CMS AHEAD Model for Health Equity Advancement

by Kelsey Waddill

The CMS States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model (AHEAD Model) rallies states and a broad scope of healthcare stakeholders around health equity improvement through primary care investments and...

How Plans Can Improve Race and Ethnicity Data Collection for HEDIS

by Kelsey Waddill

One question kept coming up when Keirsha Thompson, manager at National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and her team talked to payers: How can our health plan improve its performance on race and ethnicity data collection for the...

Coronavirus Pandemic Policies May Have Improved Care Affordability

by Kelsey Waddill

Coronavirus pandemic policies may have helped curb unmet care, unaffordability in care, and certain care disparities, but these trends could also reflect lower overall care utilization due to...

Coverage Rates Equalize For LGBT Community, But Disparities Remain

by Kelsey Waddill

Coverage rates in the LGBT community have improved since the Affordable Care Act went into effect and the Supreme Court ruled on marriage equality, but access to care barriers remain, according to a...

Aetna Awards $250K in Social Determinants of Health Grants in MI

by Sarai Rodriguez

Aetna’s Medicaid plan in Michigan has granted $250,000 to 10 community-based organizations, aiming to address social determinants of health (SDOH) needs and advance health equity throughout the...

Improve Coverage, Health Equity By Diversifying Broker Recruitment

by Kelsey Waddill

When Access Health CT (AHCT), Connecticut’s marketplace, published its health equity report, leaders of the state health insurance marketplace knew that something needed to change. In a state that ranks among the healthiest and...

6 Ways That Health Plans Can Influence A State’s Health Equity

by Kelsey Waddill

With ample fiscal resources and a wide scope of influence, payers can leverage investments, purchasing decisions, network priorities, and other strategies to contribute to health equity, a report from...

CA Health Plans Commit $114M to Address Homelessness, Health Equity

by Victoria Bailey

LA Care Health Plan and Health Net have committed to investing $114 million over five years to address homelessness and improve health equity in Los Angeles County. The health plans have collaborated...

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