Beating the aftershocks of Covid pandemic, Indianapolis-based Anthem has doubled its net income to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter, as against its profit during the same period last year. However, the impact of the pandemic was not completely lost as consumers kept delaying investment in non-essential care for the second year running. The payer’s annual operating revenue rose more than 13% to $137 billion in 2021 as against the 2020s $121 billion.
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Cigna keen to take over Centene to fuel expansion
Multinational healthcare and insurance giant Cigna has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring fellow insurer Centene. The talks were informal and in the preliminary stage, and fell short of serious discussions. The deal, if it goes through, would fuel Cigna’s expansion in the high-growth parts of the health insurance market: government-sponsored health-care programmes. Centene is a leading player in Medicaid for low-income people and Medicare for older Americans.
Telehealth part of No Surprises Act implementation
Under No Surprises Act, a patient can only be billed as per in-network rate if he is treated by a telehealth physician. Kyle Faget, a partner at Foley who is co-chair of the firm’s Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Groups, said telehealth providers, who often work on a contracted basis, are not endorsed by the insurer and are subject to in-network rates worked out by the hospital. “It’s an arduous contracting process, and small-group bargaining power is low.”
Source: Healthcare Financenews