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(Reuters) -Insurer Health Care Service Corp said on Wednesday it would buy Cigna's Medicare business that manages government-backed health insurance for people aged 65 and older for $3.3 billion in cash. The sale consists of Cigna's Medicare lines, including Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplement and Medicare drug plans, as well as a unit called CareAllies that works with physician groups and other healthcare providers.

When a stubborn pain in Nick van Terheyden’s bones would not subside, his doctor had a hunch what was wrong. Without enough vitamin D in the blood, the body will pull calcium from the bones. Left untreated, a vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis. A blood test in the fall of 2021 confirmed the doctor’s diagnosis, and van Terheyden expected his company’s insurance plan, managed by Cigna, to cover the cost of the bloodwork. Instead, Cigna sent van Terheyden a letter explaining that it would not pay for the $350 test because it was not “medically necessary.” The letter...

Hubby still works, I am retired and we are receiving health insurance coverage through his employer (CIGNA). Our 2022 "Benefits Guide" arrived today with surcharge information that "those that elect not to receive the COVID clot shot will be subject to $100 a month surcharge". Has anyone run into this with their insurance carrier yet?? Any ideas as to a circumvention strategy that works?? Let's Go Brandon.....

They’re coming for you next: Company documents as well as interviews have confirmed that the health insurance company Cigna actively discriminates against whites in its hiring practices, as well as runs training sessions using Critical Race Theory that aims at making all whites, males, and Christians ashamed of what they are, because by definition such people are automatically racist bigots. The original story is here. From the first link: “Given the hiring practices they have in place where white, male candidates are blocked, regardless of qualifications, I have to say, ‘Yes, there’s obvious discrimination at this company,’” an anonymous employee...

Critical race theory at it again Cigna — one of the country's largest heath insurance providers — has reportedly encouraged hiring managers to avoid hiring white males at the company. What are the details? According to a Friday report from the Washington Examiner, employees at the company have been "asked not to consider white men in hiring decisions." Citing leaked training documents and chat logs, the outlet noted that Cigna employees are also expected to undergo "racist and discriminatory" sensitivity training on topics such as "white privilege," "gender privilege," and "religious privilege." "Chat logs between an employee and a hiring...

Employees at one of the nation's largest health insurance providers are routinely subjected to far-left critical race theory lessons and asked not to consider white men in hiring decisions, according to leaked documents and chat logs obtained by the Washington Examiner. Those who work at Cigna told the Washington Examiner that they are expected to undergo sensitivity training they consider racist and discriminatory. Lessons include reviews of concepts such as " white privilege," "gender privilege," and something called "religious privilege," which is described as "a set of advantages that benefits believers of a certain religion but not people who practice...

Two owners and operators of a Los Angeles pharmacy were both sentenced today to 144 months in prison for their roles in a health care fraud scheme where Medicare and CIGNA were billed more than $11.8 million in fraudulent claims for prescription drugs.Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California, Special Agent in Charge Timothy DeFrancesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office, Assistant Director in Charge Paul Delacourt of the FBI’s...

Anthem’s efforts to buy Cigna were dealt a potentially fatal blow Friday despite the health insurance giant’s deep connections to the White House. A US appeals court blocked health insurer Anthem’s bid to merge with rival Cigna on Friday, upholding a lower court’s decision that the $54 billion deal should not be allowed because it would lead to higher prices for healthcare...

Tennessee is ground zero for ObamaCare’s nationwide implosion. Late last month the state insurance commissioner, Julie Mix McPeak, approved premium increases of up to 62% in a bid to save the exchange set up under the Affordable Care Act. “I would characterize the exchange market in Tennessee as very near collapse,” she said. Then last week BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announced it would leave three of the state’s largest exchange markets—Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. “We have experienced losses approaching $500 million over the course of three years on ACA plans,” the company said, “which is unsustainable.” As a result, more...

Stung by losses under the federal health law, major insurers are seeking to sharply limit how policies are sold to individuals in ways that consumer advocates say seem to discriminate against the sickest and could hold down future enrollment. In recent days Anthem, Aetna and Cigna, all among the top five health insurers, told brokers they will stop paying them sales commissions to sign up most customers who qualify for new coverage outside the normal enrollment period, according to the companies and broker documents. Last year, these "special enrollment" clients were much more expensive than expected because lax enforcement allowed...

In another merger of health insurance giants, Anthem has agreed to acquire Cigna in a $54 billion deal. Anthem (ANTM), a Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurer, said it would buy all of Cigna's (CI)shares in a cash and stock transaction. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2016, if it passes state regulatory approvals and other requirements. The merged insurer would cover 53 million members. The merger would leave only three major players in the insurance industry. Earlier this month, Aetna (AET) struck a deal to buy Humana (HUM) for $37 billion, which would cover...

Anthem said on Friday it would buy Cigna in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer. Cigna shareholders will get $103.40 per share in cash and 0.5152 Anthem shares. The deal comes three weeks after Aetna struck a deal to buy Humana for $37 billion and is part of an industry-wide consolidation of the health insurance industry following the roll-out of the Obama government's health-care reform law.

The five largest publicly traded health insurance companies (UnitedHealth, Anthem,1 Aetna, Humana and Cigna) — all of which were party to an amicus brief in support of the subsidies filed by America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for insurance companies — rose an average of 1 percent over their opening prices by 11 a.m. Thursday. The bounce started at approximately 10:10 a.m., right when SCOTUSblog first announced the Supreme Court’s decision. All five companies. That rise amounted to a $3 billion increase in the combined market capitalization of the five companies.

Some Californians whose policies have been canceled are finding relief in a surprising place: from insurance companies that aren't offering plans on the new Covered California marketplace. Earlier this year, Aetna announced it would bow out of the state's individual market, effective Dec. 31. Cigna is staying, but isn't offering any products on the exchange. Right now, both companies are accepting new customers into pre-Affordable Care Act plans. Aetna plans are available to Costco members only until Dec. 15. Cigna is offering pre-ACA plans through Dec. 23. Anne Gonzales, a Covered California spokeswoman, confirmed that a carrier not offering plans...

In this morning's interview Former Cigna exec seems to be cautiously optimistic about Obama's "fix" and the future of Obamacare.

“I need a crash cart, stat!” The political prospects for major U.S. healthcare reform have taken a decided turn for the worse in recent days (at least from the point of view of many Democrats). And you don’t need to be some totally plugged-in Washington insider to understand that. Just take a look-see at the stock market performance of industry players such as Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, and WellPoint. Shares have been trending higher of late. What’s been slowly dawning on Wall Street is that the legislative process in Washington is unlikely to produce a national public health insurance option...

WESTWOOD -- A Northridge teenager awaiting a liver transplant died Thursday after she was pulled off of life support. CIGNA Insurance Company initially refused to cover the cost of the transplant for Natalee Sarkisian, saying the surgery was too experimental. On Thursday, friends, family and members of a nurses association held a protest outside CIGNA headquarters in Glendale, urging the insurance company to reconsider. During the protest, Natalee's mother got word CIGNA had changed its mind and would make an exception for Natalee's surgery. But the decision came too late for Natalee. Just after six o'clock tonight, her condition worsened....

The family of a California teenager who died awaiting a liver transplant said they would sue the insurer whom they blame for their daughter's death. Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old from Glendale, Calif., died Thursday just a few hours after her insurer, Cigna HealthCare, approved a procedure it had previously described as "too experimental." Attorney Mark Geragos said that Cigna "maliciously killed her" and that he hopes to press murder or manslaughter charges against Cigna HealthCare for the death of Sarkisyan. District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined to comment on the request for murder or manslaughter charges, saying it would be...

Link only per protocol www.wwj.com/Transplant-Decision-Too-Late--Teen-Dies/1376284

Under an agreement with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the health insurance company Cigna will redesign its doctor-ranking program to add transparency, accuracy, and oversight to the process. Under the agreement announced yesterday, Cigna will fully disclose to its customers how the rankings are devised. The new process will include detailed descriptions if rankings are at all based on cost, and there will be a process for consumers to register complaints. Cigna will also be required to hire an independent monitor to oversee the process. The monitor will report to Mr. Cuomo's office every six months. The new ranking system will...