Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Patient First Stops Accepting Some Anthem Plans In Mid-Atlantic Care Centers
The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Patient First No Longer Taking Some Anthem Health Plans In Dispute Over Reimbursements
Patient First, which operates nine urgent and primary care medical centers in the Richmond area and dozens of facilities in the Mid-Atlantic, is no longer accepting some Anthem health insurance plans for payment. Patient First stopped accepting, as of Feb. 2, new patients who are members of Anthem, HealthKeepers and out-of-state BlueCross BlueShield plans except CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. (Smith, 2/10)
The Associated Press: Insurer Centene Ends Search For Missing Hard Drives
Medicaid coverage provider Centene has ended a search for six hard drives that contained the personal information of roughly 950,000 customers more than a month after the equipment turned up missing. The St. Louis-based company said that an employee admitted to placing the six hard drives "in a locked receptacle for secure destruction," according to a brief statement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Murphy, 2/11)
Kaiser Health News: Top Hospitals Likely Are Available On A Marketplace Plan, Study Finds
Despite much hand-wringing over the size and quality of provider networks on the health insurance marketplaces, many top-notch hospitals are available in-network in marketplace plans this year, a new study found. However, more than half of those hospitals participated in fewer plans than last year, limiting their in-network availability to just one marketplace plan in a growing number of cases. (Andrews, 2/12)
