Economic forces have put pressure on the budgets of Missouri and Kansas, putting health reforms in the backseat for 2009. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon wants to restore some residents cut from Medicaid in 2…
The struggling economy in Florida, burdened by the bust of the real estate and construction boom, resulted in enrollment losses in 2008 and is all but sure to continue into 2009. Insurers are reacting…
Maryland lawmakers are considering ways to extend health insurance coverage despite a budget deficit and national efforts to extend health benefits. In Virginia, lawmakers turned back an attempt to le…
At a time when many states are looking to pare back healthcare programs as a way to close budget deficits, Wisconsin is taking the opposite route. Despite facing a gloomy nationwide economic forecast…
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield will have to change part of its formulary strategy as CMS prepares to ban the practice of reference-based drug pricing, used to boost generic utilization. Th…
Changes in Oregon's regulation of small-group health plans are causing major fluctuations in rates for some groups, and creating opportunities for companies willing to respond to the new realities…
Economic turmoil is nothing new in Michigan, where the auto industry's woes continue to get worse, and job losses and layoffs continue to shrink the healthcare market. Against that backdrop, Blue…
Texas possesses the worst uninsured rate in the nation not just for adults, but children. One in five Texas children lacks health benefits, even though many qualify for Medicaid and the Children's…
As a former boom state in the midst of the bust, Arizona's healthcare economy is taking a bigger hit than other areas of the country. One plan is a likely acquisition target. While the biggest ins…
Managed Medicaid is the centerpiece of Louisiana's health reform initiative, Louisiana Health First, which has finally taken shape after years of planning. State officials are betting that a coord…
Commercial membership in California health plans dropped by 12 percent in the first six months of 2008, according to data from HealthLeaders-InterStudy, and insurers are bracing for an additional drop…
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is reacting to market conditions in a number of ways, through talks with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield of New York about a potential collaboration in the ancill…
Illinois' economy is tanking along with the rest of the country, and health plans are bracing for losses in membership as banking and manufacturing businesses lay off workers, shut down, or elimin…
Colorado Medicaid officials are asking for legislative approval to expand managed care into Medicaid in a much bigger way by 2010. They propose to phase in the movement to managed care through regions…
Health insurers in the Midwest are coping with the recession by laying off employees, holding the line on pricing and adjusting benefit design to allow employers to take advantage of additional cost-s…