Revenue Cycle and Payer News – March 25, 2026

Humana Introduces New Value-Based Cardiology Care Partnerships for Medicare Advantage Members
Humana, a U.S. healthcare company, announced new partnerships to improve heart health for eligible Medicare Advantage members through value-based care. Building on Humana’s existing cardiac care partnership with CVAUSA’s Novocardia Care Solutions division, new agreements with Karoo Health , US Heart and Vascular and Chamber Cardio further expand the company’s comprehensive cardiac care program.

Aetna collaborates with community organizations to strengthen access to quality care and essential resources in central Missouri
Aetna Better Health of Missouri, a CVS Health company, announced that Aetna provided a total of $35,000 in funding to two community-based organizations in central Missouri to improve access to health care and support child and family well being. The donations support community programs that directly address persistent barriers to care faced by rural communities, including long travel distances for medical services, limited transportation options, and challenges accessing early childhood and family support resources.

CVS’ Aetna pays $117.7 million to settle US claims it defrauded Medicare
Aetna, a unit of CVS Health, agreed to pay $117.7 million to resolve U.S. government charges it defrauded Medicare by knowingly submitting inaccurate diagnosis codes for morbid obesity and other health conditions in ​Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees.

UnitedHealthcare Expands Doula Offering to Employer-Sponsored Plans Nationwide
UnitedHealthcare announced the national expansion of its doula offering, now available to people enrolled in eligible health plans through their employer. Doula Support is designed to help improve maternal and infant health outcomes by giving more people access to non-clinical emotional, physical and educational support throughout their pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.

New BCBSA Research Suggests AI in Hospital Billing is Leading to Higher Health Care Costs
New research from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and its data analytics partner Blue Health Intelligence® (BHI®) suggests that the growing use of AI in hospital billing is driving higher health care costs by increasing the number and severity of diagnoses billed without any record of the expected treatment.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Recognized Among the 2026 World’s Most Ethical Companies® for the 14th Consecutive Year
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), one of the country’s largest not-for-profit healthcare organizations, has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® for the 14th consecutive year.

CVS Health and Google Cloud announce new strategic partnership to reimagine healthcare consumer engagement and experiences
CVS Health and Google Cloud announced a new strategic partnership that aims to reimagine health care experiences, increase consumer engagement, and ultimately support better health outcomes. Central to the partnership is CVS Health’s launch of Health100, a health technology services subsidiary, that will deliver an integrated health care engagement platform for consumers, regardless of which pharmacy, care provider, medical insurance company, pharmacy benefits manager and digital health solution providers they use.

When health insurance costs $2,500 per month, families make tough choices – Parveen Vohra and Ken Warner had an expensive year in 2025. They’re in their mid-50s, and they live in Manchester, Conn., with two dogs and three cats.

Analyses Find Hospitals ‘Driving up Health Costs’ With ‘Opaque’ Billing Practices, Anti-Competitive Consolidation by AHIP – In case you missed it, three new analyses underscore the ways in which hospital systems are “driving up health costs” by overcharging patients and using “opaque” billing practices to skirt transparency rules.

AHIP 26
When: June 9 – 10, 2026
Where: Las Vegas, NV
Register now.
LinkedIn: AHIP

AHIP 2026 is the premier forum for health plan leaders navigating the most high-impact strategic, regulatory, and operational decisions facing the industry today. Unlike broad innovation conferences or invitation-only retreats, AHIP 2026 is purpose-built for health plans—bringing together senior executives and the leaders responsible for strategy and execution to align on what’s next and advance solutions that improve affordability, access and patient experience nationwide.