Health Plan Weekly

Finding a vendor that shares an insurer’s organizational values while enhancing member experience is crucial to getting good return on investment (ROI) from digital health solutions, according to panelists on a recent webinar sponsored by Medicaid Health Plans of America.  

“One of the things that I would say we value is partners who are equally value-based,” said Rebecca Geist, national director of government programs business development for Kaiser Permanente. 

It’s also a matter of ensuring a vendor is “a reflection of our mission and values” and ensuring members retain care and coverage, Geist added. 

Here’s how major health insurers’ stock performed in March 2025. UnitedHealth Group had the highest closing stock price among major commercial insurers as of March 31, 2025, at $523.75. Humana Inc. had the highest closing stock price among major Medicare insurers at $264.60.

Mehmet Oz, M.D., who was recently confirmed as CMS administrator, on April 10 released a “vision for CMS” that outlines a set of policy priorities he’ll pursue. For example, to empower Americans with personalized solutions so that" they can better manage their health and navigate the complex health care system,” Oz said he will implement President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for greater enforcement of price transparency regulations issued during Trump’s first administration. Among other things, Oz said he will also “work to streamline access to life saving treatments” and identify and eliminate “fraud, waste, and abuse to stop unscrupulous people who are stealing from vulnerable patients and taxpayers.”

SCAN Group and Sutter Health on April 10 unveiled a “long-term strategic collaboration” between the two nonprofit, California-based health care companies. As part of the deal, SCAN and Sutter will introduce new Medicare Advantage products in Northern California in 2026 that offer access to hospitals, physician practices and other facilities owned by Sutter, which is an integrated health system. Sutter and SCAN said they also intend to establish a new joint venture MA health plan “in the near future,” which could extend beyond Northern California to reach a broader Medicare population. SCAN Health Plan currently serves 300,000 members in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and New Mexico, the organization said. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 27 filed a statement of interest in a U.S. District Court in Illinois that supported health care providers’ cases against multiple health insurers and MultiPlan, a data analytics firm that offers health care cost management services such as out-of-network claims repricing. The filing suggests that if the court agrees that payers used MultiPlan’s algorithm to collude on suppressing prices paid to providers, such conduct could be considered an antitrust violation, according to Loren Adler, a fellow and associate director at the Brookings Center on Health Policy. 

Adler tells AIS Health he is “curious about the DOJ’s motivation” for the filing, but he notes that an ultimate ruling in favor of providers could lead to higher reimbursement and overall health care costs. Adler points out that this is different than other health care antitrust cases the DOJ has pursued, including when payers or hospitals merge and raise prices. In those cases, the plaintiffs and agencies want to have more competition and lower prices. 

During the 2025 open enrollment period, 24.3 million people enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, setting a record for the fourth consecutive year. ACA marketplace signups have now more than doubled since 2020, with most of the growth occurring in states won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, according to a new KFF analysis.

About 17.1 million people enrolled through HealthCare.gov between Nov. 1, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025, in the 31 states that use that platform. Another 7.2 million enrolled across 19 states and Washington, D.C., which use their own marketplaces. Georgia transitioned to its own state-based marketplace this year.