health insurers

Close-up of an unrecognisable sad patient talking about her problems with her therapist in a psychology session.

Insurers can restrict mental health care. What laws protect patients in your state?

7:00am August 27, 2024

It can be really hard to get mental health care in the U.S. Even if you find a therapist in network, your insurer can refuse to cover the prescribed treatment. Here are the laws protecting patients.

Finding a therapist who takes your insurance can be nearly impossible. Here's why

7:00am August 25, 2024

Getting mental health care covered by insurance can be really tough. Reporters spoke to hundreds of therapists who left their insurance networks to find out why.

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Shaunti Meyer, medical director at the STRIDE Community Health Center in Aurora, Colo., says she discloses her sexual orientation to patients when it feels appropriate.

Some physicians are uneasy as Colorado collects providers' diversity data

5:00am April 25, 2022

by Markian Hawryluk

To advance health equity, the state is requiring insurers that offer public option plans to collect demographic data on providers, including race and sexual orientation, raising privacy concerns.

Hartford is home to the Connecticut State Capitol and state legislature — as well as to major U.S. insurance firms. In 2019, those insurers spent what it took to defeat Connecticut's version of a "public option" in health care, despite strong support am

Insurers Sank Connecticut's 'Public Option.' Would A National Version Survive?

1:17pm February 26, 2020

by Shefali Luthra

Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from the high cost of health care, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a "steam train of opposition."

Anthem Blue Cross of California, one of the state's largest health insurers, is battling Sutter Health over how much it should pay the company's 24 hospitals and 5,000 doctors in Northern California to care for tens of thousands of patients.

Patients Suffer As Insurers And Big Health Systems Spar For Market Share

12:46pm January 30, 2019

by Barbara Feder Ostrov

As hospital chains and insurers across the U.S squeeze one another, hoping to increase their market share, many patients are suddenly finding their preferred doctors and hospitals are out of network.

Ronda Goldfein, attorney and executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, holds an envelope that revealed a person's HIV status through the clear window.

Aetna Agrees To Pay $17 Million In HIV Privacy Breach

6:18pm January 17, 2018

by Elana Gordon

Health insurer Aetna has reached a settlement with people whose privacy was compromised when their HIV status was visible through the clear address windows on envelopes sent to them.

Supporters of women's health rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2016, as the Court hears oral arguments in seven cases dealing with religious organizations that want to ban contraceptives from their health insurance policies on

Massachusetts Set To Approve Law Protecting Access To Birth Control

3:43pm November 20, 2017

by Samantha Raphelson

The Massachusetts law would make it the first state to circumvent a federal policy allowing any company to opt out of providing free birth control coverage due to a religious or moral exemption.

Critics of Anthem's policy say imposing a blanket rule that gives preference to freestanding imaging centers is at odds with promoting quality and will lead to fragmented care for patients.

Anthem Says No To Many Scans Done By Hospital-Owned Clinics

11:14am September 27, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

MRI and CT scans done at hospitals for outpatients are often too expensive, says the firm, which insures patients in 14 states. The shift in policy won't apply to mammograms or X-rays, Anthem says.

Just because you win a lawsuit after an injury doesn't mean you'll see any cash from the court award.

Ruling May Help Patients Keep More Of The Winnings When They Sue

5:11pm April 27, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

When someone's been hurt and gets cash as part of a legal decision, health plans routinely demand to be reimbursed for medical costs they covered. But a Supreme Court ruling may hinder that strategy.

Rick and Letha Heitman, of Centennial, Colo., bought their health plan in 2015 through Colorado HealthOP, an insurance cooperative that will close at the end of the year. HealthOp's CEO says the co-op was "blindsided" when some promised federal subsidies

Many Health Co-Ops Fold, Others Survive Startup Struggles

8:54am November 26, 2015

Establishing a member-owned, nonprofit health co-op from scratch is tough; 12 of 23 that tried under Obamacare have closed after just one year. Sick patients poured in, and promised subsidies didn't.

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