Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Insurers To Help Shore Up Some Physician Practices That Are Struggling Amid Pandemic
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina on Wednesday said it plans to shore up independent primary care practices in the state and help them move into value-based payment arrangements. The Blues insurer said it would make lump sum payments to participating primary care practices in 2020 and 2021 to help them weather the COVID-19 pandemic, which has drained many providers of income and prompted some to close their doors. Those payments would be based on 2019 revenue and begin by September. (Livingston, 6/24)
Meanwhile —
Members of Anthem's commercial medical and dental health plans can now access benefit information through Amazon's voice assistant Alexa, the insurance giant announced Wednesday. Previously, Anthem's Alexa application had been limited to sharing general information, like common health insurance terms and member updates. As of Wednesday, the application—first released about two years ago—can now offer members more tailored information they would otherwise get on a member portal or by calling an agent. (Cohen, 6/24)
