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UnitedHealth Group reported lower earnings in the third quarter of 2020 compared with a year ago, suggesting that the period of record profits large health insurers reaped early in the COVID-19 pandemic may have ended. Last quarter, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth, the parent company of insurer UnitedHealthcare, nearly doubled its net income as healthcare providers deferred costly non-urgent procedures and patients put off routine care to comply with stay-at-home orders and practice social distancing. (Livingston, 10/14)

A new American Medical Association study finds highly concentrated health insurance markets have grown even more so over the past five years, a trend the trade group said can harm consumers and providers alike. Health insurance markets were highly concentrated in 74% of the country's metropolitan statistical areas in 2019, up from 71% in 2014. More than half of markets experienced upticks in health insurer consolidation during that time, according to the report, the 19th edition of the AMA's research on the subject. (Bannow, 10/14)

It’s no secret COVID-19 has upended the entire health care system. The pandemic spurred clinicians and health systems to adapt quickly, accelerating changes that would have otherwise taken years to achieve. One of the most significant changes is the rapid development and implementation of artificial intelligence and analytics. (Murphy, 10/14)