Although 2021 has just begun, major health insurers appear to be wasting no time when it comes to spending the influx of cash that they've collected as a result of lower routine health care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic, AIS Health reported.

On Jan. 4, Centene Corp. revealed that it struck a deal to purchase Magellan Health, Inc. for $2.2 billion, a transaction that promises to augment the insurer's existing behavioral health, specialty health care and pharmacy management assets. Two days later, UnitedHealth Group said it plans to purchase the technology company Change Healthcare for approximately $13 billion in a deal that will bolster its analytics and advisory arm, OptumInsight.

Building on previously finalized regulations aimed at advancing data interoperability in health care, CMS on Dec. 10 proposed a new rule that would require certain health plans to make their prior authorization processes more efficient and share even more data with providers and patients, AIS Health reported.

If finalized, the rule would apply only to managed care Medicaid and CHIP plans, fee-for-service Medicaid and CHIP plans, and Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) on the federally facilitated exchanges.

In its latest quarterly Drug Pipeline Insights Report, OptumRx includes a diverse array of medications that the UnitedHealth Group-owned PBM believes are likely to make a market impact when they're approved by the FDA, AIS Health reported. One interesting trend that applies to three of the five highlighted drugs is the fact that each is the first oral option in its respective category.

While oral medications tend to be thought of as more convenient than injectable or IV-administered therapies, that factor alone may not confer as much of a competitive advantage as one might think, according to one OptumRx executive.

With FDA issuing emergency use authorization to the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech last week and Moderna Inc.'s offering not far behind, in the coming months there will undoubtedly be a variety of vaccines being administered to Americans, AIS Health reported. But who will be paying for them?

"In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a very simple take-home message, which is that no one going to get the vaccine will be charged for the vaccine or its administration, no matter what type of insurance they have, or whether they have insurance at all," Karyn Schwartz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), said during a Dec. 3 web briefing.

Amazon.com, Inc. made a splash in the health care world on Nov. 17 when the online retail powerhouse unveiled new pharmacy offerings that aim to disrupt the prescription drug market with increased convenience and savings, AIS Health reported.

In addition to setting up its own online pharmacy, Amazon is partnering with one of the three largest PBMs — Cigna Corp.'s Express Scripts — to offer a prescription-savings benefit that will be available to Amazon Prime members. "It can be used for discounts up to 80% off generic and 40% off brand name medications at over 50,000 participating pharmacies nationwide," according to a press release.