Trending News Today: Aetna-Humana Merger Trial Date Set

In-home caregivers who underwent an intensive training program were taught CPR, first aid, infection control, medications, chronic diseases, and more. Low-income, elderly and disabled Californians these caregivers take care of were less likely to be hospitalized or visit the emergency department, according to Kaiser Health News. The caregivers included were mostly relatives of the patients, and were paid by the state for providing care.

Certain insurance company rules can make it difficult to receive and maintain treatment for opioid use disorder. For treatment with suboxone, some insurers require prior authorization for the drug before they can fill the prescription, Kaiser Health News reported. This adds additional work for physicians, and can potentially cause relapse.

The Aetna-Humana merger trial has been set by US District Judge John Bates on December 5 of this year. This is particularly concerning to Aetna, because the merger contract has a December 31, 2016 deadline. Humana could walk away from the deal with a $1 billion fee, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, the US Justice Department stated that nothing was preventing an extension of their agreement and an earlier date would not be feasible.