Big Health Insurers Exceed Wall Expectations

All six of the major health insurers topped Wall Street expectations in the second quarter as the industry distanced itself from turmoil in Washington. Cigna Corp. was the final insurer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to report on Friday. Its earnings came in higher than analysts anticipated and the company raisedits profit outlook for the year. For-profit ...

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Martin Shkreli Found Guilty of Fraud

Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO notorious for a price-gouging scandal and for his snide "Pharma Bro" persona on social media, was convicted Friday on federal charges that he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds.

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Want a Better Obamacare Rate? You May Have to Call the Movers

Under preliminary Obamacare rates announced by Covered California, premiums on exchange plans will rise by an average of 5.7 percent in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties. That’s less than half of the statewide average of 12.5 percent, and consumers could virtually avoid an increase altogether if they shop around.

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Medicare Advantage: Perfect Insurer Profit Center

Big insurers have retreated from Obamacare’s individual market, where fighting over the future of the health law has contributed to financial losses. They’re focusing instead on Medicare Advantage, a politically popular program that’s being embraced by a growing population of older Americans.

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Behind Kaiser’s $1 Billion Quarterly Operating Gain, and How it Might Repeat It

After all, the Oakland, Calif.-based hospital and managed-care giant is swimming against the same national trends that dented the earnings of investor-owned hospital chains in the second quarter.

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Covered California Individual Rates Increase 12.5%, Anthem Pulls Out Of Regions

Covered California on Tuesday announced that health insurance rates on the state’s health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act will increase by an average rate of 12.5 percent for 2018 plans.

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Benefits in Brief: Deadlines and ACA Guidance for the New Plan Year

Administering a health and welfare benefit plan means keeping up with deadlines, and that can be a challenge. It also means planning well in advance for each new plan year and open enrollment period--and for employers with calendar year plans, that work is now underway. This newsletter highlights some deadlines and regulatory guidance available to assist employers and benefit professionals with these tasks.

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Why Obamacare Is More Secure in California Than In Other States

Obamacare remains the law of the land, for now, perhaps nowhere more securely than in California.

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Single-Payer Supporters Launch Recall Against Rendon

When Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) halted a measure to establish single-payer healthcare in California, the bill's most dedicated backers immediately called for him to be removed from office.

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Senate GOP Sees No Path On Health Care, Despite Trump Prods

The Senate's top Democrat accused President Donald Trump on Tuesday of childish behavior by threatening to halt federal payments that help millions afford health coverage, saying such a move would impose a "Trump premium tax" by forcing consumers' insurance costs upward.

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