Newsom Signs Compromise Law Raising The Limit On Medical Malpractice Damages

California's $250,000 limit on damages for pain and suffering caused by medical malpractice, a ceiling enacted by lawmakers in 1975 at the insistence of doctors and insurers, will be lifted next year.

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Cigna’s Evernorth, Kaiser Permanente Ink 5-Year Network Agreement

Cigna’s Evernorth and Kaiser Permanente have inked a multi-year network agreement that aims to drive greater convenience and affordability. The five-year collaboration will first center on enhancing access and convenience for Kaiser Permanente members by offering access to Cigna’s PPO network for emergency and urgent care outside of the health system’s service areas. Specialty pharmacy is ...

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Income Impacts How Employees Use HDHPs

Higher salary employees are more likely to seek regular preventive care, while low-income workers have higher emergency services utilization.

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Payers, Providers And States Likely Have More Time Until COVID-19 Health Emergency Ends

The healthcare industry likely has until this fall to face the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) as a key deadline came and went with no notice Monday. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promised to give states a 60-day notice when the PHE will end, giving a vital heads-up for ...

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AHIP Presses Congress, White House To Ramp Up Scrutiny Of Private Equity Provider Deals

Health insurance trade group AHIP is calling for the White House and Congress to increase scrutiny of private equity control of providers, which the group worries could impact quality and costs. The group earlier this week released letters sent to the White House and congressional leaders outlining parts of a new policy road map and priorities (PDF). ...

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For ACA Enrollees, How Much Premiums Rise Next Year is Mostly up to Congress

Health insurers are now submitting to state regulators proposed 2023 premiums for plans offered on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. Changes in these unsubsidized premiums attract a lot of attention, but what really matters most to the people buying coverage is how much they pay out of their own pockets. And the amount ACA ...

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Insurance Lobby Calls For Greater Oversight Of Private Equity Transactions

The health insurance industry wants politicians to demand more transparency from private capital healthcare deals and increase oversight from health system consolidation, trade group AHIP wrote in letters to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders on Monday. AHIP describes policies that it believes will improve competition in the healthcare system and reduce costs. “In too ...

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New Covered California Leader Urges Renewal of Enhanced Federal Aid for Health Premiums

When she was Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner, Jessica Altman, the appointee of a Democratic governor, often bumped against the political limits of health care policy in a state where Republicans controlled the legislature. Despite the constraints of a divided government, Altman played a key role in persuading lawmakers in 2019 to join Gov. Tom Wolf in passing ...

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Report: US Plant Closure Portends Drug Shortages—Some Critical

In its first analysis, the newly formed End Drug Shortages Alliance (EDSA) warns that the recent shuttering of a troubled Teva Pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant in Irvine, California, could affect the availability of 24 generic sterile injectable drugs, including 5 essential medications for which the company had an over 15% market share. The Israel-based, multinational Teva, one ...

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Anthem Shareholders OK Rebrand As Elevance Health

Anthem’s shareholders have signed off on the insurer’s corporate rebrand as Elevance Health. With the shareholder approval, Anthem will commemorate the name change on June 28 by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange before trading under the new ticker ELV, the company said in an announcement. “The result of today’s vote reflects the shareholders’ ...

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