Month: December 2024
“As employers head into the new year, they face formidable challenges stemming from climbing health care costs, which are putting pressure on how employers manage their overall health and wellbeing programs," said Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health.
Members of state legislatures are looking for a way to regulate self-funded employer plans. The National Council of Insurance Legislators held a general session on the impact of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 on state health insurance regulation last month in San Antonio, during NCOIL’s annual meeting. Federal law leaves regulation of ...
Billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday weighed in on the cost of health care in the U.S., questioning the value Americans get for the coverage they receive. “Shouldn’t the American people be getting their money’s worth?” Musk, who was tapped to co-lead the incoming Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, replied to a post ...
Congressional Democrats have privately proposed a deal to Republicans that would extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies by one year, with lawmakers worried by new estimates that 2.2 million people will otherwise lose health coverage, according to five people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal. The move accompanied a broader ...
President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to disrupt the status quo in Washington. Adam Beck, a health benefits policy shaper, is hoping the new administration will make the current system more affordable without turning it upside down. Beck is senior vice president of commercial product and employer policy at America’s Health Insurance Plans, a health ...
The start of the new year brings renewed annual compliance responsibility for employers regarding their health plans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and COBRA. Staying informed and proactive in these areas is critical to avoid penalties and ensure compliance. Benefits advisors and insurance brokers play a vital role in helping employers navigate these annual complexities. ...
When it comes to voluntary benefits, the question remains: Should the employer foot the bill?
The much-anticipated launch of Blue Shield of California’s drug benefit venture with Amazon Pharmacy and the pharmacy benefit manager Abarca will debut in January, executives involved say. When the venture was first announced in August of last year, it sent the stocks of the nation’s largest managers of pharmacy benefits plummeting when Blue Shield confirmed it ...
You’re attuned to the importance of hydration—go a few days without water, and you’ll perish. Up to 60% of you is water, a substance critical to countless bodily functions from oxygen delivery and cell reproduction, to joint lubrication and temperature regulation. But aside from merely keeping you alive, water can improve key aspects of your health, new ...
Medicare Advantage insurers thrived under the first Trump administration, and it’s expected to happen again now that Trump is returning to the White House and Republicans are taking control of Congress.