Pharmacy Costs Drive Health Care Trend To Nearly 10%

Accurate trend projections are critical for effective renewal planning and budget forecasting, and according to HUB International’s 2026 Trend study, health care costs will only continue to rise throughout 2026. Key regional observations for 2025 reveal that the east region consistently shows the highest medical trends across all plan types, with Med/Rx combined at 10.04%, ...

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Covered CA Price Spikes In 2026: Inland Empire Projected To Be Hit Hard

The average rate increase is expected to be higher in Riverside and San Bernardino counties compared to most of the state.

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Setting the Record Straight: Separating Fact from Fiction on Health Insurance Marketplace Fraud

The Paragon Health Institute has published a series of new reports once again alleging large-scale “fraud” in health care. This time their target is enrollment in the Insurance Marketplace. They then use these allegations as rationale for a set of policy recommendations, including allowing the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of ...

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Gutting Medi-Cal’s Weight Loss Drug Coverage Will Cost California More In The Long Run

Under the new budget signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Medi-Cal — the state’s Medicaid program — would no longer cover weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, unless they’re prescribed to treat diabetes. The measure is intended to promote fiscal responsibility.

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Employers Face Vaccine Coverage Chaos As FDA Sets New Rules For COVID Vaccines

For employers, covering COVID-19 shots and other vaccinations is now a lot more complicated. Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took vaccinations off the auto-pilot list Wednesday, by withdrawing emergency use rules for COVID vaccinations like Novavax’s Nuvaxovid vaccine and tightening access rules for other COVID vaccinations. A team at the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative says wastewater ...

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Study Suggests No Surprises Act Protections Are Reducing Patients’ Out-Of-Pocket Costs

While data released earlier this week raised questions about the administrative costs associated with No Surprises Act (NSA) arbitrations, a second study suggests the legislation is working to reduce out-of-pocket costs for members. Researchers at Harvard University and Mass General Brigham examined a sample of 17,351 privately insured adults, 8,204 of which lived in states that gained ...

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Trump Says CDC Is ‘Being Ripped Apart’ Over Covid Products, Calls For Drugmakers To Prove Their Benefits

President appears divided between RFK Jr. and detractors, despite clear evidence favoring vaccines

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Who Is Jim O’Neill, Trump’s New CDC Director

The White House quickly named a new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed out Director Susan Monarez this week. Jim O’Neill, a senior Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official with deep ties to President Trump donor Peter Thiel, will take over the agency amid ...

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New Medicare Pilot Under Trump Would Require Prior Approval

Prior authorization is similar to how private insurers operate, often resulting in a delay or denial of treatments

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Could GLP-1 Weight-Loss Medications Like Ozempic Become The ‘Everything Drug’?

GLP-1 agonists — including semaglutides like Ozempic and Wegovy and tirzepatides like Mounjaro and Zepbound — were originally intended to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. But in recent months, studies have shown that these popular medications can have numerous other health benefits. Some have even claimed that GLP-1s could eventually become the new “everything drug.” Dr. ...

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