Month: September 2025
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%, ...
The average rate increase is expected to be higher in Riverside and San Bernardino counties compared to most of the state.
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...
President appears divided between RFK Jr. and detractors, despite clear evidence favoring vaccines
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 ...
Prior authorization is similar to how private insurers operate, often resulting in a delay or denial of treatments
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. ...