Month: July 2026
The state’s economy started 2026 as the nation’s No. 2 performer – its highest ranking among U.S. states for business growth in just over a dozen years. That bit of Golden State economic sparkle was discovered by my trusty spreadsheet in its review of state-by-state gross domestic product figures for the first quarter from the U.S. Bureau ...
A new report suggests small businesses are losing talented employees because management isn’t offering benefits that actually fit workers’ needs and priorities. “Today’s workforce needs aren’t one-size-fits-all anymore, but many small businesses still feel forced into one-size-fits-all benefits,” according to the “Small Business ‘Bene-Fit’ Gap Report” from Justworks, a cloud-based HR and payroll platform for ...
With midterm elections now less than four months away, cost tops the list of voters’ health care concerns, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll found. Half of all voters, including 6 in 10 Democrats and 55% of independents, said this issue is extremely important for candidates to talk about. At the same time, more than ...
As the Trump administration’s January deadline looms for states to enforce new Medicaid work requirements, some state lawmakers are turning the tables by pushing to publicly name the largest companies that have employees enrolled in the government program covering low-income and disabled people. California lawmakers seek to revive an expired law that would require the state to ...
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Maryland temporarily blocked several provisions of a recently finalized rule that would change Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces beginning July 20. The lawsuit was filed in June by a group of municipalities: Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; Baltimore and Pima County, Arizona—as well as Doctors for America and the Main Street Alliance. ...
Industry giant UnitedHealthcare is adding its voice to the chorus of insurers criticizing the current state of the No Surprises Act’s independent dispute resolution process. During the company’s earnings call on Thursday morning, company executives pointed to IDR as a drag on its commercial business. Dan Kueter, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual, said during ...
The Trump administration proposed major changes to Medicare payment policies that will block third-party vendors from remote patient monitoring. The changes, health tech leaders say, will significantly disrupt services that help patients manage conditions like diabetes and hypertension. The policy change, tucked inside a hefty Medicare physician pay draft rule released this week, marks a shift with ...
One year after the Trump administration announced that dozens of health insurers had signed a six-part pledge promising to reduce barriers to doctor-recommended care, some insurers now say they won’t implement all the promised initiatives. Meanwhile, patients, their advocates, and clinicians say little has improved. “It has never been this bad for patients,” said U.S. Rep. Greg ...
Did the Food and Drug Administration really walk back its recall of Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce? Can I eat romaine instead? And what can I do if I want to eat my favorite foods from Taco Bell? As a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis continues, many people are confused about the investigation into the source of ...
In 2021, the California Assembly introduced a new bill, AB 1400, which – if passed – would have eliminated health care in California, as we know it today. Instead, all health care in California would be provided by one new “Single Payer” system called “CalCare” – with no other options for Californians. The move would have eliminated all existing ...