Month: August 2026
California is weighing stiff penalties for hospitals and other healthcare entities that don’t stay under state spending limits, potentially levying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if these providers don’t take steps to rein in rising healthcare costs. If the state Office of Health Care Affordability adopts the fines next week, hospitals, medical groups, ...
The ongoing debate over the U.S. health system shouldn’t be based on whether the government or the private sector is the dominant player, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban said this week. The bigger issue, he said, is whether the system’s participants are transparent about what they charge and what they pay. “I’m not opposed to single-payer ...
Jane Kim, backed by Bernie Sanders, could ride the progressive wave. Ben Allen has the CA Democratic party’s endorsement for the insurance commissioner job.
Employer health care costs in the United States are projected to rise 9.5% in 2027, according to professional services firm Aon plc — pushing average costs above $19,000 per employee.
Healthcare cost increases have rapidly outpaced employee wages in recent years, and US employers are bracing for an even bigger price shock in 2027. According to a new survey from WTW, a benefits consulting firm, 471 US large employers are projecting healthcare costs will increase 9.7% in 2027. “We haven’t had such high increases in two ...
SCAN Group and retailer Costco are expanding their partnership by launching new co-branded Medicare products. The initial plans include a Medicare Advantage plan available in two states and Medicare supplement coverage in a third. The companies said the launch makes for Costco’s “first comprehensive partnership” with an MA plan. The partners plan to continue building ...
Each year brand drugmakers make tens of millions of dollars in payments to doctors – consulting fees, speaking honoraria, meals travel and more. How and why does this happen? A new analysis of disclosures from 10 of the largest brand drugmakers, contained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments data, shows ...
By the time Democrat Xavier Becerra left Washington, D.C., more Americans than ever had health insurance, owing partly to his work over the years to pass, defend, and expand the Affordable Care Act. It’s an achievement the former congressman and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services often touts as he campaigns for California governor against Republican Steve Hilton, a former ...
The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Erica Schwartz, said Wednesday the agency is prepared to handle a variety of disease outbreaks, despite internal concerns about drastic cuts to CDC staffing and programs. Schwartz made the remarks in an internal meeting with CDC staff members. NBC News reviewed a transcript of the ...
Three employer groups are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to let the insurers and employers involved in No Surprises Act claim disputes sue over what they believe to be outrageous awards. The groups — the American Benefits Council, the ERISA Industry Committee and the Business Group on Health — are urging the appeals ...