Author: Scott Welch
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday the new BA.2.86 lineage of coronavirus may be more capable than older variants in causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received vaccines. CDC said it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness ...
A major California health insurer is shaking up the prescription drug pricing system as it seeks to lower the cost of medication for its 4.8 million members.
Bipartisan legislation aims to get more Americans into high-deductible insurance, but perils would remain.
Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very expensive medicines beginning in 2026 (an additional 15 in 2027 and 2028, with more added in later years).
Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent four years trying to overhaul how counties pay for mental health care, betting his reputation on making a dent on homelessness, substance abuse and mental health problems.
Business leaders think that the spread of remote work has had more negative effects than positive ones, but they also see the practice becoming ingrained, according to a new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Roughly two-thirds of respondents said remote work had a negative impact in four areas: workplace culture, cohesiveness and team ...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires fully insured group health plans to spend a minimum percentage of premium dollars on members’ health care expenses and services. Likewise, it sets a threshold on the maximum amount of premium dollars that can be spent on other administrative costs, such as marketing, profits, salaries, agent commissions, etc. These ...
The Biden administration wants to crack down on private arrangements among some hospitals to reimburse themselves for taxes that help fund coverage for low-income people. It contends the practice violates federal law. Federal regulators say these arrangements “appear designed to” redirect Medicaid dollars away from facilities that treat the poorest patients to those that “provide ...
Minutes after Lainey Arebalo gave birth to her third child last September, hospital staff noticed her son was having trouble breathing. They recommended placing the infant in an ambulance so he could receive care at a better-equipped pediatric facility 23 miles away. Within days of receiving that extra care, Avebalo was able to bring her ...
The prices charged for drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are significantly higher in the U.S. when compared with other wealthy nations, with the list price being 10 times lower in some countries, according to a new analysis from KFF. As KFF’s analysis found, a one-month supply of Ozempic — which is indicated for diabetes ...