Author: Scott Welch
Claim: California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state had an estimated $76 billion budget surplus when he introduced his May budget revision last week. But on Monday, the Legislative Analyst’s Office released a report that estimated the surplus at $38 billion, much lower than the administration’s figure. The difference in estimates led his critics on social media to ...
In the wake of Haven — the much-touted employer-sponsored health care joint venture that paired Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway before disbanding in January — JPMorgan Chase has launched Morgan Health. The new business unit will focus on improving the quality, efficiency, and equity of employer-sponsored health care, the company says, and plans call for Morgan ...
Employers and their workers have hundreds of billions of dollars at stake in the fight over House Democrats’ drug pricing bill, according to a new West Health Policy Center analysis. Why it matters: If anyone has the political clout to take on the drug industry, it’s employers. By the numbers: The House bill could reduce employer health spending by ...
A group of insurers and brokers has created a new advocacy group aimed at preserving health reimbursement arrangements that could be targeted by the Biden administration. The new HRA Council, launched Friday, will serve as a nonpartisan advocacy group aimed at raising awareness about individual and small employer HRAs, which allow employers to subsidize their ...
President Biden proposed lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 during the presidential campaign and reiterated his support recently, with the goal of broadening coverage and making health coverage affordable for older adults. Proposals to lower the age of Medicare, either to 60 or a younger age, may be considered by Congress. One KFF analysis shows ...
Covid-19 is opening the door for researchers to address a problem that has vexed the medical community for decades: the overtreatment and unnecessary treatment of patients. On one hand, the pandemic caused major health setbacks for non-covid patients who were forced to, or chose to, avoid tests and treatments for various illnesses. On the other hand, in ...
Many of the companies with the largest number of employees say they’ll do almost anything to encourage their employees to get vaccinated. But a survey of some of them found that none would be inclined to mandate shots as a condition for holding a job. Almost all 15 companies surveyed — among the largest and ...
Among the proposals in President Joe Biden’s recently announced American Families Plan is an indefinite extension of the expanded Obamacare subsidies originally passed in March as part of the administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. If that weren’t already enough good news on the health care front, private insurance companies are also expected to dole out $2.1 ...
Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away from others in most settings, whether outdoors or indoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated public health guidance released Thursday.
California announced Monday it’ll continue requiring almost everyone — including fully vaccinated individuals — to wear masks in most indoor settings until June 15, bucking the trend of other states across the nation that are quickly adopting looser guidelines released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.