Author: Scott Welch
The pace of vaccinations in California has declined for the first time in weeks, mirroring a national trend that has experts worried about slowing demand for the life-saving vaccine. On average last week, just over 360,000 doses were administered daily across California, an 8% drop from mid-April when the seven-day average peaked at about 391,000 ...
Large employers are asking Congress to make it easier for health savings account (HSA) holders to get some mental health care for no or low cost, before they meet their deductibles. During a live-streamed House Education and Labor health subcommittee hearing on behavioral and mental health care access, James Gelfand, a senior vice president for health ...
More employers and healthcare payers are carving out their pharmacy benefit management as they seek more transparency, business groups said. Health plans typically administer pharmacy benefit services internally or contract pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate rebates and discounts with drug manufacturers and pocket an undisclosed share. More employers and payers are contracting directly with PBMs, ...
CHOICE Administrators announced the addition of Cigna + Oscar to the CaliforniaChoice multi-carrier private health insurance exchange. With coverage from Cigna + Oscar available effective July 1, 2021, small business employees now have more than 120 plan options available and 20 different networks in the CaliforniaChoice program.
The federal government is preparing to open two new industry-specific small-business relief programs, one of them months in the works, as its signature pandemic aid effort, the Paycheck Protection Program, nears its end.
Ride-sharing company Lyft is letting patients schedule nonemergency medical transport (NEMT) on health organization's dime with the launch of Lyft Pass for Healthcare.
As members of Congress decide how to expand access to telehealth after the pandemic, one of the biggest questions has centered around how much Medicare providers should be paid for virtual care.
Store shelves at pharmacies across the county will soon be filled with affordable, quick, at-home coronavirus test kits. BinaxNOW, a rapid COVID test made by Abbott Laboratories, was shipped Monday to major pharmaceutical chains, including Walgreens, CVS and Walmart, to be sold over the counter.
A relatively small share of drugs made up the majority of Medicare drug spending, according to a new analysis that gives an idea of how drug price negotiations could impact overall spending. The analysis, released Monday from the Kaiser Family Foundation, examined the top drugs for both Medicare Part D and Part B. The costliest drugs ...
Employment in the U.S. healthcare industry has dropped by 44,000 jobs over the course of the first quarter of 2021, according to reports from nonprofit healthcare research and consulting group Altarum. These job losses came alongside continued spending growth recovery and increases in overall healthcare prices. Modest employment gains in February and March were unable to ...