Author: Scott Welch
States may be getting ready to crack down even harder on pharmacy benefit managers. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners will be giving member regulators a crash course on PBM policy next week in Denver, at the NAIC’s fall national meeting. PBMs help health insurers and self-insured employer health plans cover prescription drugs. One NAIC ...
Cigna Group (CI.N), opens new tab said on Monday it is not pursuing a combination with rival health insurer Humana (HUM.N), opens new tab, days after Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president raised investor hopes that any merger would face far less antitrust scrutiny. Humana shares rose after Tuesday’s election as investors bet on an easier antitrust review ...
The overall number of Americans without health insurance dropped by 8.2 million from 2019 to 2023. These findings are included in a new report by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The findings are featured in the report, “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 2023.” It ...
Everyone agrees primary care is crucial to a functioning healthcare ecosystem and to a healthy society. Being able to deliver preventive care and intervene early saves lives and downstream costs. But it is just not working as well as it should be, according to providers. A panel* of primary care experts considered the drawbacks of ...
Just a few minutes a day could make a big difference in your blood pressure, according to a new study published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers at University College London (UCL) and the University of Sydney evaluated how small bursts of exercise impacted people’s blood pressure. A total of 14,761 participants ...
Nov. 5, 2024, is here. Voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the presidential election, shaping the course of health policy for the next four years. Here is how the two contenders may approach key health issues.
Healthcare policy remains a highly partisan issue. But ICHRAs — built off President Obama's 21st Century Cures Act but expanded by President Trump — is reliably bipartisan. It's worth examining how these candidates and their party platforms might influence the ICHRA market going forward.
The election’s outcome could alter the very nature of the nearly 60-year-old federal program. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are already enrolled in plans, called Medicare Advantage, run by commercial insurers.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires fully insured Small Group medical plans to offer an annual one-month Special Open Enrollment (SOE) Window. This period, which runs from November 15 to December 15 annually, allows eligible Small Group employers to enroll in medical coverage without needing to meet the usual contribution or participation requirements. Group coverage obtained during the SOE ...
Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed an Assembly bill opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce that would have harmed access to health care by cutting off needed private funding for health care providers. The bill, AB 3129 (Wood; D-Santa Rosa), would have required private investors to obtain the consent of the California Attorney General before acquiring ...