Newsom Picks a Dogfight With Trump and RFK Jr. On Public Health

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national public health leader by staking out science-backed policies in contrast with the Trump administration. After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez for refusing what her lawyers called “the dangerous politicization of science,” Newsom hired her to ...

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‘Non-Network’ Health Plans See Opportunity In ACA Proposal

A proposal to remake the health insurance exchanges could open up a vast new market to emerging companies that sell health plans without provider networks. Cash-pay startups and reference-based pricing companies such as Sidecar Health and Imagine360 say they are ready to jump at the opportunity. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed ...

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TrumpRx.Gov Traffic Beats Competitors In First Month, Despite Limited Features

Publications like STAT are reporting that there’s a big gap between what the administration of President Donald Trump said about TrumpRx.gov before it launched and how the site really works. But early usage figures suggest that the site is still a force to be reckoned with. A review of web traffic data compiled by Similarweb shows that, in ...

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Anthem To Penalize California Hospitals For Out-Of-Network Doctors

Managers of Anthem Blue Cross think that in-network hospitals in California should use in-network physicians to treat health plan participants. The Elevance Health subsidiary announced earlier this week that it will impose a 10% payment penalty on some in-network hospitals and other health care facilities that bill patients for care provided by out-of-network doctors. “Participating facilities ...

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Dr. Oz Says Obamacare Enrollment May Be ‘Too High’

Even as the top official for Medicaid and Medicare claims millions may be falsely enrolled, the Trump administration is urging younger people to sign up for high-deductible ACA plans.

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Weight-Loss Jab Could Be Made For $3 A Month, Study Finds

Cheap semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, could help millions with diabetes and obesity in 160 countries

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Universal Health Services To Acquire Talkspace In $835M Deal To Build Out Virtual Behavioral Health

For-profit acute and behavioral hospital operator Universal Health Services is acquiring virtual behavioral care provider Talkspace, the companies announced on Monday. The definitive agreement would see Talkspace acquired for $5.25 per share. That translates to an enterprise value of about $835 million, according to the announcement. The deal is expected to close in Q3. UHS ...

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Nevada Debuts Public Option Amid Federal Health Care Shifts

More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada’s new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market. Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada ...

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Nevada Officials Want To Keep Childhood Vaccine Rules Intact After Feds Relax Them

Several health agencies have asked a state board to formally reject the Trump administration’s guidance, which made more shots optional for schoolchildren.

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GoodRx Launches Employer Program to Help Subsidize High-Cost Brand Drugs

GoodRx launched GoodRx Employer Direct, a program that allows employers to subsidize manufacturer-sponsored prices for high-cost brand medications like GLP-1s without adding them to their health insurance benefits.

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