Author: Scott Welch
Benefits advisors and self-funded clients are entering a challenging renewal season. “Stop-loss premium increases in 2026 are likely to be the biggest in recent memory, and it’s because of increasingly frequent and severe high-dollar claims,” Richard Fleder, a longtime investor and executive in the self-funded space, recently told me. The stop-loss market grew to $35.4 ...
Beetroot juice, which is rich in nitrates, has been linked to changing the community of bacteria living in the mouth. Now, a new study has found that drinking this juice could reduce older adults’ blood pressure. Researchers at the University of Exeter compared the response of both younger and older participants to the juice and published the ...
A federal judge has blocked multiple provisions of the Trump administration’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) overhaul from taking effect Monday as scheduled. The plaintiffs, including multiple large cities like Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, as well as organizations like the Main Street Alliance, sued in an attempt to block the regulations in early July, arguing they could ...
In its new national campaign—titled "Health Insurance is Broken"—a television advertisement shows Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees struggling with the sign-up process, facing coverage denials due to unexpected changes and running into issues with prior authorization.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will seek external experts for a new committee tasked with providing strategic guidance on the care provided by government insurance programs. The HHS announced Thursday that the Healthcare Advisory Committee will offer recommendations to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet ...
US President Donald Trump has backed down from setting high tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors imported from the European Union. Last month, Trump said pharmaceuticals and semiconductors were not covered by the US and EU’s handshake trade deal – meaning those sectors could have faced tariffs rates of 250% and 100% respectively. But according to new details ...
Employers and benefits advisors are facing a growing challenge: How to offer access to these high-demand, life-changing therapies without undermining the financial sustainability of their health plans.
Willows, Calif.-based Glenn Medical Center plans to close its emergency department, with the hospital closing shortly after, following CMS’ plan to revoke its critical access hospital designation, effective Oct. 21. “We are absolutely heartbroken to have to make this decision,” Lauren Still, GMC hospital administrator, said in an Aug. 22 news release shared with Becker’s. “Our ...
As a late-summer COVID-19 spike sweeps across the Bay Area, health experts warn that access to vaccines this fall will be clouded by confusion — and some believe that is intentional. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to restrict eligibility for the updated 2025–26 vaccines to adults 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions. Millions of Americans who ...
Teams spend months preparing for open enrollment (OE), fine-tuning every detail to ensure a smooth rollout. When new plans are on the table, those months are often consumed with finalizing details and building them into the benefits platform. Yet one critical piece is often overlooked: how these plans will be communicated to employees. The success ...