Author: Scott Welch
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he secured significant concessions from the Trump administration on vaccine safety that led to his vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Cassidy voted with all other Finance Committee Republicans on Tuesday to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the floor. ...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, moved closer to securing the job on Tuesday, winning approval from a key Republican senator and a recommendation from the Finance Committee to advance him to a full Senate vote as soon as this week. The Republican-led committee voted 14-13 along party lines with ...
A November 2024 proposal by the Biden administration that would allow Medicare and require Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) to provide coverage for weight loss drugs could be in jeopardy. Until now, Medicare has been prohibited from paying for weight loss medications unless they are prescribed for treatment of diabetes or to manage a patient’s increased ...
Stop-loss insurance costs spiked at Cigna in the fourth quarter, and that will lead to price increases for employers renewing their coverage. Company executives talked about the coming wave of stop-loss increases Thursday, during a conference call with securities analysts. Brian Evanko, the company’s chief financial officer, said the main drivers of the spike were ...
Double-digit tariffs, if they take effect as proposed, threaten to escalate healthcare costs, disrupt supply chains and create affordability challenges for patients, healthcare executives say. President Donald Trump on Saturday signed executive orders intending to impose sweeping tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners. The Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico ...
Steadily rising costs and increased demand for personalization mean employers must keep a closer eye on the return on their benefits investments in the coming year. “As companies and HR teams navigate another year of workforce challenges, one truth remains: benefits can make or break your talent strategy,” according to the 2025 Annual Lifestyle Benefits ...
A federal appeals court and the Federal Communications Commission, in one of its first actions under the new presidential administration, have handed down major decisions that many in the insurance industry may see as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the decisions give new freedom to insurance companies, agencies, quote-comparison sites and others that ...
Members of the health benefits policy-shaping committees in Congress are talking about encouraging bipartisanship.
In an unprecedented collaboration, three leading California health plans — Aetna, Blue Shield of California and Health Net — have united to co-implement a shared value-based payment model under the California Advanced Primary Care Initiative’s Payment Model Demonstration Project. Led by the California Quality Collaborative (CQC) and the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), the new payment model will span 11 provider ...
Shannon Sharpe was having one of those 15-minutes-of-internet-infamy moments. Social media blew up in September after the retired Denver Broncos tight end — accidentally, he later said — broadcast some of his intimate activities online. One of his sponsors took advantage of the moment: the telehealth company Ro, which sells a variety of prescription medicines ...