Industry Updates
This broad category includes articles concerning health insurance costs, carrier and health plan news, changing benefits technology, and surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others on employee benefits.
The U.S. Department of Justice is carrying out a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), opens new tab for possible Medicare fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. UnitedHealth said it had not been notified by the DOJ about the “supposed criminal investigation reported,” and the company stood by “the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program.” ...
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., demanded Tuesday that Congress move to stop insurance companies from owning pharmacy benefit managers. CVS Health owns Aetna and the Caremark PBM, Cigna owns Express Scripts and UnitedHealth owns Optum Rx. Juan Carlos Scott, chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a PBM group, said at a Senate Judiciary ...
The second-term governor faces a tough political decision: renege on his promise to achieve universal health care and strip coverage from millions of immigrants who lack legal status or look elsewhere for budget cuts.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee has released a hotly anticipated budget reconciliation bill that aims to thread the needle between policymakers who want to see Medicaid funding slashed and those who view steep cuts as a political flashpoint. The committee was tasked with cutting approximately $880 billion in federal outlays, and early estimates (PDF) from the Congressional Budget ...
Prescription drug spending in the United States rose by 10.2% last year, thanks in part to the popularity of GLP weight-loss drugs.
The Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, surpassed its target of finding $880 billion in savings to help pay for legislation to extend President Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In a brief letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), the CBO said the committee’s reconciliation ...
States and health insurers received new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) May 2 on how to prepare should Congress fund cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments or extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credit subsidies. One notice (PDF) suggests Congress could choose to appropriate funds toward CSR payments, which would be a ...
According to an AMA policy report on health spending trends, health care spending grew by 7.5% in 2023, significantly above growth rates of 4.6% in 2022, 4.2% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2019.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty will step down from his role at the top of the company due to personal reasons, the healthcare giant announced Tuesday morning. Stephen Hemsley, who previously held the CEO title from 2006 to 2017, will succeed him. The change is effective immediately, according to the announcement. Hemsley will also remain as ...
“We oppose taxing health benefits,” said Neil Trautwein, P4ESC’s Executive Director. “Policymakers will find how widely unpopular the idea will be with Americans with this type of coverage if they take this unwise step,” added Trautwein.