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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.

Medical Stop-Loss Premiums Rise 11.5% For Self-Funded Plans

Expensive specialty drugs and ordinary severe claims are pushing the cost of protecting a self-funded employer health plan against catastrophic risk higher.

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Misleading Ads Play Key Role in Schemes to Gin Up Unauthorized ACA Sign-Ups, Lawsuit Alleges

The government is giving away money! So say ads on a variety of social media platforms. Consumers, the ads claim, can qualify for $1,400 or even $6,400 a month to use on groceries, rent, medical expenses, and other bills. Some mention no-cost health insurance coverage. But that’s not the whole story. And here’s the spoiler — no one ...

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Why Millions Are Trying FDA-Authorized Alternatives to Big Pharma’s Weight Loss Drugs

Pharmacist Mark Mikhael has lost 50 pounds over the past 12 months. He no longer has diabetes and finds himself “at my ideal body weight,” with his cholesterol below 200 for the first time in 20 years. “I feel fantastic,” he said. Like millions of others, Mikhael credits the new class of weight loss drugs. ...

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Drug Middlemen Are Pushing Patients To Pay For More Expensive Drugs, House Investigation Found

Pharmacy-benefit managers (PBMs) are steering patients toward more expensive drugs and limiting where they can get them, according to a new report from the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The report, viewed by the Wall Street Journal, followed a 32-month investigation by the committee ahead of a hearing on PBMs involving executives from the nation’s largest ...

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Health System’s Tech Vulnerabilities Exposed Again

The CrowdStrike internet meltdown that wrecked havoc with some health systems’ procedures and billing on Friday could be a harbinger of future threats and disruptions to medical facilities, experts said. Why it matters: The U.S. health system is still dealing with fallout from the massive Change Healthcare ransomware attack and other incidents that have underscored the sector’s reliance on a few key ...

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U.S. News Releases 2024-2025 Best Hospitals Rankings, Adds MA, Outpatient Outcomes To Methodology

U.S. News & World Report is out with its latest ranking of the country’s best hospitals, this time with the addition of data on Medicare Advantage-covered patients and much more outpatient care encounters than in years past. The closely watched 2024-2025 list, which reviews data for over 4,500 of the nation’s hospitals, designates 466 of these ...

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Word & Brown Senior Director of Education Paul Roberts Named to NABIP’s National Legislative Council, Re-elected to CAHIP Board of...

Word & Brown General Agency Senior Director of Education and Market Development Paul Roberts, REBC, has been selected to join the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) 2024-2025 National Legislative Council.

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How Chevron’s Demise Could Impact Employers, Purchasers And Health Payers

Healthcare legal observers are still reacting to the Supreme Court’s recent decision to gut the Chevron doctrine, fundamentally altering the power federal agencies have to handle regulations as they find appropriate. While the aftermath of the decision will likely play out in the months and years to come, many are keeping an eye out for ...

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Attorneys General File Amicus Brief Supporting Oregon’s Drug Price Transparency Law

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has led 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the case of Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America v. Stolfi, advocating for laws that enhance drug price transparency. The brief, submitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, supports Oregon’s House Bill 4005, which mandates pharmaceutical manufacturers to ...

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Feds Tackle Dialysis Giants With Antitrust Probe

The Federal Trade Commission investigation of DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care follows years of consolidation in the dialysis industry.

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