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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.

About 800,000 Nurses Planning to Leave the Profession by 2027, Data Show

Nearly 100,000 registered nurses were estimated to have left the field during the COVID-19 pandemic and almost 800,000 intend to follow them out by 2027, according to a survey analysis released Thursday by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Responses to the poll of more than 50,000 nurses suggest a net nursing ...

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Electronic Health Records Rule Sets Up “Bridge to Nowhere” Insurers Say

A Biden administration effort stemming from the 21st Century Cures Act to make health data sharing more transparent is facing pushback from health insurers. Why it matters: The rule from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology aims to get providers and payers to share patient health information in a more seamless way. But health ...

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A Majority Of Payers Used Outcomes-Based Contracting Last Year: Survey

A majority of payers are using outcomes-based contracts for drugs, according to a recent analysis from Avalere. The researchers surveyed 46 health plans based in the U.S. and found that 58% had at least one outcomes-based contract in place in the 2022 plan year. More than a third (35%) said they had at least 10 such contracts ...

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Employee Navigator Announces Acquisition of Ease

Employee Navigator, the leading benefits administration and HR software solution for insurance brokers and employers, today announced the acquisition of Ease, the leading broker centric HR and benefits software solution for small businesses.

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U.S. Patients Blindsided By Telehealth Appointments That Charge A Facility Fee

U.S. patients are being blindsided by telehealth costs and many are facing facility fees even though they haven't stepped foot in a hospital or physician's office, The Washington Post reported April 1.

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WTW Expert: How Employers Can Protect Themselves Against Rising Healthcare Costs

Last June, the major tracker of inflation—the Consumer Price Index—hit 9.1% but has been receding ever since. Employers should be aware that the healthcare industry will not see a similar reduction in prices and, in fact, should expect costs to rise substantially, according to an expert at Willis Towers Watson. Tim Stawicki, a WTW senior ...

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Moderna Says It Hopes To Offer New Vaccines For Cancer, Heart Disease, And Other Conditions By 2030

Moderna hopes to offer a new set of life-saving vaccines targeting cancer, heart disease and other conditions by 2030, a spokesperson for the company told CNBC on Monday. The spokesperson confirmed remarks Moderna’s chief medical officer, Dr. Paul Burton, made to the Guardian on Saturday. Burton said he’s confident those jabs will be ready by the end of the ...

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Six In 10 Consumers With Private Insurance Use No-Cost Preventive Services

About 60% of the 173 million people enrolled in private health coverage used at least one of the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost preventive services in 2018 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, about 100 million people receive preventive services with no patient cost sharing in a typical year.

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Are PBMs To Blame For The High Cost Of Prescription Drugs?

The two political parties cannot seem to agree on many things these days, but members of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday agreed on a common enemy: Pharmacy benefit managers. This was the second committee hearing in two months to discuss PBM business practices. In February, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the Pharmacy ...

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Hospitals Likelier To Offer Discounts To Patients Who Pay Cash

Hospitals routinely charge less to patients who pay in cash and seek to recoup the difference from commercially insured patients in markets where they can exert leverage, according to a new Johns Hopkins study published in Health Affairs. Why it matters: The analysis for 70 services — drawn from data reported by 2,379 hospitals as of September 2022 ...

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