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.
When Congress allowed covid-era subsidies for health insurance to expire, California used its own funds to offset the hike in Obamacare premium costs for residents with low incomes. But the reach has been limited. As Gov. Gavin Newsom negotiates his last budget with the legislature, the Democrat wants to offer financial help to more than ...
Health plans expect the cost of treating patients to climb in 2027, projecting the highest medical cost trend in nearly two decades with a 9% rise in commercial health costs, according to a new analysis from PwC. Payers are pointing the finger at several inflationary factors, including the increasing use of artificial intelligence tools by ...
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are growing faster than inflation, and the U.S. spends significantly more than other comparable nations on healthcare. And according to one healthcare executive, this is unsustainable. “The healthcare system is bankrupting and failing us. It requires systemic reform, and it’s not going to come from inside the industry,” said Paul Markovich, president ...
Dive Brief: A federal judge has struck down key provisions in a CMS rule overhauling the Affordable Care Act, in a setback for the Trump administration’s push to combat fraud that critics argue is a smokescreen for weakening the exchanges set up by the Obama-era law. On Friday, Judge Brendan Hurson of the Maryland District Court vacated ...
The Affordable Care Act seems to always be in a policy tug-of-war as its backers and critics spar over how it should work and who can qualify for coverage. This year is no different, with the Trump administration embracing standards it says will reduce fraud as well as steps that could further erode national enrollment. ...
Members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted 34-28 Tuesday to support an appropriations bill that could take $1.9 billion in funding away from HealthCare.gov operations. The bill would also take away any cash in the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, which supports the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. PCORI is supposed to use user ...
Rising health care costs have climbed from the sixth-largest employer concern in 2021 to the top concern in 2026, according to a new report from benefits platform Espresa, underscoring the growing pressure organizations face as prescription drug spending continues to accelerate. The company’s 2026 Lifestyle Spending Account Benchmark and Trends Report found that 64% of ...
Nevada hospitals and health clinics say drug manufacturers are restricting the number of pharmacies in the state that can participate in a federal discount drug program. The limitations put in place by drug companies make it harder for patients to refill prescriptions at reduced rates, and they affect a revenue stream hospitals rely on to ...
The Trump administration has warned more than 500 hospitals that they are failing to provide the public with basic pricing information — arguing that the lack of disclosure is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be. The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe ...
Newly released state enrollment data show ObamaCare coverage losses could be even more severe than initially anticipated, due to Congress’s unwillingness to renew enhanced subsidies. Monthly enrollment data through April from Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York showed a significant number of people canceled their coverage or did not pay their premium bills after signing up for coverage in 2026, according to an analysis from Georgetown University. Federal officials have so far only released data ...