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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.

IRS Issues New Tax Deductibility Limits for Long-Term Care Insurance

Traditional tax-qualified long-term care insurance policies now have new tax deductibility limits, according to the IRS.

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FDA Says it Will Overhaul Criticized Medical Device System

U.S. health officials said Monday they plan to overhaul the nation’s decades-old system for approving most medical devices, which has long been criticized by experts for failing to catch problems with risky implants and related products.

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With Federal Public Charge Rule Pending, California Braces For Possible Medi-Cal Exodus

A draft Trump administration rule that would penalize immigrants seeking green cards for accessing social services — including Medicaid — could cause thousands of kids to lose their health insurance, some advocates fear.

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HealthCare.gov Application Activity Improves

HealthCare.gov signup activity continued to improve during the third week of the open enrollment period for individual major medical coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2019. Managers of the Affordable Care Act public exchange enrollment and administration system report that 748,244 households selected plans during the third week of the 2019 open enrollment period, which ended Nov. 17.

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ObamaCare Enrollment Down Compared to Last Year

Fewer people are signing up for ObamaCare plans this year compared to a similar period last year, according to data released Wednesday by the Trump administration. 

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House Democrats Target DOJ Decision Not to Defend Obamacare

Democrats will scrutinize the Trump administration’s decision not to defend Obamacare in federal court, when Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year, a leading Democrat said on Monday.

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Commissioner Jones Issues Emergency Notice to Help Expedite Claims in California Fires

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today issued a notice to insurers requesting they agree to expediting claims handling for Camp and Woolsey wildfire survivors in order to help them begin the recovery and rebuilding process more quickly.

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Incoming Dem Chairman: Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices is a Priority

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), who is slated to be the next chairman of a House committee overseeing drug prices, said Wednesday that his top priorities on the issue are allowing Medicare to negotiate prices and speeding the approval of cheaper generic drugs.

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Lower Drug Prices Get an Assist From a Big Player

Express Scripts Holding Co. and other pharmacy-benefit managers make money by negotiating drug prices on behalf of health-plan providers. The list prices that pharmaceutical companies set for their drugs diverge wildly from their real cost, and PBMs widen and feast on the gap, which helps make them some of the principal beneficiaries of America’s byzantine pricing system.

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Buyers Of Short-Term Health Plans: Wise Or Shortsighted?

Supporters of the nation’s health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them.

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