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.
Employers and benefits advisors could use a new database to find places where kidney care or diabetes care costs a lot more than it should.
In 2023, U.S. health expenditures surged by 7.5%, reaching $4.9 trillion, or an average of $14,570 per person, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The Trump administration has tasked two top political appointees with monitoring the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to key systems inside the health agency responsible for managing Medicare and Medicaid, according to internal emails obtained by POLITICO. The appointees, Kim Brandt and John Brooks, are leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ “collaboration” with ...
A lawmaker has brought back a frequently introduced bill that could help workers use their health savings accounts to pay for direct primary care — and this time it might have a decent chance to become law. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., has introduced a version of the Primary Care Enhancement Act for the 119th Congress. Workers can ...
Here is an overview of updates from our California carrier, health plan, and administrator partners. For details, click on the related link (if any). Bonus Updates Health Net 2025 Large Group Incentive: Health Net brokers can earn 2% of paid premiums for 12 months for each new Large Group employer sold. Download the Health Net flyer ...
The fate of a Biden-era rule that would keep medical debt from consumers’ credit reports is up in the air amid reported stoppages within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the new administration’s broader hold on recently finalized regulations. Jan. 7, the bureau issued a final rule on consumer protection, which also prohibits lenders from considering ...
One in four respondents selected health care access as their highest priority for public health.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to prescribe medications to patients — if a new bill makes its way through Congress. The proposed legislationopens in a new tab or window, sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify that AI and machine learning technologies can qualify as ...
The past year was a step in the right direction for the hospital industry as outpatient revenue and below-inflation expense increases fueled a 9% year-over-year increase in 12-month operating margins. The new numbers from advisory firm Kaufman Hall run through December and reflect operating data from 1,300 hospitals nationwide as collected by Strata. Those hospitals ...
Insurers are working harder to sell dental plans and other benefits to small and midsize U.S. employers. Amy Friedrich, president of Principal Financial’s benefits and protection business, talked about the shift last week. Friedrich said competition intensified for all of the products Principal offers through its specialty benefits division, including group life, group vision and ...