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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.

Retirement Security Rule: DOL Defines The New Role (And Limitations) Of A Fiduciary

According to the DOL, the new fiduciary rule levels the playing field for insurance agents, brokers, financial planners and registered investment advisors to adhere to a best interest standard when providing investment advice.

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Walmart To Shut All Health Clinics In US Over Lack Of Profitability

Walmart (WMT.N), said on Tuesday it will close all 51 of its health clinics and shut its virtual health care operations, saying it could not see it as a sustainable business model to continue.

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Final Prior Authorization Rules Look to Streamline the Process, but Issues Remain

As concerns continue to be raised about consumer barriers to care resulting from prior authorization requirements, the federal government issued a final regulation aimed at streamlining and automating the prior authorization process and improving transparency for certain payers.

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Biden Team’s Tightrope: Reining In Rogue Obamacare Agents Without Slowing Enrollment

President Joe Biden counts among his accomplishments the record-high number of people, more than 21 million, who enrolled in Obamacare plans this year. Behind the scenes, however, federal regulators are contending with a problem that affects people’s coverage: rogue brokers who have signed people up for Affordable Care Act plans, or switched them into new ...

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Trump, Biden Admin Policy Heads Agree: Price Transparency Is Here To Stay

Price transparency and the No Surprises Act are still in their infancy, but providers and health plans would be smart to comply now to avoid facing unnecessary penalties, warned President Trump’s former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in a recent virtual summit. The former policymaker said the wheels set in motion during his ...

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Healthcare And Drugmaker Groups Seek To Revive Challenge To US Drug-Pricing Law

Healthcare and drug industry groups on Wednesday urged a U.S. appeals court to revive their challenge to a law requiring manufacturers to negotiate the prices of some drugs with the U.S government’s Medicare health insurance program or pay heavy penalties. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Global Colon Cancer Association and the National ...

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Rite Aid Closes a Quarter of Stores as It Navigates Bankruptcy

Rite Aid Corp. is working to complete a deal with lenders to exit bankruptcy. But even with a rescue deal in hand, the ailing pharmacy chain is poised to to be significantly smaller. Since filing Chapter 11 in October, Rite Aid has said it will close more than 520 locations, according to a Bloomberg News ...

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Medicare And Social Security Go-Broke Dates Are Pushed Back In A ‘Measure Of Good News’

The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report Monday. Still, officials warn that policy changes are needed lest the programs become unable to pay full benefits to retiring Americans. Medicare’s go-broke date ...

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Biden Administration Expands Healthcare Coverage for DACA Recipients

The Biden administration on Friday finalized a rule that would expand healthcare coverage for immigrants who came to the US as children and are shielded from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as Daca. Under the new rule, recipients of the Obama-era Daca program would be newly eligible to access healthcare coverage through ...

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New California Rule Aims To Limit Health Care Cost Increases To 3% Annually

Doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies in California will be limited to annual price increases of 3% starting in 2029 under a new rule state regulators approved Wednesday in the latest attempt to corral the ever-increasing costs of medical care in the United States.

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