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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.

Why Doctors’ Offices Could Become Obsolete

A man showing early signs of a heart attack — detected by a bot tracking his heart activity from a sensor on his wrist — is picked up by a self-driving car that checks his vital signs on the way to the hospital. There, his doctors video-conference with a specialist, who assesses his symptoms through a Skype-like screen and recommends a treatment plan.

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Medi-Cal Patients Flocking to ERs More than Before ACA

Medi-Cal patients are swamping California emergency rooms in greater numbers than they did before the Affordable Care Act took effect, despite predictions that the health law would ease the burden on ERs.

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Nevada Takes on PBMs and Pharma in Broad Drug-Pricing Transparency Bill

A Nevada drug-pricing bill that targeted diabetes drugmakers didn’t make it past the governor’s veto pen, but state lawmakers renewed their efforts with a new bill that not only zeroes in on pharma, but pharmacy benefit managers, too. And this time, the governor is more supportive, according to one report.

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Sandoval Vetoes Bill Requiring Advance Notice of Price Hikes for Diabetes-Related Drugs

Gov. Brian Sandoval on Friday vetoed a bill that would have required drug manufacturers to notify the state in advance of planned price increases for diabetes-related drugs, among other provisions.

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Nevada Legislature Passes Medicaid for All

There are still many hurdles to go before the bill would become a reality — namely, Gov. Brian Sandoval. Sandoval has supported Medicaid expansion, but hasn't said whether he will sign the bill. There are also plenty of outstanding questions, such as the plan design and plan costs.

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Senate Republicans Claim Progress on Health Care Legislation

President Donald Trump and GOP leaders insisted Tuesday the Senate will vote soon on legislation to repeal and replace "Obamacare." But even as senators headed toward the make-or-break vote before the Fourth of July, deep uncertainty remained about whether the emerging legislation would command enough support to pass.

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GOP Medicaid Cuts Hit Rural America Hardest, Report Finds

Trump Country it may be, but rural counties and small towns also make up Medicaid Country — those parts of the nation whose low-income children and families are most dependent on the federal-state health insurance program, according to a report released Wednesday.

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If Insurance Market Crashes, Can Lawmakers Put The Pieces Back Together?

In his high-stakes strategy to overhaul the federal health law, President Donald Trump is threatening to upend the individual health insurance market with several key policies. But if the market actually breaks, could anyone put it back together again?

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Single-Payer Healthcare Plan Advances in California Senate – Without a Way to Pay its $400-Billion Tab

A proposal to adopt a single-payer healthcare system for California took an initial step forward Thursday when the state Senate approved a bare-bones bill that lacks a method for paying the $400-billion cost of the plan.

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Single-Payer Bill: Going Nowhere Fast

Don’t delude yourself that legislation to create a California universal healthcare system passed the state Senate last week. All that passed was authorization to keep yakking about it in dreamland.

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