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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.

Employers Grapple With Rising Health Care Costs And Fiduciary Concerns

Various pieces of health care transparency legislation have identified areas requiring employers to meet their fiduciary responsibilities, such as designing an evaluation process for selecting vendors to deploy their health and welfare benefits strategy.

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Public Divided On Trump Health Agenda, Strong Support For Price Transparency

When asked about a variety of health care proposals, including those put forth by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, about 6 in 10 said boosting price transparency rules to ensure that health care prices are available to patients should be a top priority.

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Top Three Insurers Reaped $7.3 Billion Through Their Drug Middlemen’s Markups, FTC Says

Regulators published their most detailed findings yet on how some of the nation’s largest companies profited from "excess" prescription price hikes of 1,000% or more.

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Workplace Life Insurance Sales Forecast Looks Cloudy

U.S. life insurance benefits sales might grow a little this year, or they might not. Analysts at LIMRA are predicting, cautiously, that total workplace life sales could increase 3% over the next 12 months, to about $4.5 billion, after rising 3.3% in 2024. The unemployment rate is still low. Typical employers still say they want to keep ...

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Justice Department Sues Walgreens Over Alleged Unlawful Prescription Practices

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financials) saw its stock decline on Friday following the announcement of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit accusing the company of knowingly filling millions of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances. Shares closed at $12.52, down 3.17%, and extended losses in after-hours trading, falling an additional 5.03% to $11.89. Alleging that Walgreens ...

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Additional Resources to Aid Your Clients, Colleagues, and Others Needing Assistance Due to California Wildfires

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide you with information and resources to assist your clients, colleagues, and others who may need help in connection with the current Southern California wildfires, you should find the following helpful.

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How the 2024 Election Could Impact Health Care in 2025 and Beyond

There have been many stories since the November 5 election about potential health care changes in 2025. People are asking, “What can we expect as far as Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes and continuation of ACA subsidies?” “Will Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) face continuing scrutiny?” “Could we see a future national abortion ban from the ...

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FTC Releases Second Report Slamming Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Agency commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to publish the report, which makes similar allegations against the controversial drug middlemen as the agency’s first report released last summer.

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CMS Finalizes Strict Broker Punishments For Violations In 2026 Plan Year

One week before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Biden administration is finalizing a rule that sets new standards for the individual market under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First proposed in October, the rule protects consumers from having their coverage swapped unwittingly. Brokers and agents that violate this policy, and pose other “unacceptable” risks, can ...

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Drug Price Talks Provide An Early Test For Trump

The Biden administration within days is expected to select the next batch of drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations — a process that this time could include Novo Nordisk's blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy.

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