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.
The Senate is staring down multiple flash points in the coming months as lawmakers head into a year colored by electoral politics but with plenty of policy fights on the horizon. Lawmakers wrapped up a grueling year by completing some of their pre-holiday agenda, including passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act and confirming scores of nominees. ...
In 2025 speaking with hundreds of employers and consultants, conversations were often upbeat and optimistic. But beneath that optimism, there’s a growing frustration that can’t be ignored. Year after year, health care costs continue to climb at record rates.
In 2013, before the Affordable Care Act helped millions get health insurance, California’s Placer County provided limited health care to some 3,400 uninsured residents who couldn’t afford to see a doctor. For several years, that number has been zero in the predominantly white, largely rural county stretching from Sacramento’s eastern suburbs to the shores of ...
A new law backed by California unions gives a state board the right to regulate working conditions and labor rights as the federal labor board’s fate is in limbo.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who cast a critical vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, on Monday blasted the reduction of the childhood immunization schedule by Kennedy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC announced Monday it would be reducing the number of recommended vaccines for children from ...
The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance in California rose at twice the pace of inflation over the past three years, squeezing workers’ paychecks and small businesses alike. More than 17 million Californians have health insurance through their job, according to a survey released in November by the health information group KFF. The average cost of premium payments ...
The first and only oral GLP-1 for weight loss in adults is now available to consumers. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk announced Monday that its daily oral Wegovy pill is now available by prescription. Consumers with prescriptions may pick up the new Wegovy pill at pharmacies nationwide or have it delivered through telehealth companies, according to Novo Nordisk. “We are launching ...
Initiatives from former President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump have been effective in reducing the prices of some drugs in the United States. But regardless of the year and the drug pricing landscape, the turn of the calendar always brings news of another wave of price increases. This year, pharmaceutical companies have raised ...
Earlier this month, the IRS issued guidance on the health savings account (HSA) changes enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While the guidance does not significantly alter the provisions announced when the law was passed in July, it does provide helpful details on how the new rules will be applied ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave employers a new pharmacy benefits worry Monday by approving a tablet version of Wegovy. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, said it plans to begin a full U.S. product launch for Wegovy tablets in early January. The introductory price for cash-pay patients will be $149 per month for a one-month ...