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.
A cure for cancer could be on the horizon in the next decade, according to experts. During the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London last week, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato reflected on the pharmaceutical company’s projections on the future of cancer treatment. In the next 10 years, the goal is to “try ...
Twannetta Weaver felt like she made the responsible choice when she enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan through her employer, an option that avoided high premiums and allowed her to save for retirement. Then, in 2025, she slipped a disk in her back, requiring medication and physical therapy. Suddenly, the medical bills were so ...
For much of this year, progressive lawmakers, labor unions and advocacy groups have pushed Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature to shore up the state’s healthcare system against federal cuts by taxing corporations more. After all, proponents argued, Republicans in Washington, D.C. cut into healthcare programs for California’s most vulnerable residents to pay for ...
When Congress allowed covid-era subsidies for health insurance to expire, California used its own funds to offset the hike in Obamacare premium costs for residents with low incomes. But the reach has been limited. As Gov. Gavin Newsom negotiates his last budget with the legislature, the Democrat wants to offer financial help to more than ...
Health plans expect the cost of treating patients to climb in 2027, projecting the highest medical cost trend in nearly two decades with a 9% rise in commercial health costs, according to a new analysis from PwC. Payers are pointing the finger at several inflationary factors, including the increasing use of artificial intelligence tools by ...
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are growing faster than inflation, and the U.S. spends significantly more than other comparable nations on healthcare. And according to one healthcare executive, this is unsustainable. “The healthcare system is bankrupting and failing us. It requires systemic reform, and it’s not going to come from inside the industry,” said Paul Markovich, president ...
Dive Brief: A federal judge has struck down key provisions in a CMS rule overhauling the Affordable Care Act, in a setback for the Trump administration’s push to combat fraud that critics argue is a smokescreen for weakening the exchanges set up by the Obama-era law. On Friday, Judge Brendan Hurson of the Maryland District Court vacated ...
The Affordable Care Act seems to always be in a policy tug-of-war as its backers and critics spar over how it should work and who can qualify for coverage. This year is no different, with the Trump administration embracing standards it says will reduce fraud as well as steps that could further erode national enrollment. ...
Members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted 34-28 Tuesday to support an appropriations bill that could take $1.9 billion in funding away from HealthCare.gov operations. The bill would also take away any cash in the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, which supports the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. PCORI is supposed to use user ...
Rising health care costs have climbed from the sixth-largest employer concern in 2021 to the top concern in 2026, according to a new report from benefits platform Espresa, underscoring the growing pressure organizations face as prescription drug spending continues to accelerate. The company’s 2026 Lifestyle Spending Account Benchmark and Trends Report found that 64% of ...