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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.

EBRI Study: Accelerating Healthcare Costs Could Erode Coverage From Small Businesses

With the healthcare affordability and insurance premiums in particular in the headlines, a new report finds that while the employer-sponsored space is largely stable, declines continue among smaller firms. The Employee Benefit Research Institute released a report diving into the “shifting landscape” around employer-sponsored health insurance and found that just under half (49%) of employers offered health ...

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Trump Jettisons The GOP’s Corporate Allies In Health Care Plan

Republicans finally have a health care plan. Conservatives who sought free-market solutions to America’s exorbitant medical bills in an era before President Donald Trump, and struggled to come up with a plan to replace Obamacare in his first term, would be surprised to see what’s in it. On Thursday, Trump unveiled a sweeping blueprint pressuring ...

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Utilization, Intensity Drove US Health Spending To $5.3T In 2024: CMS

The U.S. spent 7.2% more on healthcare in 2024 — not due to higher healthcare prices but instead greater use and more intensity of medical goods and services, especially in hospitals.

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Working Families Spend Nearly $4,000 Annually On Health Care: Study

The typical U.S. working family spends nearly $4,000 per year on health care, including their share of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, according to a new analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Why it matters: That’s just the median amount, and plenty of families pay thousands more. But it goes a long way in explaining ...

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Medical Groups Challenge Kennedy-Backed Cuts To Vaccine Recommendations For Children

Several medical organizations have asked a judge to declare the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision this month to narrow the list of vaccines recommended for children unlawful, calling the move “egregious, reckless, and dangerous.” The American Academy of Pediatrics and a coalition of other medical groups on Monday moved to expand a lawsuit, ...

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Trump Says He May Veto Extension of Health Care Subsidies

President Donald Trump said Sunday he may veto a bill to extend Obamacare subsidies if Congress sent one to his desk. Trump’s remark to reporters on Air Force Once comes after nine swing-district House Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday in advancing legislation to revive expired Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years. The Senate has yet to vote ...

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Trump’s Plan To Strong-Arm Insurers Into Lower Prices Is Met With Skepticism

There are reasons to be skeptical that voluntary cuts by insurance companies could bring significant, lasting health care savings for Americans.

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AbbVie To Cut Drug Prices, Pledges $100 Billion For Research

AbbVie (ABBV.N), opens new tab said on Monday that it has struck a three-year deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce drug prices, and has pledged $100 billion over the next decade for research and development in the country. The drugmaker said the investment will include manufacturing and will expand direct-to-patient offerings through TrumpRx for ...

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Dems Make Health Deal Offer With ACA Subsidies

Democrats sent Republicans a proposal over the weekend to renew enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, paired with extensions of other expiring health programs, sources said. Why it matters: Sunday’s offer shows there’s increasing bipartisan sentiment to address long-stalled priorities like overhauling pharmacy benefit manager business practices — even if prospects for the ACA subsidies ...

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One Patient Submitted $9.1M In 2024 Employer Health Claims

Employer health plans are seeing a lot more participants with very high costs, according to a new report from Lockton. The firm runs an employer plan database that holds information on 882 employer groups and 3.9 million plan participants. One of the plan participants submitted $9.15 million in claims in 2024, and nine others submitted more ...

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