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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.

Newsom Appeals ‘Irrational And Malicious’ Decision To Cut USDA Food Assistance Program

Gov. Gavin Newsom sent an urgent appeal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Saturday, imploring the department to reverse the abrupt cancellation of a Biden-era program that feeds millions of California families and has served as a lifeline for hundreds of small farmers since its inception in 2021. “The irrational and malicious slashing of funds ...

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Nevada Joins Lawsuit To Save Almost $12B In Federal Health Grants

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined a coalition of attorneys general from 23 states in filing a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for terminating nearly $12 billion in public health grants. Ford claims that the terminating of grants was illegal and would ...

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How Much Will That Surgery Cost? Hospital Prices Remain Largely Unhelpful.

It’s a holy grail of health care: forcing the industry to reveal prices negotiated between health plans and hospitals — information that had long been treated as a trade secret. And among the flurry of executive orders President Donald Trump signed during his first five weeks back in office was a promise to “Make America ...

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FTC Pauses Lawsuit Against PBMs Over Insulin Pricing

The agency submitted an order (PDF) seeking an administrative stay in the case, as there are currently no sitting commissioners who are able to join the proceedings. The two sitting commissioners, Republicans Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, have recused themselves.

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Bipartisan Bill Targets Prior Authorization Transparency, Physician Decision-Making

Bipartisan lawmakers have introduced a bill that aims to more closely align Medicare insurers’ prior authorization denials with medical need, as determined by board-certified specialist physicians.

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Trump’s New Trade Tariffs May Hit Over 400 Canadian-Made Drugs, Cause Shortages

New taxes on prescription drugs imported from Canada could affect about 400 different drug products, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Update on Employee Navigator Migration Tool for Ease Users

Migration Tool Performance: According to EN, approximately 30 brokers have successfully used the Ease>EN migration tool, which takes about five minutes per company. Notably, one broker has migrated 66 companies without any support from EN.

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If The Supreme Court Kills ‘Free’ ACA Preventive Care Rules, What Then?

Braidwood oral arguments are set for April 21. A policy expert says many states will maintain the current standards, even if the federal rules go away

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How The Layoff Of 10,000 Health Workers From HHS Could Affect Your Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will cut 10,000 full-time jobs and shut down several health agencies in an effort to restructure the department. The department will downsize from 82,000 to 62,000, because 10,000 workers have already taken early retirement and voluntary separation offers from the Trump administration. Although the massive layoffs have been part ...

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Nonprofit Hospital Margins Flipped Positive In 2024: Fitch

Nonprofit hospitals’ 2024 financial performances are beating the prior year’s tough numbers, though even the stronger organizations remain “well below pre-pandemic levels,” Fitch Ratings said. In a Thursday brief describing the financial profiles of its rated nonprofit hospitals, the agency attributed the year-to-year improvements to stronger revenues and volumes as well as slightly mitigated, but ...

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