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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.

Rising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip the Doc Until Medicare

John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he’s waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare. He was already thinking about delaying it — then his monthly Obamacare insurance premium payment tripled this year to $2,460, about a third of his income, he said. And with a ...

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Even With Dental Insurance, You Still Could Face a Large Bill

Russell Anthony made eight trips to the dentist last year. The 65-year-old retiree in Nashville, Tennessee, hopes to go less often in 2026, but he’s already made a few visits. “I had a root canal just last week that was like $500,” he said. “The week before that, I had a crown that cost me ...

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As Demand For GLP-1 Pills And Shots Surges, Healthy Habits Are Still Key

Whether they’re using weekly shots or daily pills, more Americans than ever are turning to anti-obesity drugs to lose weight and boost health. About 1 in 8 U.S. adults say they are taking a GLP-1 drug, according to a recent survey by the health research group KFF. Just since January, more than 600,000 prescriptions have been written ...

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Payers, Hospitals Pan CMS’ Plan To Bring Non-Network Plans To ACA Exchanges

Insurers and hospitals have come together to rebuke a Trump administration proposal to roll back limits of plan designs that may be listed on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) exchanges. In February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included in its Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027 Proposed Rule a plan ...

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Evidence Shows ACA’s Mandated Benefits Alone Don’t Drive Up Costs. The Debate Continues.

In January, when President Donald Trump unveiled his one-page outline to address health care spending, dubbed “The Great Healthcare Plan,” he specifically mentioned the Affordable Care Act’s role in driving up costs. “I call it the unaffordable care act,” he said. He reprised the line in his 2026 State of the Union address, blaming “the crushing cost ...

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Moody’s: Insurers’ 2026 Outlook Is Negative As Cost Pressures Continue To Batter Industry

The health insurance industry’s credit outlook for the year remains negative as medical costs continue to rise, according to a new report from Moody’s Ratings. The Moody’s analysts said that in the current environment, payers will have “limited prospects for profitable growth” this year. Given the margin pressures facing the industry, plan redesigns, benefit cuts ...

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Federal Judge Puts RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Schedule, Advisers On Ice

As a result of the ruling, HHS has postponed a planned meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices this week.

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The Feds Will Overpay Medicare Advantage Plans By $76B This Year, MedPac Estimates

The federal government will pay $76 billion more for individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage than it would have for enrollees in the traditional program, according to a new report.

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Medicare Advantage ‘Dark Money’ Group Attempts To Win Higher Payments for Insurance Companies

Judging by more than 16,400 comments recently posted on a federal government website, you’d think there was a groundswell of older Americans demanding that federal officials hike payments to their Medicare Advantage health insurance plans. Yet about 82% of the comments are identical to a letter that appeared on the website of a secretive advocacy ...

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Reckoning With State and Federal Cuts, Los Angeles Safety-Net Clinics Push for a New Tax

Federal cuts to Medicaid spending under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, compounded by fiscal belt-tightening in Sacramento, could cost clinics up to one-third of its annual revenue, requiring cuts to services.

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