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 major California health insurer is set to offer one of the world’s top-selling drugs for free in a bid to show the medicine can reach Americans affordably without going through the middlemen that typically control its flow.
While hot-button health care issues such as abortion and the Affordable Care Act roil the presidential race, Democrats and Republicans in statehouses around the country have been quietly working together to tackle the nation’s medical debt crisis.
A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Oct. 4 would protect beneficiaries from shady broker behavior and modify the federal risk adjustment program, among other changes. Under the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters proposed rule (PDF) for the 2026 plan year, insurance agents could be held responsible for marketplace violations. ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out guidance Oct. 2 as stakeholders prep for the second round of the drug price negotiation program. Made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government has praised the program, saying it drastically lowers the cost of lifesaving drugs. The negotiation period for the first ...
The healthcare industry is making the push toward greater adoption of value-based care, yet it’s not a secret that progress has been slow-moving. With that backdrop, UnitedHealth Group has released its latest “A Path Forward” report, which is a biennial look at progress in the shift to value. The paper includes dozens of policy recommendations ...
Proposed guidelines for operating Obamacare insurance exchanges in 2026 call for tightening protections against unauthorized actions by agents and brokers who help consumers enroll in coverage. The proposal, released Friday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sets standards for health insurers and ACA marketplaces, as well as requirements for agents, brokers, and others ...
As employers face rising costs, many are looking to rethink plan designs rather than emphasize shifting expenses to workers, according to a new WTW report.
The layoffs will be focused on corporate jobs, not frontline pharmacy, retail, or distribution workers, but more dramatic changes could be coming soon
The already fragile medical supply chain is facing more stress this week, after Hurricane Helene ravaged a huge Baxter International plant in North Carolina that makes IV fluids for many U.S. hospitals. Why it matters: While the damage hasn’t been totaled up, and the company says it’s lining up backup plants and making other contingencies, the closure of ...
The Biden administration is once again trumpeting the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program to prove to voters it is lowering drug prices. Through the program, 54 drugs will be less expensive for Medicare enrollees because of a lower Part B coinsurance rate from Oct. 1 through the end of the year. This is because ...