House Republicans have filed four separate bills intended to stabilize the individual insurance market while they pursue their strategy of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Short-term health plans have been around for decades, bridging coverage gaps for people who are between jobs or have recently graduated from school, among other things. After the health law passed, some people gravitated toward them because they were willing to trade comprehensive coverage for a cheaper sticker price — even if it meant paying a tax penalty for not having the comprehensive coverage required in the law. Sales increased.

Healthcare industry stakeholders are lauding President Donald Trump's latest executive order, which requires executive departments or agencies to remove at least two previously implemented regulations for every new one issued.

Aetna Inc. plans to stay out of the U.S. individual major medical insurance market in 2018, according to Mark Bertolini. Bertolini, the Hartford-based company's chairman, talked briefly about Aetna's plans for 2018 during a conference call the company held to discuss fourth-quarter earnings with securities analysts.

The state insurance exchange is in the final days of its fourth annual open enrollment period, which ends Jan. 31, and it has been a burdensome one for many consumers.

California officials have fined health care giant Kaiser Permanente $2.5 million for failing to turn over required data on patient care to the state’s Medicaid program. The California Department of Health Care Services said this was the first fine imposed against one of its Medicaid managed care plans since at least 2000. The state relies on the data to help set rates, ensure adequate care is available and monitor how taxpayer dollars are being spent in the program, known as Medi-Cal in California.