Quality of care, care team choice, location and speed all play a role in how much consumers are willing to spend on their healthcare, according to new survey responses from more than 2,000 American adults. Fifty-seven percent of those polled in mid-March said they would be willing to pay more based on the quality of ...

A growing number of hospitals are outsourcing often-unprofitable outpatient services for their poorest patients by setting up independent, nonprofit organizations to provide primary care. Medicare and Medicaid pay these clinics, known as federally qualified health center look-alikes, significantly more than they would if the sites were owned by hospitals. Like the nearly 1,400 federally qualified health ...

Medicare is poised to renegotiate the prices of some of its most expensive drugs through a historic expansion of its power, which could reduce costs for many seniors as well as federal spending on its prescription drug plan. The changes are tucked inside a massive spending-and-tax bill in Congress that includes $433 billion in investments ...

Aetna will enter the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) exchanges in four more states, bringing its total footprint to 12 states, the insurer announced late last week. The CVS Health subsidiary will begin offering plans in California, Delaware, Illinois and New Jersey for the 2023 plan year. Aetna already offered plans in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, ...

California employers should take note of two significant bills recently passed by the state Legislature that are now awaiting likely approval by Governor Newsom. The first, Senate Bill 1162 (SB 1162), would further expand California’s already progressive requirements for employers regarding pay transparency and data reporting. The second, Assembly Bill 152 (AB 152), is expected ...

In the closing days of the legislative session, strong opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce and allied groups, including many local chambers of commerce, prevented the passage of a number of harmful proposals. The CalChamber-opposed bills stopped include the following: • SB 260 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Increased Regulatory Burden. Imposes a mandatory climate tracking, auditing, and cap on climate ...