Employers have been asking health insurers for years to speed up and simplify efforts to screen workers’ requests for coverage for CAT scans, specialty drugs and stomach operations. Insurers told state insurance regulators Tuesday that, this time around, they think they really can make prior authorization processes work better. New data standards and new artificial ...

U.S. hospitals’ revenue and operating margins looked a lot better in the first half of this year than in the first half of 2024, according to Strata Decision Technology hospital financial system data compiled by Kaufman Hall, a Vizient company. Hospitals’ overall revenue was 7% higher in the first half than in the comparable period in ...

For parents of school-aged children, the fall to-do list can seem ever-growing. Buy school supplies. Fill out endless school forms. Block off parent-teacher nights. Do the kids’ tennis shoes still fit? Somewhere, at some point, you might remember flu shots. Get your flu shot. Get their flu shots. Or should you? Can you? Is that still a ...

A new study suggests that cutting out a single category of foods could nearly double people’s weight-loss results. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Aug. 4, found that overweight adults who ditched ultra-processed foods (UPFs) lost nearly twice as much weight over a two-month span as those who did not. UPFs include microwave meals, sodas, ...

People who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are set to see a median premium increase of 18 percent, more than double last year’s 7 percent median proposed increase, according to an analysis of preliminary filings by KFF.

People thinking about starting a business or retiring early — before they’re old enough for Medicare — may want to wait until November, when they can see just how much their Affordable Care Act health insurance will cost next year. Sharp increases are expected. Premiums for ACA health plans, also known as Obamacare, which many early retirees ...