Gov. Gavin Newsom is revisiting California’s phase-in of a nation-leading $25 minimum wage for health workers in the face of a projected $38 billion deficit, less than three months after he approved the measure. But renegotiating wages could threaten a delicate compromise between unions and the health industry. Newsom, whose administration initially opposed the wage deal as too costly, ...

Enrollment in individual market coverage continues to grow, and insurers are expressing concern about their ability to tailor coverage to different populations given limits on nonstandard plan options. For the 2024 plan year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized regulations that limit insurers to offering four non-standardized plan designs per tier in a ...

Even charging a dollar premium for healthcare benefits can discourage some low-income individuals from getting coverage, but price isn’t the only factor involved, according to a study in Health Affairs. The administrative burden—filling out the forms on time, for instance—involved in paying even a small monthly premium might discourage some from getting coverage, especially if they didn’t have to ...

A look at new legal battles and drug regulations, including the administration’s new initiatives to reduce drug costs and next steps in the FTC’s attempt to address improperly listed patents in the FDA’s Orange Book.

Congress is once again being urged to reverse a cut to physicians’ Medicare payments, prompting calls for a broader overhaul of how the program reimburses doctors. Why it matters: Congress is still stuck in an annual dance of being pressured to increase physician payments, even after Washington nearly a decade ago put an end to the despised “doc fix” that ...

With the price of GLP-1s reaching well over $1000 a month, local officials are warning that rising costs threaten to quickly drain government spending accounts.