Under the new budget signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Medi-Cal — the state’s Medicaid program — would no longer cover weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, unless they’re prescribed to treat diabetes. The measure is intended to promote fiscal responsibility.

For employers, covering COVID-19 shots and other vaccinations is now a lot more complicated. Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took vaccinations off the auto-pilot list Wednesday, by withdrawing emergency use rules for COVID vaccinations like Novavax’s Nuvaxovid vaccine and tightening access rules for other COVID vaccinations. A team at the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative says wastewater ...

While data released earlier this week raised questions about the administrative costs associated with No Surprises Act (NSA) arbitrations, a second study suggests the legislation is working to reduce out-of-pocket costs for members. Researchers at Harvard University and Mass General Brigham examined a sample of 17,351 privately insured adults, 8,204 of which lived in states that gained ...

President appears divided between RFK Jr. and detractors, despite clear evidence favoring vaccines

The White House quickly named a new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed out Director Susan Monarez this week. Jim O’Neill, a senior Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official with deep ties to President Trump donor Peter Thiel, will take over the agency amid ...

Prior authorization is similar to how private insurers operate, often resulting in a delay or denial of treatments