Big U.S. employers expect median health care costs to rise 9% in 2026, according to new survey data from the Business Group on Health. That’s up from an 8% employer increase forecast for 2025, and it appears to be the biggest annual increase forecast that the employers have provided since 2010, when the Business Group on ...

Millions of consumers will feel the pinch when rates already expected to rise will jump even further. Federal subsidies, set to expire at year’s end, are partly to blame.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week released new data fueling a narrative of rampant broker fraud on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. Plans received data finding 23% of enrollees did not have a claim in 2019. That number jumped sharply to 35% last year. Before the pandemic, the data were ...

A new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warns that Republicans’ massive tax bill could lead to hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicare over the next 10 years. CBO analysts, in a letter (PDF) to key Democratic senators Friday, dug into the potential impact the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could have on federal programs ...

As the Trump administration moves forward with sweeping tariffs aimed at increasing U.S. manufacturing, health systems are ramping up efforts to protect patients from potential effects. At Renton, Wash.-based Providence, COO Darryl Elmouchi, MD, said the health system has implemented a supply chain risk management program to help prepare for challenges with respect to tariffs. ...

National pricing data show the cost of healthcare services varies greatly by payer, geography, setting and facility, presenting new fiduciary considerations for employers. Since 2022, health plans have been required to release machine-readable files disclosing negotiated rates of healthcare services with providers. Hospitals are also required to release the costs of shoppable services. Data analytics ...