Premiums in California’s health insurance exchange will rise by an average of 8.7% next year, marking a return to more modest increases despite ongoing threats to the Affordable Care Act.

More than one-third of California's $200 billion budget goes toward health care. Private health insurance spending in the state, meanwhile, exceeds more than $100 billion a year.

House Republicans this week plan to approve expanding health savings accounts—a key tenet of the GOP healthcare platform since they were created under President George W. Bush—and significantly change Obamacare's tax credit structure to let subsidies flow to catastrophic plans.

The Trump administration is taking credit for a series of announcements by drug companies to freeze drug prices for the remainder of 2018, arguing it is proof that the president’s tough talk is leading to results.

At least 280 insurance agency mergers and acquisitions were announced during the first half of 2018, according to OPTIS Partners’ M&A database, making it the second-highest six month total. This year’s deals trailed off compared to the first half of 2017 when 333 transactions were reported.

As the pharmaceutical industry faces potential pricing reform and continued criticism from patient advocates and members of Congress, the industry's top trade group spent $15.5 million lobbying in the first half, an 11.5% increase compared with the same period last year.