Employer-Sponsored Insurance Costs to Rise 8.5% Although inflation has influenced other industries, healthcare has remained steady due to multi-year contracts. However, according to a study by consulting firm Aon, medical providers are pushing payers to cover more costs that increased due to the pandemic. Employers are expected to pay $15,000 per employee starting in 2024, […]

Outsourcing to Optum – One Healthcare System’s View Health systems across the country are seeking to reduce costs and increase efficiencies by outsourcing administrative work to UnitedHealth Group’s organization, Optum. Bassett Healthcare Network in rural New York has partnered with Optum for two years and relays the benefits of working with Optum. After an honest […]

Healthcare Costs Projected to Grow 7% Next Year A study conducted by PwC showed that healthcare costs are expected to rise 7% next year due to inflation which is causing providers to seek rate increases from insurers and as pharmaceutical costs increase. As in other industries, labor shortages and high labor costs are driving providers […]

Rising Medical Costs Raise Flags and Drop Stocks for Health Plans Patients who put off elective surgeries during Covid such as joint replacements are returning for care at a much higher rate than insurers had predicted. This jump has led to a jump in medical costs and a drop in stock prices for groups such […]

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) Under Fire in Washington For years lawmakers have aimed criticism at pharmaceutical companies for the increasing costs of medications in the United States. However, the cost of prescriptions lies in the lap of three of the largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), OptumRx, Caremark, and Express Scripts. These PBMs also happen to […]

Facility Fees Blindsiding Patients Facility fees are charged by hospitals and provider groups even when patients aren’t visiting the facility. Some states, including Connecticut and Colorado, have either already limited facility fees or are considering it. Hospitals argue that the fees are necessary to stay open as these fees typically help with the cost of […]

Humana Leaves Employer Insurance Market Humana has decided to leave the employer insurance market and focus instead on its government programs including its Medicare Advantage plans and specialty segments. Humana’s Medicare Advantage plans increased this year and are expected to continue to rise prompting the company to focus its resources on increasing that line of […]

Amazon Discount Drugs Program to Launch Amazon continued its road into healthcare when it created a discount drug program for Prime members. The program is a subscription service that allows Prime members to fill as many prescriptions as needed for $5 per month. The prescriptions are, of course, delivered to their doorstep. Amazon already sells […]

Employer-Provided Health Care is Increasingly Unaffordable More than six in 10 adults reported obtaining their health care through their employers. However, out-of-pocket costs have continued to rise over the years which has made health care increasingly unaffordable. A CDC-sponsored study revealed that on average, women had less affordable health care services than men. A reason […]

Anthem (Elevance) Sued for Alleged ERISA Violations A class action lawsuit has been filed against Anthem (now known as Elevance) claiming that ERISA was violated when Anthem “denied plan claims access due to mismanagement of funds.” The plaintiff claims that Anthem breached ERISA when it denied them access to their plan claim data, which Anthem […]