Source: The New York Times Software startup Zenefits must pay the state of Tennessee $62,500 for violating insurance requirements, state officials said on Monday, marking the first settlement with regulators as the scandal-hit company seeks to redeem itself after revelations it had flouted the law. “Under the company’s past leadership, compliance with insurance laws and […]
Read moreSource: SF Gate California joined U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawsuits filed Thursday in an effort to block the merger of two major health insurers — Anthem Inc.’s bid to buy Cigna Corp. The Justice Department also sued to block Aetna Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Humana Inc., citing concerns that the two megamergers would drastically constrict […]
Read moreSource: Politico The Affordable Care Act was not only the most important expansion in health insurance coverage of the past 50 years; it was also the one that everyone weighed in on. Dozens of experts — and non-experts — made their own finely calibrated projections about just what the ACA had in store for health […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline Two of the nation’s largest insurers are reaching out to doctors as they prepare to offer health coverage to low-income residents in California’s Medicaid program. UnitedHealth and Aetna plan to join Medi-Cal managed care in San Diego and Sacramento counties beginning next year, pending final state approval. Their participation shows that “Medi-Cal […]
Read moreSource: LifeHealthPro Interest groups are starting to send a new wave of emails about how the Affordable Care Act exchange system is pretty much dead for 2017, or about how wonderful and affordable it is this year and how surely it won’t be dead next year. Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group fed the critics earlier this […]
Read moreSource: BenefitsPro In retrospect, it seems odd that so many business analysts expected the U.S. Department of Justice to approve the proposed mergers of four enormous health insurers. From the time the proposed deals were announced last year, consumer advocates and Democratic politicians weren’t warm to Aetna’s plans to acquire Humana or Anthem’s plans to […]
Read moreSource: Sacramento Bee The big rate increases announced last week for health insurance policies sold by California’s version of the federal health reform are the latest evidence that the Affordable Care Act, despite its name, cannot do much to tame the rise of health care costs. The government-run health insurance market is facing all the […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline Health insurers are gearing up to comply with a new Covered California rule that will require them next year to ensure that all enrollees have a primary care provider. The policy change for 2017 is part of a broader push by the exchange to improve the quality of care, even as it […]
Read moreSource: The New York Times A state ballot initiative meant to lower prescription drug prices for California faces an expected opponent: the pharmaceutical industry, which has spent almost $70 million to defeat it. But concerns are also coming from a more curious source: some patient advocacy groups. Called the Drug Price Relief Act, or Proposition […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline A measure that would compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose and justify drug price increases overcame a show of skepticism by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon, passing the Assembly Health Committee 12-4 on a party-line vote. The bill — softened from earlier versions — would require drug manufacturers to notify state agencies and […]
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