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Healthcare

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Few Employees Get the Most out of Their Health Savings Accounts

While many health benefits advisers have been recommending that employees with health savings accounts use them as savings vehicles that can be tapped for future medical care, a new study finds that most people are spending the bulk of the funds. The study by Willis Towers Watson found that 65% of workers were using their …

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A New Health Care Model Tackles Costs, Quality Care

As group health insurance costs continue rising every year, more employers are embracing a new plan model that aims to both cut costs and improve outcomes for patients. This trend, known as value-based primary care, is a bit of an umbrella term for various models that involve direct financial relationships between individuals, employers, their insurers …

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Huge Investigation Uncovers Possible Generic Drug Pricing Cartel

An investigative report by the Washington Post has uncovered an alleged cartel among generic drug manufacturers to fix the price of some 300 medications, adding new fuel to the debate about raging price increases in the pharmaceutical industry. While a number of name-brand drug makers have been named and shamed for their massive price increases …

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Skyrocketing Drug Prices Threaten Health Insurance Model

The US is experiencing a prescription drug pricing epidemic, and some drug companies are driving a wedge into the health insurance model by severely jacking up pharmaceutical prices to astronomical levels. Unfortunately, the cost of some drugs has become so extreme that by paying for one prescription it could take decades to recoup the cost …

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DOL Issues Final Rules for Association Health Plans

The Department of Labor in June issued its final rules for expanding employers’ access to association plans, a move that could result in some increases in premiums for other plans, including Affordable Care Act-compliant small group health plans. The rule in its essence allows more small businesses and self-employed workers to band together to buy …

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DOL Employers Expect 6% Hike in Health Costs for 2019

The IRS has released the inflation-adjusted amounts for 2019 used to determine whether employer-sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility provisions. For plan years beginning in 2019, the affordability percentage has increased to 9.86% (from 9.56% in 2018) of an employee’s household income or wages stated on their …

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Pharmacy Benefit Managers: A Break On Rising Prescription Costs Or a Cause of Them?

In 2015, spending on prescription drugs grew 9%, faster than any other category of healthcare spending, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report cited increased use of new medicines, price increases for existing ones, and more spending on generic drugs as the reasons for this growth. Increasingly, though, observers of …

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