Three of Oregons largest hospital systems are suing the state over its alleged lack of adequate mental health care, which they say has forced them to house patients in need of mental health treatment for months.
The U.S. Senate on Sept. 29 confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Labor office that regulates employee benefit plans, a few months after lawmakers initially rejected her nomination.
Rite Aid Corp. reported a quarterly loss of more than $300 million amid store closures and fewer customers coming to the drugstore for COVID-19 tests and vaccines.
The City of Memphis, Tennessee, is restoring a legacy pension plan for public safety employees.
Among major health insurers, customers are most satisfied with the telehealth offerings from Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc., according to a survey from J.D. Power.
Wells Fargo & Co., former CEO Tim Sloan, GreatBanc Trust Company and the employee benefit review committee and its members have been sued for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty to participants saving for retirement in the Wells Fargo 401(k) and employee stock ownership plans.
About 43% of working-age adults were inadequately insured in 2022, meaning they were either uninsured, had a coverage gap in the past year or had unaffordable coverage, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey.
Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern Medical Center are seeking an increase of more than $900 million over the next 32 months in contracts talks with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, according to an email the insurer shared with brokers in late September.
The majority of corporate defined benefit pension plan participants don’t know much about their plans, according to a survey by Fidelity Investments. About 71% of those participants were not aware of how their plan worked, with 31% not aware of how their plans’ vesting schedule works and 27% unaware of the age at which they […]
NEW YORK—The Northeast Business Group on Health has established a Solutions and Innovations Center to identify innovative ways to control costs, improve employee health and productivity, and relay that information to the region’s employers as quickly as possible. “Health care costs are weighing on the corporate balance sheets and undermining global competitiveness, and companies need […]
(Reuters)—The U.S. health bill will account for 19.8% of the nation’s spending by 2020, up from 17.6% in 2009, outpacing projected average annual GDP growth, researchers said Thursday. The report, published online in the journal Health Affairs, looked at projected U.S. health spending through 2020 and estimated about 30 million people will gain health insurance […]
(Reuters)—Health insurers WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. posted quarterly profits above Wall Street targets and raised their full-year forecasts Wednesday, but WellPoint warned costs for its Medicare plans for seniors were higher than it expected this year. Administrative cost cuts helped WellPoint, the No. 2 health insurer by market value, offset higher medical claim costs […]
The percentage of Massachusetts employers offering health insurance coverage is holding steady and is substantially higher than before the passage of the state’s pioneering health care reform legislation, according to a survey. Last year, 77% of Massachusetts employers offered coverage to employees, virtually unchanged from 76% in 2009 but up from 70% in 2005, the […]
The number of large U.S. employers that offer a defined benefit pension plan to new salaried employees continues to fall, while the number offering only defined contribution plans continues to increase, according to a study by Towers Watson & Co. As of May 31, 30% of Fortune 100 companies offered a defined benefit plan to […]
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters)—Medco Health Solutions Inc. and AstraZeneca P.L.C. were subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice over their relationship involving four of AstraZeneca’s drugs, including widely used acid reflux medicines Nexium and Prilosec. The companies said separately Tuesday that they received the subpoenas this month. They were issued from the U.S. attorney’s office for […]
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Tax legislation signed last week by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton will enable employers to offer coverage to employees’ adult children up to age 26, as they are required to do under federal law, without employees being taxed on the coverage. The measure, H.F. 20, conforms Minnesota tax law to the federal health care […]
ST. LOUIS—Express Scripts Inc.’s plan to buy its largest competitor, Medco Health Solutions Inc., for $29.1 billion would result in a seismic shift in the pharmacy benefits management marketplace. The deal, jointly announced by the companies last week, would see Express Scripts pay $71.36 per share for its Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based rival, 28% more than […]
Business Insurance is teaming with sister publication Modern Healthcare and other Crain Communications Inc. publications to survey employers on health care purchasing trends. The “Healthcare Purchasing Power Survey,” which Modern Healthcare has conducted for the past three years, is co-sponsored by the National Business Coalition on Health and the Leapfrog Group. It measures and ranks […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Express Scripts Inc.’s planned buy of Medco Health Solutions Inc. met with swift opposition from consumer advocates and drug stores, signaling the beginning of what could be an ugly fight for antitrust approval. The $29.1 billion deal would create a powerhouse in managing prescription drug benefits. Its only other real competitor would be CVS […]
ST. LOUIS—Express Scripts Inc. said Thursday that it plans to buy its largest competitor, Medco Health Solutions Inc., for $29.1 billion, representing a seismic shift in the pharmacy benefits management marketplace. The deal, jointly announced by the companies, would see Express Scripts pay $71.36 per share for its Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based rival, 28% more than […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommended eight preventive health services, including birth control, be covered for women at no cost under the country’s health care overhaul. The IOM report, commissioned by President Barack Obama’s administration, recommended that all U.S.-approved birth control methods—including the “morning after pill” taken shortly after intercourse to forestall pregnancy—be added […]
SAN FRANCISCO—Employers with workers in San Francisco must pay more next year to comply with the city’s health care spending law. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2012, employers with 100 or more employees in San Francisco will be required to spend $2.20 per hour per covered employee on health care, up from $2.06 in 2011. Employers […]
CHICAGO—United Continental Holdings Inc. says it will issue a $62.5 million note to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the first payment the holding company has made as part of a 2005 agreement to have the PBGC to take over four underfunded United Airlines’ pension plans. Under the agreement, United, which merged last year with Continental […]