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For as long as most of us can remember, North Carolina's employee State Health Plan has been troubled, often described as being in crisis. The liability soared to a reported $40 billion in 2016, but State Treasurer Dale Folwell worked diligently to improve the plan and succeeded in reducing liabilities, but not permanently. As of June 30, 2024, the liability had…

DES MOINES— High prescription drug costs and pharmacies going out of business, especially in rural Iowa, have once again put pharmacy benefit managers— the companies that function as intermediaries between insurance providers and drug manufacturers— under the legislative microscope. After passing some regulations in 2024, Iowa state lawmakers are this…

Sarah Sanders on Thursday announced legislation aimed at improving Arkansas's worst-in-the-nation maternal health statistics by easing the Medicaid enrollment process for pregnant women, guaranteeing coverage of certain services, and boosting payments to doctors and hospitals, among other changes. Every state in the country except Arkansas has…

Courts across the nation are debating whether LGBTQ+ people should be protected from discrimination. In 2024, state legislatures introduced an all-time record of 533 bills targeting LGBTQ+ populations. Most people in the U.S. have health insurance through their employer, which usually offers coverage for employees and their family, including a spouse and…

A new clinical space opened at University Square near Minnesota State University, Mankato's campus this week. The Rural Behavioral Health Clinic will provide in-person mental health counseling, case and medication management for patients of all ages. It's designed to serve Minnesota's south-central region: Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin,…

Leaders of several rural hospitals and health care clinics joined in urging the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee to endorse North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson's Legislative Bill 527 and Gering Sen. Funds raised by last year's law are meant to rotate between hospitals and the state as up to $1 billion a year in extra federal Medicaid funds comes into…

STATEWIDE— NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH'S eMedNY COMPUTER system improperly paid $16.2 million in Medicaid claims during a six-month period that started in October 2023, reports an audit that State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released on Thursday, Feb. 6. The audit found 370 million claims totaling nearly $49.6 billion were processed between…

2025 FEB 06– By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News– Current study results on Opioids have been published. Funders for this research include NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control& Prevention- USA, NIH National Institute of Allergy& Infectious Diseases, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research,…

BOARDMAN— Uncertainty continues after President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget rescinded its memo— but not the administration's plans— to freeze federal grant monies. Marty Carty is the Oregon Primary Care Association's Governmental Affairs director. Many patients of FQHCs don't have private health insurance; about 61% of FQHC patients in…

In 2024, state legislatures introduced an all-time record of 533 bills targeting LGBTQ+ populations. Most people in the U.S. have health insurance through their employer, which usually offers coverage for employees and their family, including a spouse and children. A landmark 2015 study found that health coverage significantly increased for adults in…

Bellevue Healthcare Trust intends to invest in a concentrated portfolio of listed or quoted equities in the global healthcare industry. Bellevue Healthcare Trust will not seek to replicate the bench-mark index in constructing its portfolio. Source: Bellevue Asset Management, 31.01. 2025; Calculation based on the Net Asset Value over the last 3 years to 31…

INDIANAPOLIS— House lawmakers on Tuesday passed several pieces of legislation that would curb some of the Medicaid savings measures advanced by the previous gubernatorial administration, eliminating waitlists and revisiting attendant care services for children with complex medical needs. Brad Barrett, all with an aim to lower health care costs.

Each year nearly 400,000 children with Medi-Cal health insurance lose coverage for a period of time and then must re-enroll. Gavin Newsom to try again and provide money for all low-income children to stay on Medi-Cal without renewal requirements until age 5— but they concede it may already be too late. The federal government must approve California spending…

House Resolution 683 would allow people to "pre-enroll" in benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to get health coverage along with other perks. Specifically, the Republican's legislation would establish a "pilot program" to allow those serving the country 180 days ahead of their "separation" to apply for VA health coverage, as well as prompt the…

HARTFORD– CVS Health plans to cut later this year another 22 jobs connected to its offices in Hartford, adding to hundreds of previously announced layoffs affecting the hub. The elimination of those 22 positions tied to CVS' offices at 151 Farmington Ave., which includes the main offices of the company's Aetna health insurance business, will be carried out on June…

DES MOINES— High prescription drug costs and pharmacies going out of business, especially in rural Iowa, have once again put pharmacy benefit managers— the companies that function as intermediaries between insurance providers and drug manufacturers— under the legislative microscope. After passing some regulations in 2024, Iowa state lawmakers are this…