More Costs Will Be Pushed To Employees In 2026
A new Mercer study shows that half of large employers plan to shift costs onto employees as well as reduce benefit offerings. Further, due to rising spending, employers are looking for ways to reduce costs while at the same time being open to safeguarding coverage of popular weight loss drugs and well-being. But weight-loss drugs may have to be reined in due to the magnitude of costs.
Employers expect costs to rise by 6% in 2025 and go up more in 2026. About 51% of large employers (500 or more employees) said they’re likely or very likely to shift more costs to employees, including raising deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. This compares with 45% in 2024.
About 35% of large employers said they plan to offer a non-traditional medical plan option in 2026, such as variable copay plans.
#employercoverage #coverage #healthcare
Mixed Health Plan Financial News
As Q2 investor calls come to a close, Fierce Healthcare recaps what has been released by plans. The picture was mixed. While most insurers are having financial troubles, Humana and CVS reported positive news compared with their forecasts, while United, Elevance Health, Centene and others shocked investors. Cigna was one of the few bright lights this past quarter.
#healthplans #margins
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/elevated-ma-aca-marketplace-costs-sting-insurers-mixed-q2
New Interoperability Rule Finalized
The latest in a series of interoperability rule has been finalized by the Trump administration. The rule lays out new and updated health IT certification criteria for electronic prior authorization, electronic prescribing and real-time prescription benefit checks.
#interoperability #healthcare
KFF OBBBA Analyses
Healthcare policy group KFF continues to provide great analysis and details of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that has major reductions to healthcare. The latest postings include explanations and the effective dates of each provision. Also, KFF details the $50 billion rural healthcare fund in the bill, noting that the fund covers just 37% of estimated Medicaid losses in rural areas.
Additional articles: https://www.kff.org/implementation-dates-for-2025-budget-reconciliation-law/ and https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/a-closer-look-at-the-50-billion-rural-health-fund-in-the-new-reconciliation-law/
#budgetreconciliation #healthcare #coverage
— Marc S. Ryan
