Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota will no longer offer gym memberships for Medicare beneficiaries at YMCA of the North and at Life Time, as of Jan. 1, both gym operators and the insurer confirmed to Becker’s. About 26,000…
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Medicaid information sharing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will pick back up shortly, according to a Nov. 21 CMS notice. “This notice announces CMS policy that CMS will provide certain information to ICE upon request from ICE consistent with…
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., proposed legislation to “stop giving tax dollars to big insurance companies” and instead redirect premium tax credit amounts to people with a Trump Health Freedom Account, which would mirror a health savings account. “My new…
Vermont will have the highest average monthly premiums for the lowest-cost Silver-tier marketplace plan in 2026, while New Hampshire will have the lowest, according to KFF. The national average is $611. Premiums were analyzed using the lowest-cost premium for a…
Eli Lilly plans to launch a direct-to-employer model for its GLP-1 medications in early 2026 in a move aimed at giving companies more flexibility in designing obesity management benefits for their employees. The model will include three components: flexible benefit…
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Oregon health regulators have flagged three payers for “unreasonably high healthcare cost growth in 2023.” In an October report, the Oregon Health Authority said that Moda Health’s Medicare Advantage plans increased costs by 15.4%, PacificSource’s commercial plans grew 7.3%, and…
Over one-half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans this year, according to KFF. Given that enrollment and recent scrutiny, all eyes are on how the private alternative to traditional Medicare gets paid. A Nov. 20 KFF…
Vermont has the highest average ACA benchmark premium in 2026, while New Hampshire has the lowest, according to KFF. The U.S. average is $625. Premiums were analyzed using the second-lowest cost silver plan premium for a 40-year-old in each county…
Obesity treatment is entering a transformative era — and few therapies have garnered more attention or raised more questions than GLP-1 receptor agonists. In a featured session at Becker’s Fall 2025 Payer Issues Roundtable, Lia Gass Rodriguez, MD, chief medical…
Wyoming’s proposal to CMS for the Rural Health Transformation Program included a pitch for “BearCare,” a state-operated public benefit plan to cover severe emergencies. Among them, bear attacks. Unlike other federal relief initiatives, the Rural Health Transformation Program is a…