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Mark Cuban backs ‘Break Up Big Medicine Act,’ calling it a ‘no brainer’ for lower costs
Mark Cuban, owner of Cost Plus Drugs and a longtime critic of the pharmaceutical industry, is speaking out in support of the congressional Break Up Big Medicine Act.”I don’t think people realize how much health care costs are driving big companies to fire and not hire,” he wrote in a social media post. “It costs them $30K per family, per year, for premiums and care. Most of that goes to the massive, vertically integrated insurance companies that send weekly bills that no one reviews in detail.”
U.S. employers changed the health plan cost increase curve, researchers say
U.S. employers, their benefits advisors, and health care products and services suppliers did a great job of holding down increases in health care costs between 2010 and 2024.
Back in 2010, actuaries at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services predicted that employers would provide health coverage for just 168 million people in 2024, at an average cost of $9,556 per plan participant, according to a new research paper draft written by David Cutler and Lev Klarnet.
7 in 10 millennials now prioritize human advisors over AI
A newly released white paper by Equitable provides financial advisors with insights to better serve millennials as they transition from early-career earnings to wealth building, including many who will inherit assets as part of the “great wealth transfer.” Between $30 trillion and $140 trillion will shift from baby boomers to younger generations by 2045.
We Need Your Input on Succession Planning & Professional Development
The profession is facing a major transition. Over the next decade, an estimated 100,000 financial advisors (nearly 40% of the workforce) are expected to retire, putting 42% of industry assets in motion. Yet more than one in four advisors do not have a succession plan.
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Please take a few minutes to complete our short survey on succession planning and professional development. Your feedback will help ensure NAIFA provides the programs and resources that match the needs of your business now and into the future.
Blue Shield of California’s virtual-first plan continues to show lower costs, increased access for members
Blue Shield of California’s Virtual Blue plan continues to see positive results for enrolled members, including an overall 7% to 10% overall reduction in cost of care, the insurer announced Thursday.
The virtual-first program, which was first launched in 2023 in collaboration with Accolade and TeleMed2U, has more than 150,000 members to date. It allows members to access a slew of virtual health services at no additional cost, as well as receive care from providers in Blue Shield’s PPO network.
MEDICARE
New health care advisory committee established to help HHS and CMS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the members of the Healthcare Advisory Committee, a new federal advisory body that will provide expert advice on improving, strengthening and modernizing U.S. health care.
Aetna, Elevance, Humana Medicare marketing lawsuit moves forward
CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, Elevance Health and Humana must face a civil lawsuit alleging they paid kickbacks to online brokerages for Medicare Advantage enrollments, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
A whistleblower initiated the case in 2021, which the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts unsealed last year after the Justice Department intervened.
CMS gives Medicare Advantage rates a 2.48% bump for 2027 plan year in final rule
Following significant industry outcry over a proposal to keep Medicare Advantage rates largely flat in 2027, the Trump administration has bumped payments up slightly in the final policy.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services initially proposed a 0.09% increase in rates as part of the MA and Part D Advance Notice. In the final rule, the increase is instead set at 2.48%, which CMS said equates to about $13 billion in additional payments to plans for the coming plan year.
