Employer-Paid

With drug shortages at an all-time high, the Senate Finance Committee wants to create a new program to incentivize improved contracting and purchasing practices in the supply chain by offering bonuses to hospitals and providers.

The $2,500 Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Account option takes a small amount from paychecks (3%) and is easy to set up, said Commonwealth, which took a close look at new emergency savings options in SECURE 2.0.

With concerns that costs could reach more than $1 billion over the next 6 years, North Carolina opted to stop coverage for the pricey new GLP-1s, saying the contracts between the drugmakers and the PBMs "are all-or-nothing."

"Employers need to design benefit strategies that are inclusive, supportive, and tailored to a person's health profile in order to be effective," says Kristin Hall, VP of Clinical Programs and Patient Experience at apree health.

A private equity firm accused of trying to build a monopoly in radiology was dismissed as a defendant in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission against U.S. Anesthesia Partners in Texas.

Senator Bernie Sanders is upping the pressure on Novo Nordisk to lower the cost of Wegovy in the U.S., although the Danish drugmaker asserts it charges lower prices in Europe because governments there can negotiate prices.

By employers implementing a multi-prong approach to weight health care, including offering weight management medication coverage, it will undoubtedly have positive business outcomes in the long-term.

Only 47% of respondents felt the benefits their employers offered fit their specific needs.