Consumer Driven Health Care

Obesity's complicated, as the disease is associated with multiple chronic conditions, but a new generation of weight loss drugs has shifted the treatment landscape, creating both a challenge and an opportunity for employers.

The hiring spree is in anticipation of more lawsuits, on the heels of one filed in Louisiana last month by six vaccine-injured plaintiffs against the federal government, which aims to overturn the legal immunity that Big Pharma now has.

A class-action lawsuit filed on Tuesday alleges UnitedHealthcare's algorithm overrode physician recommendations, wrongfully denying coverage under Medicare Advantage policies for stays in extended-care facilities.

A new rule, which is set to take effect Jan. 1 and requires PBMs to take most of their "performance fees" at the time prescriptions are filled, is adding to the woes of the independent drugstores it was partly designed to help.

"I think the FDA is struggling to get its arms around how to regulate it," said Kyle Faget, a partner at Foley & Lardner. "We're really in the nascent stage with AI."

Of employers with fewer than 10 employees, the percentage offering coverage dropped from 28% in 2013 to 22% in 2016.