Consumer Driven Health Care

Even before Rite Aid filed bankruptcy a few weeks ago, CVS and Walgreens had already announced store closures over the past two years, all of which will leave millions of consumers without easy access to their medications.

For a monthly fee, GNC Health is offering members low-cost virtual health care for urgent conditions, primary care appointments, mental health, physical therapy, and $0 prescription medications.

Several municipal employee benefit funds filed a lawsuit against the two drugmakers over allegations the companies colluded to delay the introduction of a less-expensive generic version of Merck's cholesterol drug Zetia.

When employers were asked about strategies for managing costs for 2024, utilization control initiatives, such as prior authorization, case management, disease management and nurse advice lines took center stage, says a new report.

Per person health spending is projected to rebound to an annual rate of 4.8% per capita from 2022 to 2031.

Given recent increased litigation and its impact on the regulatory environment, benefits consultants and plan sponsors should rethink their past decisions to simply comply with the No Surprises Act (NSA).