Consumer Driven Health Care

In January, the White House announced plans to extend the national emergency, as well as the public health emergency, until May 11. However, the legislation ending the national emergency takes effect immediately.

Although the insurer lost its legal battle because of an "indirect purchaser" rule, Humana alleged Biogen made unlawful donations to charities to help fund patient copays to increase its number of prescriptions and sales.

Insurers and employers are expected to be reluctant or even unable to immediately begin charging copays or deductibles for the affected preventive care for certain services, such as screening for diabetes, hepatitis and certain cancers.

Employees often do not know the range of resources available to them in their benefits packages, and are often unaware of counseling included in the company's employee assistance program, according to a TELUS survey.

Brokers, insurance carriers and employers all play a role in educating employees on these voluntary benefits , driving better utilization, along with an overall improved employee experience.

Pfizer's CEO was the first major pharmaceutical company leader to add his name to the open letter, written after a Texas federal judge banned the use of the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone.