Health Care Reform

Fox and Murtagh noted that some states already impose controls on hospitals' prices, and that the controls can take different forms, such as a flat cap on prices or a limit on price increases.

The proposed settlement would "resolve all of the claims against the Caremark respondents" and already has been approved by CVS, FTC attorneys and the FTC's competition and consumer protection bureaus."

In outlawing surprise billing for emergency services, non-emergency care from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers, the NSA established an Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process to determine out-of-network payment amounts between providers (including those for air ambulance services) or facilities and health plans.

Simply giving employees basic information could do a lot of good.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hopes to move all payers to a standard, digital medical attachment format by May 26, 2028.

Fully insured employer plans may pay more than 40 times the in-network amount when they lose.