Health Care Reform

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.

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.

The article argues that, given the federal government's endorsement of RBP and its proven efficacy in reducing employer costs and expanding participant options, it is now virtually impossible for a plan fiduciary to lawfully discharge their duties in accordance with ERISA without at least considering the implementation of RBP.

Minutes after a Texas federal judge blocked the decades-old approval of mifepristone on Friday, a federal judge in Washington reached the opposite conclusion: The abortion pill should remain available.

Many insurers are offering smaller networks of doctors and hospitals, and problems arise when patients cannot find local in-network providers and must pay more for out-of-network care or travel farther for in-network care.

About half of all patients are getting hit with facility fees, which are billed for doctor visits at hospital-owned clinics, as three in four physicians are now employed by hospitals, health systems or other corporate entities.