Employee-Paid

In states that banned abortion, doctors are forced to wrestle with tough decisions about high-risk pregnancy care and "don't want to have a patient die and be responsible for it," said one doctor.

The three health insurers have been hit with lawsuits by the Healthcare Justice Coalition NJ, which claims that doctors are paid just a fraction of their bills for out-of-network services provided.

The health care industry led the way in False Claims Act settlements with a record 543 cases related to hospitals, pharmacies, labs and physicians, including a $172 million Cigna settlement involving Medicare Advantage fraud.

Almost 4 in 10 at some point have been unable to afford rent, groceries or utilities because of medical bills.

Most physicians said they regularly feel burned out, and many (83%) believe artificial intelligence – to reduce administrative work and provide greater efficiency – could be the solution, according to an Athenahealth survey.

Higher medical costs for employer-sponsored plans are due to advances in treatments and health care consolidation trends, as well as specialty drug use and the new GLP-1 class of weight loss drugs, says a new report.

Aside from the impact on U.S. pharmacies, the cyberattack was widespread and expected to grow, since Change Healthcare maintains health care's pipelines, including payments and requests for insurers to authorize care.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has been interviewing health care industry representatives in sectors where UnitedHealth competes to determine if the health care giant favored its Optum-owned doctor groups.