This is forcing brokers to rethink how they serve clients and how their businesses continue to grow without sacrificing service.

The post As Health Costs Hit Record Highs, Brokers Face a Structural Test appeared first on MedCity News.

The Social Security Administration’s move onto the TEFCA interoperability framework is beginning to streamline disability determinations by enabling faster exchange of medical records from hospitals. Dr. David Kaelber, chief health informatics officer at MetroHealth System in Ohio, said the shift is replacing a months-long, fax-driven process with near real-time data sharing.

The post How TEFCA Is Speeding Up Disability Benefits Determinations at Hospitals appeared first on MedCity News.

[Sponsored] The impact AI is having on the healthcare experience.

The post Pivot Podcast: How AI Is Reshaping Care Navigation and Patient Outcomes with Shannon Skaggs appeared first on MedCity News.

[Sponsored] The confluence of AI and predictive analytics is rapidly transforming healthcare and benefits management, shifting the focus from reactive automation to proactive anticipation.

The post Turning AI Insights into Meaningful Action: The Future of Healthcare Navigation appeared first on MedCity News.

While health plans may consider the additional costs, long-term savings from reduced complications and hospital admissions can offset these expenses. Not only that, but transportation benefits can reduce health disparities and improve patient and caregiver lives.

The post The Case for Patient Transportation Coverage for Health Plans appeared first on MedCity News.

For employers to offer effective, accessible and affordable value-based care for their employees, they must address these four components.

The post How Employers Can Leverage Value-Based Care to Drive Retention and Improved Health Outcomes for Employees appeared first on MedCity News.

[Sponsored] Employees who enjoy their benefits are more inclined to stay with their company. A 2025 Marsh McLennan Agency report said 73% of employees would remain if plan options were better.

The post 5 Major Trends Emerging in Healthcare Benefits in 2025 appeared first on MedCity News.

[Sponsored] Quantum Health CEO Zane Burke and Imagine360 CEO Jeff Bak highlighted the significance of the partnership, what it means for their respective businesses, and the industry at large, in response to emailed questions.

The post Ardent Health Opts for New Employee Benefits and Employee Experience with Quantum Health and Imagine360 appeared first on MedCity News.

Last month at a conference, AdventHealth CEO Terry Shaw shared some employee retention strategies used at his health system. He stressed the importance of gathering employee feedback and using it to give them the changes they need. This month, MedCity News followed up with AdventHealth to get a better picture of what these strategies look like in practice.

The post Who Spearheads Employee Retention Strategies At AdventHealth? Get This — The Employees appeared first on MedCity News.

Headspace Health’s mindfulness services will now be offered on Gympass’ platform. The company has a network of more than 50,000 gyms, classes, trainers and wellbeing apps that it offers to more than 10,000 companies.

The post Gympass Adds Headspace Health To Wellbeing Platform for Employers appeared first on MedCity News.

Fewer than half of female workers receive a paid parental leave benefit from their employer, including maternity leave (43%) and family and medical leave to care for a sick family member (44%), according to KFF.

The post KFF: Many Women Don’t Receive Paid Parental Leave Benefit From Employers appeared first on MedCity News.

Caregiver services and benefits specific to LGBTQ+ populations are some ways employers can support their employees. Executives shared these ideas on a panel at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas.

The post What 3 Employers Have Done To Ensure a Healthier, More Inclusive Workplace appeared first on MedCity News.

Historically having worked with Medicaid and Medicare Advantage populations, Uber Health is now expanding its services to self-insured employers. The company made the announcement at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas.

The post Uber Health Dips Into the Employer Space appeared first on MedCity News.

The top strategies to support mental health issues are offering coverage for telebehavioral health services, providing onsite or virtual employee assistance programs and providing access to digital behavioral health support, a survey of 455 employers found.

The post Mental health is a top priority for employers. What are their strategies? appeared first on MedCity News.

The insurer is expanding its offerings for its $0-premium Preferred Provider Organization plans and special needs plans for dually eligible beneficiaries. Alignment is adding 14 counties to its footprint, bringing its reach to 8.3 million Medicare-eligible adults in 52 markets.

The post What Alignment Healthcare is doing in preparation for Medicare open enrollment appeared first on MedCity News.

In a survey of Americans with employer-sponsored coverage, 91% of respondents said they’ve experienced a payment-related issue in the past. Another 86% saying they’re worried their health benefits won’t cover all their healthcare needs.

The post Consumers worried about healthcare costs as open enrollment nears, survey shows appeared first on MedCity News.

AccessHope’s new collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is the fifth of its kind for the cancer benefits company. AccessHope will be able to offer its employer members access to Fred Hutch’s cancer expertise through the partnership.

The post AccessHope strikes up new partnership to expand cancer expertise for employers appeared first on MedCity News.

The survey reported 35% of respondents already offer travel and lodging benefits for abortions, while 16% plan to in 2023 and 21% are considering it.  

The post Abortion travel benefits to become more common among employers after Dobbs decision appeared first on MedCity News.

Every health plan is required to use real-time benefit tools, which allow physicians to access drug pricing and a patient’s benefit information at the point of care. But, to date, RTBTs haven’t delivered on the promised savings.

The post Health plans, this is why real-time benefit tools have let you down appeared first on MedCity News.

One way MA plans can stand out in an increasingly competitive market is by making members aware of the benefits they may not even know they have and encouraging them to use those benefits.

The post Getting Medicare Advantage members to take advantage of plan benefits appeared first on MedCity News.

By engaging in a dialogue, patients and pharma companies can have a mutually beneficial relationship, Health Union’s Jack Barrette said at HLTH’s patient engagement track, hosted by MedCity News. Not only can patients help mold clinical trials, but they can help companies improve their patient education efforts.

The post Joining forces can benefit both patients and pharma companies   appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS is lowering the average premium for MA plans to $19 per month in 2022 from about $21 this year. The news comes as several insurers announce new MA plan offerings for 2022, including Humana, which said it will launch 72 plans.

The post CMS lowers MA premiums amid insurer plans to grow offerings appeared first on MedCity News.

A majority of organizations (93%) said they are focused on both attracting and retaining top talent, a new survey from Aon shows. They are offering various benefits to do so, including onsite or near-site health clinics for employees.

The post Survey: 40% of health systems ramping up hiring efforts amid workforce shortage appeared first on MedCity News.

M&A activity in the healthcare finance technology is heating up, evidenced by large transactions such as Cedar buying OODA Health and R1 RCM buying VisitPay. Experts agree that this activity won’t end anytime soon, and it will have a positive impact on providers and patients.

The post Healthcare fintech M&A expected to boost patient experience, provider operations appeared first on MedCity News.

The health insurance startup and transportation service company are joining forces to offer Medicare Advantage members access to non-emergency medical transportation. With transportation being a key social determinant of health, Clover Health and Roundtrip are aiming to improve member experience and outcomes through the partnership.

The post Clover Health, Roundtrip to offer MA members non-emergency transport services appeared first on MedCity News.

As part of its ongoing effort to improve maternal outcomes in the country, the government has approved Illinois’ request to extend full Medicaid coverage for new mothers. The approval extends the coverage from 60 days to one year and will give about 2,500 women living below the poverty line access to care every year.

The post Illinois first state to offer full Medicaid benefits to women one year postpartum  appeared first on MedCity News.

Virtual primary care startup Firefly Health plans to launch a benefit plan after raising $40 million in new funding. The company currently offers virtual and in-person access to a primary care team. 

The post Virtual primary care startup Firefly Health raises $40M, plans foray into benefits appeared first on MedCity News.

The partnership between the insurer and EHR giant — announced a year and a half ago — will now focus on streamlining prior authorizations and offering providers enhanced insights about their patients. Ochsner Health will be among the first to implement the new capabilities offered by the companies.

The post Epic-Humana partnership enters new phase focused on prior authorizations appeared first on MedCity News.

The survey of more than 5,000 people from insurance software company HealthEdge shows 78% of respondents were satisfied with their health plan overall, but just 65% were satisfied with communication from their insurer.

The post Survey: Most people like their health insurance, but hate not knowing what’s covered appeared first on MedCity News.