Healthcare Spending

2024 Medicare Advantage premiums remain low and stable

March 12, 2024 - The average Medicare Advantage premium has remained low and stable, with many beneficiaries choosing plans with a zero-dollar monthly premium, according to data from eHealth, Inc. eHealth’s seventh annual Medicare Index Report includes data from over 190,000 applications for Medicare insurance products submitted to eHealth during the annual...


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MA Payment Reductions May Impact Value of Healthcare for Beneficiaries

by Victoria Bailey

The proposed 2025 Medicare Advantage Advance Notice would impact the value of healthcare for beneficiaries, resulting in higher costs, according to an analysis from the Berkeley Research Group...

7 Out of 10 Americans Struggling With Medical Debt Owe Over $1,000

by Kelsey Waddill

One in twelve adult Americans owe medical debt, largely those who are uninsured, low-income, or disabled, according to a report from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. Research on rampant medical...

What Utilization Management Strategies Do Payers Use to Lower Costs?

by Victoria Bailey

As healthcare spending rises in the United States, stakeholders are constantly working to address the drivers of high costs. The overutilization of healthcare services—including the provision of low- or no-value care—not only...

2024 Employer Sponsored Health Plan Predictions: GLP-1s, Vendors, Data

by Kelsey Waddill

Employers are stuck between a rock and a hard place in 2024, with unsustainable healthcare spending in their employer-sponsored health plans and a reticence to shift any more of the cost to their...

2022 National Healthcare Spending Growth Slowed to Pre-COVID Levels

by Kelsey Waddill

In 2022, national health expenditures hit $4.5 trillion, a 4.1 percent increase, with a couple of key spending areas seeing growth rates return to pre-pandemic levels, CMS announced in a fact...

Payers Embrace Healthcare IT for Cost Optimization, Member Engagement

by Victoria Bailey

Payers are investing in healthcare IT resources to support cost optimization and improve member experience, according to a study from EY-Parthenon and KLAS Research. As payers face operational and...

Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease Coverage, VBC Opportunities

by Kelsey Waddill

Efforts to improve chronic kidney disease coverage have evolved over the last several decades, but the disease remains costly and prevalent. Around 15 percent of the adult population in the US has chronic kidney disease (CKD), according...

Study Finds Geographic Variation in Payer Prices for Office Visits

by Victoria Bailey

Among a single health insurer, prices for office visits varied by geographic location, with the upper-Midwest and Southeast regions seeing higher costs, a study published in JAMA Health Forum...

Finances, Mental Health Concerns Impact Adults’ Wellbeing, Cigna Finds

by Victoria Bailey

Americans are feeling more optimistic about their wellbeing than last year, but financial concerns and mental health challenges are still negatively impacting their health, according to a report from...

Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums Grew by 7% in 2023

by Victoria Bailey

The average annual premium for employer-sponsored health insurance increased by 7 percent in 2023, a KFF survey revealed. The 2023 benchmark KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey included interviews...

3 Ways That Large Employers Influence Health Insurance Costs, Coverage

by Kelsey Waddill

Traditionally, health insurance companies have been the face of the payer industry, for better or for worse. But companies have incredible sway in the health insurance world, particularly large employers. Employers offer and manage...

Medicare Part B Premiums, Deductibles Will Increase in 2024

by Victoria Bailey

Monthly Medicare Part B premiums will increase by nearly $10 in 2024 due to a projected increase in healthcare spending, CMS announced. Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital...

What Are Major Payers Offering Medicare Advantage Members in 2024?

by Victoria Bailey

As Medicare’s open enrollment period approaches, payers have announced new Medicare Advantage plan offerings for 2024.   Because Medicare Advantage plans receive flexibility to cover...

Total Adoption of Continuous Eligibility May Improve Coverage Rates

by Kelsey Waddill

While Congress has taken steps to ensure continuous eligibility for children on Medicaid, data indicates that expanding continuous eligibility to adults could result in lower uninsurance, some cost...

CMS: Medicare Advantage Premiums Will See Little Change in 2024

by Victoria Bailey

Ahead of the Medicare Open Enrollment Period, CMS has announced that Medicare Advantage premiums, benefits, and plan choices will remain relatively stable in 2024.  “A top priority for CMS...

Employers Expect Highest Health Plan Benefits Cost Growth in 10 Years

by Kelsey Waddill

In 2024, experts anticipate that health benefits costs will increase 5.4 percent on average per employee, according to Mercer’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans 2023. Mercer...

Hospital Outpatient Department Costs Consistently Outpace Offices, ASCs

by Kelsey Waddill

Given the significant difference between cost of care in hospital outpatient department settings compared to other settings for the same services, site-neutral payments could reduce healthcare...