Sitemap - 2025 - Employer Coverage

Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies associated with dramatic decrease in infant RSV hospitalizations

Navigation program improves cancer screening and follow-up

Peterson Institute releases its report on virtual programs for depression and anxiety

Saturday Longforms

Friday Shorts: Pharmacogenomic testing, vaccines and medical debt and marketplace premiums

Results of decreasing the age of colonoscopy screening to 45

Impact of state gun laws on pediatric deaths

What we can learn from reporting on denials in Medicare Advantage plans

Legislation filed to eliminate cost sharing for maternity services

Saturday Longforms: Young people with cancer, myeloma potential cure, and Medicare Advantage

Friday Shorts: Vaccine committee, oncology advances, shingles vaccine, measles from air travel, and fluoride

Americans are less sedentary than in 2018, but there is plenty of room for improvement

Should employers encourage more prostate cancer screening?

Exercise leads to better survival after colorectal cancer

Claims analysis shows impact of increased use of GLP-1s

Weekend Long Forms

Friday Shorts: Student loan defaults, robotic surgery, and home cervical cancer screening

Death rates declined less in the U.S. than other developed countries

What new guidelines for COVID-19 vaccinations mean for employers

Impact of 340b pharmacy discounts on employer-sponsored health plans

Increase in uninsured could impact employer-sponsored health insurance

Friday Shorts: GLP-1 emergency visits and disparities; colorectal cancer screening, digital health fragmentation

Less invasive therapy is effective for early cervical cancer

US drug overdose death rates declined in 2024

First baby treated with new gene therapy

Friday Shorts: Cancer deaths down, inaccurate provider directories, CRC screening, Z codes, rural hospitals closing and marijuana in pregnancy

Declines in vaccination rate could lead to millions of cases of preventable disease

HDHPs are associated with less chronic disease care

Tirzepatide causes more weight loss than semaglutide

Pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. are high compared to other developed countries

Friday Shorts: Student loan collections, gene therapy financing, doctors editing AI, disparities and sick leave

Medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder improves maternal and infant outcomes

Immunotherapy is highly effective in some solid tumors

GLP-1 drugs highly effective in treating liver disease

GLP-1 drugs , like most medical care, do not lower medical costs

Friday Shorts: Preventive care, sepsis, female surgeons, medical credit cards and cancer from CT scans

Surprising lack of disparity in use of digital care

New oral GLP-1 drug looks promising in clinical trial (By Patricia Toro, MD MPH)

Vaccine misinformation on the rise

Better blood pressure control decreased cases of dementia

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives

How should we think about the cost of cancer screening?

Arbitration in the No Surprises Act leads to higher prices

Vaccination impact on childhood infectious disease

The fallacy of future medical cost savings

Friday Shorts: Taxes on employer insurance, GLP-1s and dementia, small business health insurance

Measles continues to spread, and two deaths reported from whooping cough

Over one-quarter of patients receive bills for physician portal responses

New report shows mortality associated with childbirth

Supreme Court to hear preventive medicine case today

Two articles help explain anger at insurers

Thursday Shorts: GLP-1, smartwatches, discrimination, fluoride and breast cancer screening

Controlling blood pressure in midlife increases life expectancy

Heart disease risks are higher in rural communities

Shingles vaccine associated with decrease in dementia

Tariffs could fuel further medical inflation

Friday Shorts: GLP-1, HPV and heart disease, high risk surgery, vitamin A

Hospitals with inclusive policies had less nurse burnout

Primary care recovers (a little) in national residency match

Employment and wages in health care rose substantially since 1980

Bariatric surgery leads to substantial decreases in medical spending

Friday Shorts: GLP-1s, transgender care, measles and food insecurity

Inflation pharmacy rebates could save employers billions

States with less regulation of short-term limited duration health plans had higher rates of late-stage cancer diagnosis

Automated insulin delivery beat standard insulin in Type 2 Diabetes

GLP-1 anti-obesity medicines remain too expensive

Friday Shorts: Annual HIV prevention,C-Section, CT radiation, surgical complications and coffee

Provider consolidation drives up anesthesia prices

Lactation support improves newborn outcomes

Job-based health coverage unaffordable for many

Women pay billions more in out-of-pocket drug costs than men (by Patricia Toro, MD MPH)

Friday Shorts: Pharmacy vaccination, cervical cancer, flu and COVID shots, surgical bias and telehealth

Breast and colorectal cancer screening rates have rebounded

Some reflections on the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic

The prevalence of medical borrowing is high

Diabetes control worsened from 2013-2023

Shorts and follow ups

Workers express both fear and excitement about AI

Rural-urban and racial disparities in cervical cancer persist

Increased health insurance costs lead to lower employee wages

Primary care scorecard demonstrates serious challenges

Some issues I'm tracking

Thursday Shorts: RSV vaccine, doxypep, rural surgery, and exchange subsidies

Measles outbreak worsens

FDA says that the GLP-1 shortage is over

Spinal steroid injections often don’t help back pain

High cost of newly approved drugs hitting employers and patients

Friday Shorts: Flu, NIH cuts, gene therapy companies in trouble, GLP-1s and obesity

Study shows wide variation in utilization and total cost of medical care

The potential impact of tariffs on medical costs

Medicare to shut down its VBID program

Maternal mortality dropped in 2023, but not for Black women

Cuts in NIH “indirect” funding could have substantial impact on hospitals and research

Heart health worsening in the U.S.

Insurer medical loss ratios are high

Many patients discontinue and reinitiate GLP-1 drugs

Access to adult primary care is deteriorating

Influenza rates are the highest in over a decade

Friday Shorts: Telemed, home testing, cancer screening, AI, and digital nudges

Executive orders are disrupting transgender care

Student loan repayments could decrease employee financial wellbeing

Survey shows that employers focus mostly on finances when evaluating health plans

Federal report shows that many plans do not offer mental health parity

Shorts: Norovirus vaccine, hernia size, soda tax, thyroid cancer and more

Obesity treatment can reverse liver disease

Bird flu continues to spread in birds and cattle

A “polypill” could prevent cardiovascular disease

New data shows frequency of insurance denials

Shorts and Follow ups including AI and RSV vaccine

Study confirms hospital consolidation associated with higher unit costs

Cancer deaths continue to decline

FIT tests were more cost effective than blood tests for colorectal cancer screening

Large study shows benefits and harms of GLP-1s in people with diabetes

Shorts: Pedi vaccinations, sterilizations,gender affirming care and preventive care requirement

Alcohol is one of many substances that can cause cancer

Carriers earn more profit on self- insured products

Winter surge of respiratory and GI viral infections

California wildfires will have a large impact on health and health care costs

Links to recent posts on major issues facing employer-sponsored health insurance in 2025 (and beyond)

Infectious disease will continue to pose serious risks

Mental health and substance use will continue to require employer attention

Climate change will adversely impact health and increase health care costs

Artificial intelligence will continue to advance in health care administration and delivery

Regulation and policy changes could reshape employer-sponsored health insurance in 2025 and beyond

Employers and health systems will continue to face labor shortages in 2025

2025 Forecast: Medical costs will continue to rise

Clean indoor air can increase creativity

Kindness is highly valued by givers and receivers, and is contagious

Few people are vitamin D deficient

Lower BMIs can mean lower medical costs, but GLP-1s are still not likely to be cost saving at current prices

America faces a growing lifespan-healthspan gap