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A look back at the most widely read BenefitsPRO health benefits articles of the year shows that readers are thinking hard about the future of group health coverage, and especially about the future of small, fully insured group health plans.
Readers were also hungry for news about Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and new-generation weight-loss drugs.
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Mark Bertolini, ex-CEO of Aetna, proposed that employers continue to contribute to employees' insurance, but instead of enrolling them in a group plan, allow them to select an individual plan that fits their needs.
The membership club retail chain expanded its partnership with telehealth company Sesame to launch a weight loss program that cost $175 for three months. This price did not include the cost of the weight loss drugs.
The insurer's parent, CVS Health, is worried that claim costs could soar.
Most doses of Zepbound had limited availability because of "demand increase for the drug," while only the highest dose of Wegovy was available, with remaining doses in short supply for a duration "to be determined," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
A look at how technology can create a deeper level of personalization.
Employers seemed to be doing better than other payers at holding administrative costs down.
Aetna, Elevance Health and Kaiser Permanente decided to cover Wegovy to reduce heart attack risk in Medicare patients with heart conditions, following the FDA's approval of use of the drug to reduce stroke and heart attack risk.
8. 5 top states where people have arthritis
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About 20% of the working-age Americans in a typical state reported in 2023 that they had some form of arthritis, according to the CDC.
State insurance commissioners see "level-funded" plans — hybrid self-insured plans — pulling covered lives away.
Here's a look at how likely working-age adults in those states and others are to tell the CDC that they've seen a dentist in the previous 12 months.
Related: The 2025 BenefitsPRO planner
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
