Consumer Driven Health Care

On Friday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would prevent "spread pricing" and increase regulations on PBMs, two days after the Senate unanimously passed its version.

After a federal judge nixed the preventive care requirement under the Affordable Care Act in a March ruling, health insurers said they will continue coverage until appeals are concluded, in a letter to lawmakers.

The 2020 law, which allows for price transparency in medical billing, has been largely successful in protecting consumers, though gaps remain, say stakeholders.

On Friday, the high court ruled that consumers will have full access to the abortion pill mifepristone as a lawsuit works its way through the lower federal courts.

The final rule requires that issuers on state and federal ACA marketplaces offer standardized qualified health plans at every tier level and that agents and brokers document consumers' consent information.

Massachusetts' second-largest insurer, Point32Health, suffered large technical outages due to a cybersecurity ransomware incident on Monday that has impacted customers in states throughout New England.