Day: January 31, 2024

Wildfires force evacuations in areas near South Africa’s Cape Town

Wildfires, which started on Jan. 29, forced evacuations in multiple small coastal towns near Cape Town in South Africa, TRT Afrika reported. Annelie Rabie, mayor of the Overstrand Municipality, said that as many as six wildfires broke out in the area and around 95% of a nearby nature reserve was burned.

Humana’s CenterWell to expand primary care business

Humana Inc.'s primary care business, CenterWell, is set to expand with new centers in Asheville, North Carolina, and Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, reports Fierce Healthcare. Additional locations will also be established across eight municipalities. The new Louisiana and North Carolina locations are slated to begin seeing patients in late spring or early summer.

Self-funded health care plan enrollment rises to 60%

The percentage of U.S. employees enrolled in self-funded health care plans increased to 60% in 2021 from 55% in 2015, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University, reports Becker’s Payer Issues. The largest growth was observed in states with previously lower levels of self-funded enrollment, including Arkansas, New York, Northern California, Pennsylvania, and Utah. […]

Half of Medicare beneficiaries participate in ACOs, data shows

Accountable care organizations in traditional Medicare are thriving, with nearly half of beneficiaries participating, according to new data from federal regulators, Healthcare Dive reports. However, participation in Medicare’s largest value-based care program has remained unchanged over the past five years.

Democrats propose state-subsidized health insurance for all

Democratic leaders in the Minnesota House plan to introduce a bill to extend state-subsidized MinnesotaCare health insurance to all residents, regardless of income, KFGO reports. The initiative aims to provide coverage to those without insurance or those facing unaffordable premiums. Critics argue this could be a step towards single-payer, state-run health insurance, a concept that […]

New federal rules exclude drugs from expedited insurance coverage decisions

New federal rules requiring insurers to expedite decisions on coverage for treatments ordered by doctors do not apply to drugs, despite these accounting for a significant share of prior authorization requests, Axios reports. The Biden administration is improving the coverage request process for physician-administered drugs but is still navigating existing health insurer systems.

WHO warns of counterfeit diabetes drugs amid global shortages

The World Health Organization has warned that global shortages of popular diabetes and weight loss medicines, such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, have led to an increase in counterfeit versions, Reuters reports. These fake drugs, often sold through unregulated outlets including social media, pose serious health risks due to potential contamination and lack of efficacy.

China expected to see robust growth in catastrophe bonds: Experts

Insurance experts expect China to see robust growth in catastrophe bonds, as the country’s policymakers seek more financial market tools to share the risks from increasing natural disaster-led losses, South China Morning Post reported. The experts believe that cat bonds can help the market develop a multilayer risk-transfer mechanism that combines traditional insurance products as […]

Damage from Cyclone Belal in France estimated at $108 million

France Assureurs, the insurance federation of France, has estimated the damage from Cyclone Belal, which hit the French department of Reunion Island in the middle of January, at €100 million ($108 million), Daily News reported. The cyclone caused a total of 42,100 claims and brought significant gusts of wind and intense precipitation, causing flooding of […]