Vermont for Single Payer

08/23/2025

https://www.wwltv.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/great-day-louisiana/decoding-healthcare-costs/289-fd804e14-9040-40ea-855f-cb4ef82bd64a
A UnitedHealthcare Representative Touting the Wonders of Their Insurance Plans Under the Guise of a Local TV Informational Segment [roughly 5 minutes]

UnitedHealthcare joins us to share some tips to help us read our healthcare bills and understand those costs.

08/23/2025

08/22/2025

Employers’ 2026 Healthcare Costs “Are Likely to be 62% Higher than 2017 Levels”
https://www.plansponsor.com/employers-predict-9-health-care-cost-jump-in-2026/
“The predicted cost increase in 2025 was 8.0%, and actual costs remain to be seen. Looking ahead to 2026, the prediction is one full percentage point higher than it was last year. On a compounded basis, costs in 2026 are likely to be 62% higher than 2017 levels.”

Health care cost increases are expected to outpace employers’ forecasts for the second year in a row, according to the Business Group on Health.

08/21/2025

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/genesis-healthcare-bankruptcy-private-equity-stakeholder-project/757980/
“A new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project alleges skilled nursing facility operator Genesis Healthcare’s bankruptcy filing last month can be traced to financial mismanagement at the hands of its private equity owners.
“Formation Capital, which acquired Genesis nearly two decades ago utilized leveraged buyouts, sale-leaseback transactions and layered debt to extract value from the operator, while Genesis struggled to stay viable, according to the report.
“Genesis’ bankruptcy isn’t an isolated event, the report argues. Private equity-backed firms were involved in more than half of large healthcare bankruptcies last year, according to the watchdog group.”

The skilled nursing operator filed for bankruptcy in July, a “predictable” outcome after years of financial mismanagement from Genesis’ private equity investors, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

08/20/2025

Major League Baseball Increases Amount Employees Pay for Healthcare
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6556414/2025/08/19/mlb-health-care-plan-more-expensive/
“Even in a league that brought in $12 billion in revenue in 2024, employee paychecks are taking a hit.
“Major League Baseball’s central office has made its healthcare plans more costly to its employees, plan participants who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic.
“Previously, enrolled MLB employees at the commissioner’s office and MLB Advanced Media — the digital arm of the company, which includes MLB.com — did not have to pay monthly premiums for coverage, but were responsible for co-pays. To keep that same level of benefits going forward, employees will have to contribute some of their paychecks, which newly makes MLB’s model similar to most other workplaces in the U.S.”

MLB has made a change to its employee health benefits, though they remain more generous than most private plans.

08/19/2025

"one day before UnitedHealth Group completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys"
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/trump-revokes-executive-order-on-competition-5-things-for-hospital-leaders-to-know/?origin=BHRE&utm_source=BHRE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=5766C9953223F2J
“President Donald Trump on Aug. 13 revoked Executive Order 14036, a 2021 directive issued under the Biden administration aimed at promoting competition across the U.S. economy, including healthcare.
“…The Biden-era order, signed in July 2021, had instructed federal agencies to take a more aggressive stance against consolidation across industries. In healthcare, this meant increased scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions, heightened oversight of hospital consolidation and new rules designed to curb what the administration described as anti-competitive practices by payers and providers. President Trump’s Aug. 13 order formally revoked the directive, citing the need to reduce regulatory burdens and allow markets to function more freely.
….
”The announcement came just one day before UnitedHealth Group completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys, a home health and hospice provider with more than 500 care centers in 38 states and Washington, D.C.”

President Donald Trump on Aug. 13 revoked Executive Order 14036, a 2021 directive issued under the Biden administration aimed at promoting competition across the U.S. economy, including healthcare. Five things to know: 1. Executive Order 14036 (Promoting Competition in the American Economy) is no lo...

08/18/2025

https://chirblog.org/state-policymakers-show-growing-interest-in-ownership-transparency-in-2025/
“Increasing consolidation among hospitals, physician practices, and other health care entities is driving up health care prices. At the same time, growing corporatization of health care makes it increasingly hard to uncover which entities own or control a health care practice or other health care entity. As state policymakers grapple with high and rising commercial health care prices, they showed a growing interest during 2025 legislative sessions in leveraging ownership transparency as a tool to better understand their changing health care markets, strengthen oversight efforts, and inform consumers.
“Bills to increase the transparency of ownership and control of health care entities were introduced in at least eight states in 2025, and made it across the finish line in four of them. The increase in state policymakers’ interest and activity likely reflects several interrelated factors…”

As state policymakers grapple with rising commercial health care prices, they showed a growing interest during 2025 legislative sessions in leveraging ownership transparency as a tool to understand health care markets, strengthen oversight efforts, and inform consumers. Stacey Pogue discusses what s