The finance chief of UnitedHealth Group's Optum unit, Roger Connor, has left after less than six months in the role, in the latest management change at the healthcare giant. Ben Eklo, a longtime finance executive at the company, will succeed Connor effective November 1, a company spokesperson said. The latest departure follows UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley's efforts to turn around the company after several setbacks including its first earnings miss in over a decade during the first quarter. Andrew Witty abruptly stepped down as CEO of the healthcare conglomerate in May. Connor, who was named CFO of the Optum health services unit in May, is leaving to return to the UK.
As open enrollment approaches, the state’s version of the ACA exchange began warning Massachusetts residents about skyrocketing premiums as Congress continues its stalemate over the federal subsidies. As the federal shutdown continues, Democratic lawmakers are pushing to pass extensions of tax credits, which make health care cheaper for millions of Americans and expire at the end of the year. Ahead of open enrollment beginning Nov. 1, Massachusetts Health Connector has been sending out final eligibility notices, including premium information for 2026. A spokesperson said the average premium increase is estimated to be more than $1,300 a year if the enhanced Premium Tax Credits are not extended.
With the cost of health insurance set to rise, some Americans are asking a surprising question: Is it actually cheaper to get medical care without it? The short answer: Sometimes. But not often. And it may require a little — or a lot — of homework. Some hospitals and clinics offer self-pay or cash only discounts for patients who pay without insurance, skipping the paperwork and administrative fees that come with having coverage. Hospitals are required by federal law to make their discounted cash prices publicly available online.
The prospect of young people dropping out of the ACA markets worries health policy experts — not just because of their own personal risk of going uninsured, but because of the effect that millions of people making the same decision could have on the whole health system. If Congress does not extend the federal subsidies set to expire in December, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 4 million people will become uninsured in the next several years.
Congress is barreling toward a critical deadline for extending the enhanced ObamaCare subsidies at the heart of the government shutdown, and it may already be too late to shield the public from sticker shock with open-enrollment window shopping underway. If somehow there is a deal done ahead of Nov.1, which looks unlikely, states and the federal government may still have time to incorporate the enhanced subsidies into their prices. But Republicans have made it clear that there will need to be changes to the tax credits before they even entertain an extension.
A major union announced a proposal Thursday to impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in California to address federal funding cuts to healthcare for low-income people. Proponents, including the Service Employees International Union, hope to place the statewide measure before voters next year. The tax would be on the net worth of California's richest residents. A small portion of the money would also help fund K-12 education since the federal government has threatened to withhold grant money from public schools.