News Briefs
✦ The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has signed off on a tentative agreement in a major antitrust lawsuit filed against Blues plans on behalf of customers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 24, citing people with knowledge of the matter. While the settlement has not yet been authorized by the boards of the 36 Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers or the judge presiding over the case, the WSJ reported that it would “require a payout of around $2.7 billion and curtail practices that allegedly limited competition” among Blues plans. Read more at https://on.wsj.com/3kR9Kut.
✦ In a Sept. 24 campaign speech in Charlotte, N.C., President Donald Trump touted his administration’s record on health care and unveiled an “America First Healthcare Plan.” The plan, which the is detailed in a new executive order, both details past actions the administration has taken to improve the health care system and Trump’s vision for future improvements. For example, it says that “it has been and will continue to be the policy of the United States to give Americans seeking healthcare more choice, lower costs, and better care and to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain the insurance of their choice at affordable rates,” though it doesn’t mention how that would be accomplished. The order also directs HHS to work with Congress to achieve a solution to the problem of surprise medical billing by Dec. 31. View the order at https://bit.ly/3mNWJ6y.
