PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute finds the expected 2019 cost trend for the employer-sponsored health coverage population is in line with the 5.5% to 7% increases seen over the past five years, but remains "unsustainably high," leading to consumers paying larger portions of their medical costs.

Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Maura Healey (D) and New York AG Barbara Underwood (D) say they believe the Trump administration's final rule to expand association health plans "is unlawful and would lead to fewer critical consumer health protections."

American Medical Association President Barbara McAneny says, "We have to decide whether the goal of a health care system is to increase profits, because private equity firms are selecting those parts of health care where they can see a profit because their goal is to make profit."

American Medical Association (AMA) President Barbara McAneny says, "After very careful consideration over the past months, the AMA has come to the conclusion that [the proposed] merger [between CVS Health and Aetna] would likely substantially lessen competition in many health care markets, to the detriment of patients."

The plan would redirect Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding to states through block grants, repeal many of the ACA's consumer protections, expand the use of health savings accounts, and allow insurers to give discounts to consumers who are young or maintain continuous coverage.

The final rule aims to expand access to association health plans (AHP) by broadening requirements regarding which types of employers are eligible to form an AHP.

The air ambulance industry is booming due to medical advances, hospital closures, and loose regulations, but the sometimes-lifesaving flights can carry five-figure charges that can often lead to protracted billing disputes for privately insured patients.

Care delivery is shifting away from high-intensity settings and toward low-intensity settings, but experts moving patients toward the lowest-intensity setting might put them at risk in some instances.

Some Republican policymakers and six of the United States' largest physician groups are pushing back against the Trump administration's argument that a federal court should strike the Affordable Care Act's protections for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions in a lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar in testimony appears to walk back President Trump's comments regarding looming prescription drug price cuts—and continues his criticism of proposals to import drugs from other countries.