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U.S. employers expect health insurance costs to rise an average 5.8% in 2025, largely due to increased cost of medical services as well as higher use, according to a survey released by consulting firm Mercer on Thursday. The year 2025 is projected to be the third consecutive year in which healthcare costs for employers rise by more than 5%. Costs increased an average 3% during the decade prior, the report said. In part, the higher cost of each medical service is driven by a continued shortage of healthcare workers, linked to providers raising prices, Mercer said. Spending on behavioral health and popular but pricey GLP-1 weight loss drugs are also contributors. (Niasse, 9/12)

For years, health insurers battled to gain market share in the lucrative privatized Medicare program. Now, the opposite is true. Some of the companies say they designed their 2025 plans with an eye toward ditching members. (Bannow, 9/13)

The federal government will pay less in quality bonuses to Medicare Advantage insurers this year compared with last year, according to a new report. Medicare Advantage insurers will receive an estimated $11.8 billion in bonus payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this year linked to their star rating performance during the 2023 plan year, according to a report released by healthcare research institution Â鶹ŮÓÅ on Wednesday. That’s down about 8% from the total CMS distributed to health insurers last year. (Berryman, 9/12)

Aetna is leaning into technology it believes will alleviate patient and provider headaches from burdensome utilization management rules, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cathy Moffitt said. To expedite care and reduce administrative obstacles, the health insurance company intends to automate about one-third of preapproval requests from providers this year, Moffitt, also a senior vice president at parent company CVS Health, said in an interview. But Aetna is walking a fine line as health insurers face backlash over how they incorporate technologies such as algorithms and artificial intelligence into the preapproval process. (Berryman, 9/11)