Listen to the article 7 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The Trump administration has negotiated deals with major Medicaid systems vendors that it says will save states hundreds of millions of dollars as they hustle to implement massive changes to the safety-net insurance program from the GOP’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” On Thursday, CMS officials shared a list of 10 companies that have agreed to provide IT services and products at low or no cost to states to help them stand up work requirements, a controversial policy tying Medicaid eligibility to work or…
Author: Awais
The U.S. Department of Commerce is preparing to open a national artificial-intelligence center in San Francisco, putting it closer to firms at the center of some of the government’s most high-profile initiatives. In addition to the Bay Area, AI export officials will be based in cities across the U.S., according to a Commerce official, who asked not to be identified. The Trump administration is looking to increase the country’s edge in AI and defense, industries that are largely based in California. It also aims to exploit natural resources in the state to increase the nation’s energy independence and bolster its…
Data source: These findings are based on KFF analysis of the 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC). The CPS is a nationally representative U.S. household survey sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is the “primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United States”. Identifying foreign-born workers from impacted countries in CPS-ASEC: Foreign-born workers are identified as those between ages 19 and 64 who report their citizenship group as either “foreign born, US cit by naturalization” or “foreign born, not a US citizen”. Those who further indicate their country…
For many of the nearly 28 years since the Tampa Bay Rays held their inaugural game in St. Petersburg’s domed stadium, they have been looking for a bigger, better deal. Tropicana Field’s location, across Tampa Bay from the much-larger population base in Tampa, attributed to low attendance through most of those years. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays began as the most recent of Major League Baseball’s expansion teams, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They eventually dropped Devil from the team’s name and have carved a fairly successful path as a small-market team despite a low payroll and poor attendance. Every…
Ethos, though, occupies a middle ground that today’s public investors are treating with more caution. It doesn’t operate as a classic life insurer, taking most of the risk onto its own balance sheet. Instead, it functions as a digital marketplace and wholesaler, funneling applicants to a panel of carriers using its proprietary underwriting and distribution platform.
The clock is ticking on the National Flood Insurance Program—again. The NFIP is part of the federal funding package, which is set to expire at the end of Jan. 30. Unless Congress compromises on several issues, namely funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the NFIP will be among a group of agencies set to lapse. A lapse would mean no new federal flood insurance policies sold or renewed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), administrator of NFIP, will still make payments for claims using available funds. NFIP was reauthorized until the end of this month when federal lawmakers ended…
While wrong-way crashes are increasing statewide in Michigan, one major highway is seeing the opposite trend. Since new wrong-way detection systems went up on US 131 in Grand Rapids, crashes have dropped more than 50%, according to state transportation officials. Beginning in 2023, nearly two dozen new “wrong-way” detection systems were installed along a stretch of US 131 between M-11 (28th Street) and Ann Street in Grand Rapids. The overall project cost about $200,000, including a $92,000 federal grant. The technology is mounted on existing “wrong way” and “do not enter” signs. When a driver enters the wrong ramp, the…
It’s getting harder to afford living in Texas — even as incomes and educational attainment grow and poverty declines. Despite the state’s robust economic growth since the start of the decade, incomes in Texas haven’t kept pace with the nation at large, U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday show. And the state’s housing costs have outpaced income growth, leaving a greater share of Texas renters and homeowners spending a bigger chunk of their pay to keep a roof over their heads than they did before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas has long been viewed as incredibly affordable —…
New York and most of the Northeast will likely be spared the worst of a new winter storm this weekend that still may clip Cape Cod and eastern New England after also making conditions worse across parts of North Carolina and Virginia as it travels north. In Cape Cod, eastern Massachusetts, snow is expected to develop after midnight Sunday and linger through the day before tapering off early Monday morning, said Matthew Belk, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The forecast for Long Island isn’t as clear because any jog in the storm’s track further out to sea would drop the…
House Bill 1274, introduced during the 2026 Regular Session by Representative Shanda Yates, takes direct aim at how carriers handle nonfault incidents, and it comes with teeth. The proposal would prohibit insurers from raising rates, tacking on surcharges, canceling policies, or declining renewals based on crashes where the policyholder wasn’t at fault. Breaking these rules wouldn’t just mean a slap on the wrist. Violators would have to refund any overcharged premiums and pay a penalty of triple that amount, or $1,000, whichever is higher. Insureds who take their carriers to court and win would also collect attorney fees.
Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Puneet Maheshwari is the senior vice president and general manager for Optum Real at Optum. On any given weekday morning, care providers nationwide sit staring at computer screens, navigating and cross-checking patient approval and reimbursement forms. On average, the paperwork to schedule and process an MRI takes up to seven business days to complete. The scan itself takes only about 45 minutes. It’s an increasingly common scenario: Providers spend more time on administrative processes than on patient care. Artificial intelligence is being deployed across claims processing at…
In order for the global insurance and reinsurance industry to meet the significant risk capital needs of the AI infrastructure and data centre build-out opportunity, securitization and third-party capital are going to be critical, Dean Klisura, CEO of Guy Carpenter said today.But, the size of the opportunity is seen as so large that investors are going to need to have deep pockets, the CEO explained during a Marsh earnings call today. Underwriting the data centre build-out, where technology giants, hyperscalers and artificial intelligence start-ups are deploying hundreds of billions of dollars to construct new capacity to power and serve their…
AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” (Good) of Aventus Insurance Company based in Fort Worth, Texas. These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Aventus’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The revision of the outlooks to positive from stable reflects consistent growth in capital, with increases regularly generated from profitable core operations. The expectation is for the company to continue to…
Editorial Note: This brief was updated on January 29, 2026, to include the latest KFF polling data. It was originally published on December 14, 2021. For many years, KFF polling has found that the high cost of health care is a burden on U.S. families, and that health care costs factor into decisions about insurance coverage and care seeking. These costs also rank as the top financial worry for adults and their families. This data note summarizes recent KFF polling on the public’s experiences with health care costs. Main takeaways include: Just under half of U.S. adults say it is…