Month: December 2025

Noah Tong

December 17, 2025

Some very big health insurance companies and a bevy of startups are striving to win over employers vexed by rising health benefit costs with new plan designs.

Alternative health plans such as variable copayment plans that favor certain in-network providers and individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, better known as ICHRAs, may appeal to businesses that expect healthcare costs to continue accelerating and are reconsidering their employee benefits. A significant share of employers has adopted these models already.

Alex Kacik

December 10, 2025

The Federal Trade Commission sent a letter this fall to some of the largest for-profit health systems and staffing firms, including HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Universal Health Services, warning them to ensure any employment contracts aren’t restricting competition and access to care.

In September, the FTC said it sent warning letters to several large healthcare employers and staffing firms but did not specify the number or the recipients. The agency recently disclosed the 19 companies to Modern Healthcare in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.