If You Like Your Deductible, You Can Keep Your Deductible ... Right After We Triple It

From Fierce Healthcare:

Health insurance deductibles have been steadily rising over the last decade, jumping 150% since 2009, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

The report, published ahead of Deductible Relief Day on May 19, shows the average deductible for a single person in 2009 was $533. It was $1,350 in 2018.
The number of adults required to pay deductibles has gone up as well, the analysis found. In 2009, 59% of people on an employer plan were required to pay a deductible. That number was 85% in 2018.

Oof, How's That $2,500 Drop in Premiums for the Average Family Working Out?

From Modern Healthcare:

The Consumer Price Index for health insurance in April spiked 10.7% over the previous 12 months—the largest increase since at least April 2014, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' unadjusted monthly Consumer Price Index data.

Generic Drugmakers Allegedly Inflated Prices Over 1,000% - 44 States Now Sue

60 Minutes blew the lid off of this unbelievable story here on Sunday night. 

It might be the biggest price-fixing scheme in U.S. history. On Friday, Connecticut and a coalition of more than 40 states filed a 500-page lawsuit accusing the biggest generic drug makers of a massive, systematic conspiracy to bilk consumers out of billions of dollars. It's a more sweeping version of a similar lawsuit the states filed in 2016 that's still being litigated. The generic industry vehemently denies the allegations.

On Tuesday morning I went on the Armstrong and Getty show to explain what governmental changes created the environment where such an absurd ripoff could occur. 

 
More on this story here:

• CNBC: Drugmakers allegedly inflated prices over 1,000% and 44 states are now suing
• Washington Post: States allege generic drug executives deleted texts, obstructed justice in price cartel probe 
• USA Today: States: Drugmakers collude on generic price hikes, overcharge consumers and states billions 
• Financial Post: Apotex among 20 generic drug firms accused of vast U.S. price-fixing scheme