On Tuesday, June 19, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final regulation to expand use of association health plans, allowing small business and individuals to join together to purchase coverage. In reaction, 26 patients and consumer groups—headlined by the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society—issued a joint statement attacking the final rule.

For the first time in 110 years, General Electric won’t be a part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the corporate giant will be delisted when the stock market opens June 26.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic will enter into a five-year agreement that will keep all state-wide Mayo Clinic locations within network through 2023.

The Trump administration appears close to announcing a new health insurance option for small businesses and self-employed individuals that would offer fewer benefits and cost less.

A majority of millennials—individuals between 18 and 34 years old—are willing to let health insurance companies access their social media, provided their premiums could be lowered, according to a survey from MuleSoft Inc.

PricewaterhouseCoopers released its report on medical cost trends, which estimates numbers for 2019. The good news? Cost increases have leveled off—rising 6 percent in 2019. But for employers, these increasing expenditures do not lead to improved productivity. Medical costs continue to jump, while growth in labor productivity should remain near 1.1 percent for 2019—below the average annual increase of 2.3 percent in recent decades.

After months of statements, speculation, trade talks, tweets and threats, the U.S. government has officially put tariffs in place on $50 billion worth of products imported from China, including medical imaging equipment. X-ray, CT and MRI equipment are all on the list of products included in this announcement.

In a Thursday, June 14, ruling, a federal appellate court denied claims from health insurers who claimed they were owed billions of dollars from an Affordable Care Act (ACA) program. The court ruled 2-1 against two insurers who wanted the federal government to repay them for covering sicker, more expensive patients than initially expected.