Payers

Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Adobe Stock

Rising healthcare costs might have some benefits pros saying, “Ain’t nobody got time (or money) for that.”

This is where an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) may be able to help.

An ICHRA is an employer-funded health plan, through which employees are given pre-taxed money to help pay for medical costs and independent health insurance plans, via a private insurer or the government, HR Brew previously reported. Since their creation in 2020, ICHRAs have been most commonly offered by small businesses in need of more affordable health insurance for their workers.

But, now larger companies are jumping on the bandwagon: 62% of companies with 100 employees and 50% of companies with 500–10,000 employees said they’re likely to offer an ICHRA in the next two years, according to a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Keep reading here.—MC

      

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When it comes to building a patient’s management plan, clinicians search for as much information as possible.

That’s where ImmunoCAP™ Specific IgE testing can help. Using allergen components, testing can help uncover a detailed understanding of food, respiratory, and insect venom allergies.

With this testing, you can measure allergic sensitization to molecules found within whole allergens. That allows for a deeper understanding of causes, risks, and management of symptoms.

A selection of more than 100 allergen components is available with ImmunoCAP Specific IgE testing. Use the lab ordering guide to get allergy test codes in your area.

Direct care

Ildemaro González

A report by the Commonwealth Fund, a healthcare nonprofit, found that measuring and reporting health disparities “enables states and health systems to assess how well they are using resources to improve health outcomes for everyone.”

At Chicago’s Rush University System for Health, Chief DEI Officer Ildemaro González told us that his “work has a lot to do with data.” His office uses that information to try to close the gaps in access to healthcare for the community.

Among the initiatives Rush organizes are food pantries for patients. It has also contributed to building the Sankofa Village Wellness Center, which provides primary care and dental services to residents in West Garfield Park, a low-income community on the western side of Chicago.

The center also offers arts, financial education, and workforce development programs to 6,000 people each year, according to its website.

Healthcare Brew spoke with González to discuss some of Rush’s initiatives to track and tackle health inequities.

Read the full interview.—CM

      

Policy

Stefania Pelfini La Waziya/Getty Images

Consumers are buying more food and beverages colored with natural dyes, but a green light from shoppers doesn’t mean brands and retailers won’t face a few red flags.

In 2025, products with artificial dyes made up 4% of food and beverage products and 7% of dollar sales (and a whopping 42.2% of candy sales), according to a recent report from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) and RTI International.

Food and beverage products advertising “natural colors” grew dollar sales by 24.4% last year, with notable growth across categories like prepared food (52.5%), diet and nutrition (40.6%), baking, seasoning, and toppings (27.1%), and dairy (21.7%). In contrast, products marketing “artificial colors” in their ingredients grew less than 0.1%.

Amid pressure from the FDA and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many retailers and CPG giants have been making strides to eliminate synthetic food dyes from their products over the past year. In May, Target began only selling cereals made without synthetic dyes, while Walmart is removing the colorants across its private labels by January 2027. Last year, PepsiCo released Simply NKD Cheetos and Doritos, which notched $3 million in sales in its first month, per Circana data cited in the report. Similar pledges and innovations from Hershey, Kraft Heinz, and many others are still in the works.

Learn more about the roadblocks here.—EC

      

vital signs

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: 15 million. That’s how many people’s health data was compromised in a hack of Massachusetts-based dental and vision benefits administrator DentaQuest, making it the largest recorded health data breach this year. (Healthcare Dive)

Quote: “We’re celebrating weight loss loudly and publicly again, and it’s just created this whole noise that is virtually inescapable for our teens today.”—Jessie Menzel, psychologist and SVP of clinical programs at eating disorder treatment telehealth startup Equip, on how the mainstream status of GLP-1s affects girls’ body image (Bloomberg)

Read: A $7 billion Silicon Valley healthcare AI startup is receiving scrutiny after some customers reported financial losses. (Stat)

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Jobs

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• Medical Director at AMN Healthcare
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• Chief Medical Officer at ChenMed
• Chief Clinical Officer at ChenMed in Louisville, Kentucky
• Chief Clinical Officer at ChenMed in Fort Myers, Florida

Friday Quiz

Amelia Kinsinger

The week’s biggest HCB stories, now in quiz form. Test yourself on the latest headlines in pharma, hospital operations, patient care, and more in a quick, competitive challenge built for healthcare professionals. Challenge your coworkers and see how your score stacks up!