What the AHA Accidentally Told Every Self Funded Employer
What the AHA Accidentally Told Every Self Funded EmployerOn August 28, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a 56-page comment letter with CMS about the 2027 outpatient payment rule. Most of it is what you would expect. The payment update is too small. The productivity adjustment is unfair. Please stop ...
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The City’s fastest growing expense isn’t in the budget…
The City's fastest growing budget item doesn't appear in the General Fund. Council sets the tax ceiling September 8.There's a number in Amarillo's proposed budget that didn't change this year, and hasn't changed in two consecutive years.In a budget where basically everything went up, there it sits, identical to last ...
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Amarillo thinks it fixed the City health plan. Its own budget says otherwise.
Amarillo thinks it fixed the City health plan. Its own budget says otherwise.Every number below comes from budget documents and check registers the City of Amarillo published on its own website. I have linked them at the bottom so you can check my work.Last winter the City of Amarillo changed how it buys ...
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Who Gets Heard At City Hall?
Who Gets Heard At City Hall?Steve Pair, a local journalist and author of Main Point Monday, recently published a follow-up commentary about the growing public discussion surrounding a potential forensic audit of the City of Amarillo.Several events have contributed to calls for greater financial scrutiny, ...
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The Leak We Refuse To Fix
A Leak We Refuse To FixAmarillo residents recently got a firsthand lesson in what happens when a billing system stops making sense.After the City of Amarillo launched its new utility billing system, many residents began reporting water bills that had doubled, tripled, or even more than quadrupled. For some families, ...
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Inside TRS-ActiveCare: Subsidy, Erosion, and Deferred Deficits
TRS-ActiveCare: What the February 12, 2026 Board Materials Actually RevealOn February 12, 2026, the Texas Retirement System (TRS) presented its annual health benefits update to the TRS Board. Beginning on page 141 of the February board book, TRS leadership walked through the financial condition, cost structure, and ...
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Why Loss Ratios Have Been Lying to Employers
The End of Rebate Sorcery: Why Point-of-Sale Rebates Change Everything for EmployersA policy brief on pharmacy rebates, employer leverage, and the FTC’s recent intervention into PBM economics.Executive ContextIn February 2026, the Federal Trade Commission issued a Decision and Order against Express Scripts, ...
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