Local coalitions are hacking their own benefits, employers are staring down rude 2026 cost projections, and Gen AI scribes just got their first real report card. The real question is not “what is new,” but “who actually gets equipped, encouraged, and empowered by all this.”

• Story 1: SF Chamber Care and the rise of local, chamber-backed coverage models

• Story 2: Employers bracing for a 9 percent medical trend and rethinking the entire benefits chassis

• Story 3: UCLA’s randomized AI scribe trial, where burnout relief shows up but magic productivity does not