Drug Prices To Climb
3 Axis Advisors reports that the costs of at least 350 drugs in the U.S. are expected to rise in 2026. And as it notes, some of the firms boosting prices are the same that just agreed to reduce prices with President Trump.
The firm also finds that a higher number of drugs will see price increases next year compared with last year, when more than 250 drugs were increased. The median price hike is about 4%.
#drugpricing #branddrugmakers
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5668053-us-drug-prices-rise-2026
With Friends Like These …
In 2025, health plans likely bought into the phrase “with friends like these, who needs enemies.”
The year saw Republicans very much turning on the health insurer industry. Under fire on healthcare from Democrats, Republicans such as Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, lashed out at the greediness of insurers to deflect the criticism and problems with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The GOP has focused on market concentration of large insurers as well as high profit margins in part from Exchange subsidies. In truth, health plans proper (not the other businesses of large healthcare entities) had an overall negative margin from 2019 to 2024.
Notwithstanding all of this, most major insurer reform has languished, including prior authorization legislation, overpayments in Medicare Advantage (MA), and pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) reform. Many predict 2026 will be the year for insurer reforms.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#healthplans #gop #trump #margins #priorauthorization #medicareadvantage #overpayments #riskadjustment #pbms
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-republicans-aca-subsidies-health-insurance
Healthcare Happenings in 2025
Becker’s Payer Issues has a good wrap up on all the major policy actions on the healthcare front at the state and federal levels, including the Exchange subsidies, the Big Beautiful Bill, Medicare Advantage changes, Part D changes, prior authorization reform, and more.
It also ranks states by market share of the largest insurer. Some of the concentration is rather stunning.
Additional article: https://www.beckerspayer.com/rankings-ratings/states-ranked-by-market-share-of-largest-insurer/
#healthcare #healthplans
https://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/notable-health-insurance-policies-taking-effect-in-2026/
— Marc S. Ryan
