Speaker Rebuffs Moderates On Exchange Extension Vote
In a rebuff to moderates in his caucus, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, said he won’t call a vote to extend the Exchange enhanced subsidies. Moderates are livid that the speaker has broken his promise to hold a vote.
Johnson says the party’s leadership was unable to reach an agreement with moderates on offsetting cuts to the pricey extension. But moderates did submit multiple amendments to the Rules Committee to pay for part of the extension. Conservatives refused to vote to support the vote on the amendment.
Moderates likely still vote for the main House reform bill to be voted on. But some media say some GOP moderates have not ruled out signing onto a Democratic-led discharge petition to force a vote on a three-year extension. But other media report that this is unlikely. Four GOPers would be needed to hit 218 to bring it to the floor. However, GOPers are asking Democrats to sign onto one of their discharges, which take a more moderate approach to extension. Some Democratic leaders say that could happen.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators is meeting again on a compromise. Roughly 20 senators met Monday night. They are looking at using a proposal by Sens. Susan Collins, R-ME, and Bernie Moreno, R-OH as a base for possible action.
It seems clear that no extension will occur before the year turns, if at all. Johnson’s move could very well seal the fate of the swing of the House to Democrats in the 2026 midterms.
Additional articles: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/house-gop-wont-call-vote-on-aca-subsidy-extension/ and https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5651966-republican-tensions-obamacare/ and https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5651296-democrat-bipartisan-obamacare-bills/ and https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5650544-senate-health-care-talks-obamacare/
(Some articles may require a subscription.)
#exchanges #healthcare #coverage
Surveys/Reports Show Challenges And Opportunities In Healthcare
A number of surveys and reports show the challenges and opportunities facing healthcare entities:
Healthcare M&A deal activity cooled off in 2025, but an assessment from PwC says we should see a rebound in 2026.
An American Medical Association (AMA) report says commercial health insurance markets are continuing to become more concentrated. It looked at insurer market concentration across 384 metropolitan areas and all 50 states and D.C. Ninety-seven percent of commercial health insurance markets at the metropolitan level were highly concentrated in 2024, up from 95% in 2014.
The Elevance Health Public Policy Institute finds that providers win about 80% of “No Surprises Act” cases that reach arbitration. This is consistent with other studies.
Sage Growth Partners says over three-quarters of health system and hospital C-suites say they plan to increase value-based care model participation within the next two years.
Additional articles: https://www.beckerspayer.com/research-analysis/providers-overwhelmingly-win-no-surprises-disputes-study/ and https://www.beckerspayer.com/research-analysis/ama-97-of-health-insurance-markets-are-highly-concentrated/ and https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/hospitals-health-systems-expect-ramp-value-based-care-2026-2027 and
#healthplans #hospitals #providers #vbc
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/key-trends-will-shape-healthcare-ma-activity-2026-pwc
United’s 2025 Woes
A good Modern Healthcare article by Nona Tepper outlining all the 2025 events of UnitedHealth Group. Much of it chronicles the major financial and political crisis the biggest healthcare company in America faces.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#unitedhealthcare
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-unitedhealth-medicare-doj-optum-layoffs
— Marc S. Ryan
