DOJ And States Oppose UnitedHealth Acquisition Of Amedisys
The federal Department of Justice and four states have sued to stop UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of home care entity Amedisys. It is the latest in the Biden administration’s move to scrutinize acquisitions as part of its antitrust agenda in healthcare.
While Donald Trump is predicted to be more friendly to business, there is no guarantee that these types of acquisitions will not be challenged under a new president. I am suspicious of overly broad challenges by the government, but their arguments in the suit are reasonably compelling in terms of the control United would have on the industry in about half of states and the impact on price.
Additional articles: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/legal/doj-unitedhealth-amedisys-lawsuit-home-health and https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/doj-challenges-unitedhealth-amedisys-deal/732721/
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#unitedhealthcare #homecare #providers #antitrust #biden
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/doj-sues-block-unitedhealths-33b-acquisition-amedisys
Elevance Bullish On Exchanges As It Faces Pressures In Care and Caid
Elevance Health is bullish on the growth potential in Exchanges as it faces pressures in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage (MA). It expects significant growth in its individual market line of business for 2025 in the Exchanges. It has not seen the rising costs in the Exchanges as it has in other lines. Its Exchange enrollment has risen 30% to 1.3 million so far this year and will continue in the 2025 enrollment season.
Elevance’s CEO also says MA should grow as well, especially in the thriving employer group sub-market. It has terminated commissions in some MA products. While revenue went up in Q3, its margin declined by 22.5% year over year.
The bullishness on the Exchanges could be short-lived if Congress does not extend the enhanced premium subsidies. Trump and the GOP are known not to want to extend them, but they could get new life in an end-of-year budget bill or in a master agreement in 2025.
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#elevancehealth #exchanges #medicareadvantage #medicaid #margins
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/elevance-health-exchange-aca-business
Trump 45 HHS Secretary Predicts Future President’s Healthcare Approach
Former Trump-45 Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar predicts that Donald Trump will not push for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and likely won’t have the votes to cap Medicaid payments to states. But some cuts could be part of the package to fund the extension of tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025. Azar also said that Trump may not back repeal of Medicare drug price negotiations given his past policies.
This largely dovetails with my prediction in Monday’s blog: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/what-will-happen-in-healthcare-with-gop-firmly-in-control/
Additional article: https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/former-hhs-secretary-again-suggests-trump-may-keep-rx-price-negotiation
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#ira #drugpricing #exchanges #aca #obamacare #medicaid
— Marc S. Ryan
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