election2026

Health Plans Continue Prior Authorization Reforms Two insurance lobbies, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, said that leading health plans continue to make significant progress to adopt a standardized approach for providers submitting electronic prior authorization (PA) requests for the majority of medical services. About 88% of Aetna’s prior authorizations already adhere to the standards, with UnitedHealthcare and Cigna saying their standards will apply to more than 70% of their PA volume by the end of the year. Key reforms include reducing the number of services subject to prior authorization as well. In addition, lawmakers proposed bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening Medicare Advantage (MA) plan oversight to ensure seniors receive timely and high-quality care. The bill aims to address barriers to coverage and treatment, including: Additional articles: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/unitedhealthcare-aetna-tout-progress-standardize-prior-authorization-part-industry-wide and https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-cigna-humana-prior-authorization-standardized-requirements/ (Some articles may require a subscription.) #healthplans #priorauthorization #providers https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/lawmakers-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-improve-access-quality-care-medicare Med Supp Premiums Surging Complaints that Medicare Supplement or Medigap

Paragon Urges Hospital Payment Reform The influential Paragon Institute, which influenced the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and no extension of Exchange enhanced subsidies, has issued a new report challenging hospitals’ views on their finances and advocating payment reform. About one third of over $5 trillion each year is spent on hospital care and Paragon notes that hospitals are a key factor in driving premiums given major cost hikes annually. It notes that since 2000 hospital prices have risen three times faster than inflation and double wage growth. It says government policies inflate and distort hospital prices as well as encourage consolidations and physician acquisition. It argues hospitals can make money at Medicare rates and hospitals have had strong positive margins. It calls attention to the success of some hospitals with large government program patient loads. Paragon proposes a number of reforms below. Hospital groups took issue with the

Elevance Beats The Street Elevance Health beat Wall Street expectations for Q1 2026 and raised its full-year guidance. It has instituted a performance improvement and turnaround program and is managing medical costs. The company reported $1.8 billion in Q1, down 19.2% from $2.2 billion in the prior-year quarter. Revenue in the quarter was $50.2 billion, up 2.6% from Q1 2025. Elevance had a $1.76 billion profit in Q1, down 19.4% year over year. It continues to have struggles in Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicaid. On MA, it faces a potential exposure over risk adjustment of up to $1.5 billion. On Exchanges, it reports that more and more are choosing cheaper Bronze plans due to premium hikes and enhanced subsidy expiration. Elevance also says it will invest $1 billion in digital and AI capabilities. Additional articles: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-elevance-health-earnings-stock-price/ and https://www.beckerspayer.com/virtual-care/inside-elevances-1b-ai-investment/ and https://www.beckerspayer.com/financial/elevance-reports-1-76b-profit-in-q1/ and https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/elevance-health-raises-2026-outlook-it-posts-18b-q1-profit (Some articles may require a subscription.) #elevancehealth #healthplans

GLP-1 BALANCE Model On Hold The Trump administration’s effort to bring GLP-1 drugs for the obese to Medicare, BALANCE, is on hold. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) planned to negotiate lower GLP-1 prices for Medicaid and Medicare Part D coverage and have health plans and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) agree to offer the drugs in the programs. But too few applicants applied to participate, likely due to costs and risk. Critical mass in Part D, covering 80% of Part D enrollment, was not met. The Medicaid portion of the pilot will still move forward. In Medicare, to gather necessary data, CMS now plans on funding coverage via the temporary BRIDGE pilot through the end of 2027 before proceeding again with BALANCE. At the same time, UnitedHealthcare said it was hoping to participate in both the BRIDGE program in 2026 and in BALANCE. Additional articles: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/glp-1s/cms-pauses-weight-loss-balance-model-indefinitely-for-medicare/ and https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/medicare-advantage/unitedhealthcare-eyes-cms-balance-glp-1-model/

United To End Most PAs On Rural Hospitals Responding to the rural health crisis and its own bad PR, UnitedHealthcare says it will exempt rural hospitals from most prior authorizations. This will apply across all lines of business. United will also accelerate payments by up to 50% for about 1,500 rural hospitals and all critical access hospitals across the country. Additional article: https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/unitedhealthcare-pares-back-prior-authorizations-speeds-up-payments-for-rural-providers/ #unitedhealthcare #priorauthoriztaion #ruralhealthcare https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/unitedhealthcare-unveils-pilot-accelerate-payments-rural-hospitals United Financial Storms Subsiding? United Health Group reports today on its latest financial results and recovery. It is expected to be good news overall. United is making progress. An interesting article, though, outlining the Medicare Advantage (MA) rate challenges and how both United and investors were slow to see the impact on the insurer as well as its services unit, Optum. The article details some of the huge financial misses by United’s former leaders even with clear signals back three years ago. Investors,

PCP Stability In Doubt Elation Health finds that over 80% of primary care physicians (PCPs) are concerned about financial stability over the next several years. The company surveyed 280 PCPs from Jan. 31 to Feb. Fifty-two percent of respondents were fully independent and 48% have some affiliation.  About 64% cite government and commercial payer reimbursement as their top concern. Staffing costs, workforce challenges, technology and IT costs and rising operational costs are also challenges. Despite all this, 93% of respondents report remaining committed to primary care. Only 2% report planning to leave the practice.  #providers #physicians #margins https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/over-80-pcps-concerned-about-financial-stability-over-next-several-years-elation-health Employer Affordability Challenges Purchaser Business Group on Health finds that more and more employers are considering switching insurance or pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) as a result of rising costs. About 37% of members have issued request for proposals (RFP) for medical benefits, meaning they’re shopping between insurance providers. About 23% are conducting

Trump Getting Serious On Affordability There was a clear sign today that the Trump administration is worried about the impact of the lack of healthcare affordability. The Trump administration created a top-level healthcare position that will be a de facto affordability czar. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has named Casey Mulligan as chief economist and chief regulatory officer of the agency. He’ll advise Kennedy and other agency leaders on affordability issues. Mulligan was on the Council of Economic Advisers during the first Trump administration and was most recently the U.S. Small Business Administration’s chief counsel for advocacy. Meanwhile, healthcare policy group KFF issued a briefer on Americans’ views of healthcare. Just under half of U.S. adults say it is difficult to afford healthcare costs, and about three in ten say they or a family member in their household had problems paying for healthcare in the past

Chronic Care Cost-Sharing Targeted A new bill would eliminate Medicare cost-sharing on care coordination services. Supporters argue the cost-sharing on the services creates financial barriers to deploying such services for many. They also argue charging seniors for the behind-the-scenes services is confusing. Further, the services have documented savings, but utilization is low due to the cost-sharing impediment. About 40 healthcare and patient groups have endorsed the measure. #chroniccare #medicare https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/providers-back-new-bipartisan-bill-eliminating-medicare-chronic-care-management-cost Wegovy Gets Boost GoodRx is making available the new higher 7.2 mg dose of Wegovy for weight loss at $399 per month. This is a boost to embattled drug maker Novo Nordisk, which has lost major market share in the weight-loss drug market to Eli Lilly. #weightlossdrugs #drugpricing https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/telehealth/goodrx-launches-72-mg-wegovy-dose-self-pay-patients-399-month Most Physician Pay Up Average physician pay rose about 3% between 2024 and 2025, from $374,000 to $386,000. #providers #healthcare https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/physician-compensation-3-2025-not-all-specialties-saw-raises-medscape Wakely: Exchange Enrollment Could Fall Further Wakely Consulting examined latest enrollment

Bill Would Force Insurers To Count DTC Drugs Against Deductible, MOOP North Carolina Republican Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, has introduced a new bill that would compel insurers to apply the cost for drugs purchased from direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms to deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums (MOOPs) in insurance. Using these platforms, patients can often find prices that cost far less out-of-pocket, especially for brand drugs, Murphy’s office said. #drugpricing #dtc #branddrugmakers #healthplans https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/bill-seeks-force-payers-apply-dtc-drug-purchases-patient-deductibles Safety Net Hospitals Lag On Cost Reporting An analysis published in JAMA Network Open finds that hospitals serving more disadvantaged populations lag on complying with price transparency regulations.  #pricetransparency #hospitals https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/hospitals-more-disadvantaged-patients-fall-short-price-transparency-study — Marc S. Ryan

Healthcare Costs Vary Across Regions A new report titled the Health Cost Landscape from the Health Care Cost Institute found that healthcare spending per person with employer coverage was $6,711 but the figure can vary significantly by region. Spending was 70% higher than the national average in Charleston, West Virginia, while costs were 41% below the national average in Bakersfield, California. The report looked at more than 1.3 billion medical claims submitted from 2018 to 2022, with data from 38 million people. The report also found that the price of services, utilization trends and the types of services used all contribute to the spending figures. Prices were the largest driver in variation. Most of the metropolitan areas included in the study were highly concentrated hospital markets, with 88% either highly or very highly concentrated. #healthcare #costs #employercoverage https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/healthcare-spending-varies-widely-between-metropolitan-areas-hcci ACCESS Winners Announced The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced