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Budget Reconciliation Saga House Freedom Caucus members could sink the budget reconciliation bill coming out of the Budget Committee for lack of enough reductions and weak Medicaid policy changes. Conservatives are pushing for an acceleration of work requirements from the current plan targeted for 2029. At the same time, moderates are upset with the scope of Medicaid reductions. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said that the proposed bill would be changed to enhance state and local tax deductions as well as increase Medicaid savings. But the latter could further upset moderates. The current reductions fall disproportionately on states, which will have to make up hundreds of millions of reimbursement reductions, as well as enrollees, who could lose coverage. Another controversy is ambiguous language regarding provider taxes. While new provider taxes are barred, it is unclear how long existing taxes would be grandfathered or whether renewing current provider taxes would be

Medicaid Cuts Advance In House After a marathon overnight hearing where lawmakers literally fell asleep in their chairs, the House Energy & Commerce Committee advanced on a party-line vote deep Medicaid spending reductions in the budget reconciliation process. The cuts amount to $624 billion in Medicaid over 10 years. New provider tax bans, cost-sharing for certain populations, and work requirements are some of the largest reductions. Democrats proposed to tackle Medicare Advantage (MA) overpayments instead. They, too, wanted to use savings from President Trump’s recent executive order to reduce drug pricing. While the reductions advanced, a deep divide is quickly emerging. Moderates and conservatives are still at odds in the House. Conservatives claimed that the reductions are not deep enough, while many moderates could be off the bill due to the existing Medicaid cuts. Some moderates and pragmatic conservatives in the Senate are also concerned about the Medicaid cuts. In

Providers React To Medicaid Cuts Protests broke out at the Capitol and providers and advocates reacted to Medicaid reductions in a draft framework of the budget reconciliation bill. Provider taxes are especially getting attention. The bill proposes to freeze all new provider taxes, while a proposed administration rule would rein in what the administration calls provider-tax waivers that violate the spirit of the law. Limits on state directed payments, often funded by provider taxes, would occur as well in the reconciliation bill. In other news, the Trump administration says it plans on revisiting the mental health parity rule. In addition, doctors appear to be on the verge of some relief in terms of a Medicare physician rate fix. While no relief will be granted in 2025, in 2026 rates would increase by about 2.25% and future increases would be linked to the Medicare Economic Index, which generally rises faster than

Trump Backs MFN Drug Pricing President Donald Trump expanded his drug reform proposals today by announcing an executive order that seeks to implement the strictest form of international reference pricing (IRP) known as most favored nation (MFN) status pricing. Americans would receive the lowest price for a drug offered anywhere in the world. It appears that the proposal would be for all Americans – across Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial products. Trump said in a social media post that savings would be 30% to 80%. Another report narrowed the number to 59%. Trump said that the most expensive drugs would perhaps be attacked first. His MFN proposal builds on a rule he attempted to implement for Medicare Part B medical drugs back in Trump 45. It was eventually rescinded by the Biden administration after being struck in court. While the idea was good, it did have many implementation challenges. At the

Medicare and Medicaid Cover GLP-1s For Disease States Other Than Obesity The Hill has a good article explaining what the coverage of GLP-1s is in Medicare and Medicaid. Generally, GLP-1s are covered for disease states such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, but not for obesity alone. In the commercial world, some employers cover the drugs for obesity alone. In addition, drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk market their GLP-1 drugs under different names. Here is the skinny so to speak. The brand drug makers are looking to expand these drugs to other disease states. Novo Nordisk: Ozempic – for treatment of diabetes Wegovy – for weight loss and cardiovascular disease Eli Lilly: Mounjaro – for treatment of diabetes Zepbound – for weight loss and certain sleep apnea. #branddrugmakers #drugpricing #glp1s #weightlossdrugs https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5290997-medicare-medicaid-coverage-weight-loss-drugs CVS Being Sued Over Alleged Fraud Four state attorneys general are suing CVS Health and its pharmacies for

Drugs: Trump May Propose MFN; PBMs Using Various Ways To Control GLP-1 Costs Politico reports exclusively that Donald Trump is on the verge of proposing most-favored nation (MFN) pricing, the strictest form of international reference pricing, to lower drug costs. The executive order would cover the Medicare program for now, but recently the president urged MFN for Medicaid as well. The move would be a major confrontation with the brand drug industry. I have argued Trump’s populism would win out here and he would propose something like this. My blog on the topic: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/expect-big-things-from-donald-trump-on-drug-prices/ . In other news, pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) are using various and disparate ways to reduce GLP-1 weight-loss drug trends. CVS has dropped Zepbound in favor of Wegovy in the commercial world. It is also using NovoCare, Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer platform for GLP-1s. Humana will also use NovoCare. In 2024, Cigna launched EncircleRx, a program that controls

Trump Says Drug Tariffs Coming President Donald Trump announced that he plans to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products within the next two weeks. In addition, he issued an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies to facilitate domestic pharmaceutical production and to raise fees for inspecting foreign drug plants. Health plans and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) have had a mixed reaction to the imposition of tariffs. CVS Health and Centene see impact that they are studying now, while United Healthcare said it has less concern. Over time, prices will be passed through the supply chain and ultimately to health plans, which will have to pass on costs to employer groups. Government programs would over time recognize cost hikes as well. At the same time, tariffs costs could end up in diminished formularies and higher cost-sharing. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers

Budget Reconciliation Could Slip Into The Summer A prominent GOP lawmaker told hospital stakeholders today that action on budget reconciliation spending cuts could slip into the summer. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-GA, who chairs a key health subcommittee, indicated the possible slowdown. In addition, hospital leaders exhorted lawmakers to avoid sweeping cuts, which could include work requirements, reduced state matches for the expansion population, fraud reduction, and a per capita cap funding mechanism. They also want the Exchange enhanced subsidies to continue. Insiders say Medicaid per-capita caps and other major structural reforms to the program were being put on the back burner due to moderates’ concerns, but budget hawk conservatives revolted. The committee was readying about $621 billion in Medicaid cuts over ten years. The package included numerous eligibility reforms and restrictions, a reduction in Medicaid expansion match, work requirements, and reducing provider tax allowable rates to 5%. Medicaid spread pricing

International Reference Pricing Bill To Lower Drug Prices Unveiled Two senators, conservative Josh Hawley, R-MO, and progressive Peter Welch, D-VT, have introduced legislation to lower prescription drug prices. The bill would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the U.S. at prices higher than the international average. This is a form of international reference pricing (IRP). Trump proposed IRP for Medicare Part B drugs under Trump 45 and said he wanted to do so in Medicare Part D as well. The proposal was later pulled back by the Biden administration. Trump has now called for most-favored nation (MFN) pricing for Medicaid. MFN is a form of IRP.  Trump also unveiled a master executive order to reduce drug prices in America. This bill is an important development as it includes a conservative senator. It appears that populism is winning over the GOP, which is usually very friendly to Big Pharma. I

Cigna Reports Good Financial News The Cigna Group reported $1.3 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2025, bucking the trends that have hurt other companies in the insurance industry. Its earnings surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. The company posted a $277 million loss in the prior year quarter. Cigna reported $65.5 billion. That’s up from $57.3 billion for Q1 2024. Cigna faced less pressure around medical costs, reporting a medical loss ratio of 82.2% – up from 79.9% a year ago. Cigna just sold its Medicare assets to Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). It also announced two new GLP-1 programs. In other news, insurtech Alignment Healthcare exceeded its high-end guidance for the first quarter. The company posted $926.9 million in revenue, up 47.5% year over year. Adjusted gross profit came in at $107.2 million. Alignment still posted a net loss for the quarter at $9.4 million. Additional articles: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/cigna-bucks-medical-cost-trend-posts-13b-q1-profit