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New Poll Finds Unaffordability Having Consequences As we enter the midterms, healthcare affordability remains a significant challenge. A new poll finds that one in three Americans had to cut back on daily living expenses to afford care. A new West Health/Gallup survey says about a third of those surveyed cut back on at least one daily expense to afford healthcare last year. That is the equivalent of about 82 million Americans. For those that did not have insurance, about 62% said they made a cutback. For those with income of $24,000 or less, the tradeoff rate was about 55%. About 48% of those earning between $24,000 and $48,000 in annual household income said the same. In other news, a Modern Healthcare analysis finds that healthcare revenue rose faster than all other services categories in 2025. Increased prices and growing demand from an aging population drove much of this. Revenue tied

Aetna Settles MA Risk Adjustment Case Aetna will pay $117.7 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it overbilled the Medicare program. The agreement settles claims related to past risk adjustment submissions in Medicare Advantage (MA). The Department of Justice said some diagnostic codes were not fully supported but were still submitted to secure higher payouts. Aetna also failed to withdraw some inaccurate diagnoses. Additional articles: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-aetna-medicare-advantage-upcoding-claims/ and https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/medicare-advantage/aetna-to-pay-118m-to-resolve-medicare-advantage-upcoding-allegations/ (Some articles may require a subscription.) #medicareadvantage #riskadjustment #overpayments #fwa https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/aetna-pay-1177m-settle-medicare-advantage-false-claims-case-doj CMS Goes Hollywood On Fraud The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has gone Hollywood with glitzy ads bringing attention to fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA). The Trump administration has had some success. The Department of Justice reported a record $6.8 billion in settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2025. #fwa #cms https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/120256 Researchers Track MA Diversity A

Oz Says Exchanges Have Major Fraud Problem Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz claimed in his strongest terms yet that he believes major fraud exists in the Exchange enrollment process. He says millions could be inappropriately enrolled. Conservatives say the enhanced Exchange subsidies that have now expired led to millions being enrolled due to zero or near-zero premiums. A number of brokers have been accused of fraudulently enrolling Americans. In January, enrollment in the Exchanges dropped about 1 million, which is far less than estimates. Conservative groups, including the Paragon Institute, have argued that so-called “shadow enrollees” remain in the program. Oz did say he expects enrollment to drop throughout the year to around 19 million. In part this is because of affordability issues due to premium hikes and people being unwilling to pay any premium. #exchanges #coverage #fwa https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5776734-oz-claims-aca-fraud-millions JEC Piles On Regarding MA

Balance And Bridge Proposed For GLP-1s The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued requests for applications for Medicare Part D plans and Medicaid agencies to join the BALANCE model that would bring GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to Medicaid and Medicare in 2026 and 2027, respectively, for those with obesity but not other qualifying disease states for the drugs. CMS will negotiate prices for such drugs with brand drug makers. Participating plans and Medicaid agencies must cover all model drugs from the included manufacturers, and the existing Part D weight-loss coverage exclusion would not apply. The drugs must fall under a plan’s basic benefit structure. In Part D, at least 90% of a plan’s eligible population must be included. Narrower risk corridors are available to plans. Enhanced alternatives and employer group waiver plans must cap beneficiary spending at $50 for a month’s supply during the initial coverage phase. For

Health Systems Report Financial Strength Large health systems are on the upswing financially right now, with improved margins, higher volumes, investment returns, technology-driven efficiency, and better cash flow. In addition to the positives cited, health systems are also investing in alternative revenue streams, such as specialty pharmacy and outpatient care. But storm clouds are moving in. Pharmaceutical and supply costs have posted sharp increases. And health systems face financial hits from the Medicaid and Exchange cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). (Article may require a subscription.) #hospitals #margins #obbba https://www.modernhealthcare.com/providers/mh-health-system-earnings-kaiser-mayo-clinic Health Affairs Forefront Blogs On ACOs and ACCESS Health Affairs Forefront has published a number of blogs on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the Medicare tech-enabled chronic disease ACCESS model. In one blog, the main question is: “Do ACOs actually save Medicare money?” It notes that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has concluded, on average, they do not

Other PBMs May Settle With FTC On Insulin Suits The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may be close to settlement in its insulin suits with CVS Caremark and OptumRx, two of the remaining big 3 pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). Express Scripts has already settled and any future settlements are expected to be as far-reaching in terms of impacting existing business practices. The FTC said in a court filing that it is making “significant progress” in talks with the two PBMs, Additional article: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/ftc-seeing-progress-discussions-optum-caremark-insulin-case #pbms #drugpricing #ftc https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/optumrx-caremark-progress-ftc-settlement-insulin-case/813834 Eli Lilly Launches DTC Platform Eli Lilly has officially launched Employer Connect, its direct-to-employer platform for its obesity medications. The program is aimed at supporting employer choice with multiple models. It will launch with more than 15 independent program administrators as partners. Lilly will offer Zepbound KwikPen to network pharmacies at a discounted $449 price. #glp1s #drugpricing #weightlossdrugs #employercoverage https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/eli-lilly-launches-its-direct-employer-platform-obesity-drugs Hospitals Ask For Halt

Study Finds Multiply Comorbid Drive Inpatient Admissions A new report by Vizient finds that 11% of the U.S. population has multiple chronic conditions but these patients account for 52% of inpatient admissions, 35% of emergency department visits, and 32% of office visits. Patients with at least one chronic condition make up nearly 8 in 10 inpatient admissions.  Among Medicare beneficiaries, more than half of those aged 65 to 74 have at least one chronic condition, and the same is true among nearly two-thirds of those 75 and older. This creates huge cost challenges in Medicare as America ages. Controlling chronic disease states is key. #aging #medicare #hospitals #chronicconditions https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/11-of-us-population-accounts-for-52-of-admissions-vizient/ Employers Seeking Alternatives For Drug Price Relief With drug spending and health costs surging for employers, more and more are looking for alternatives to traditional pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) arrangements. Drug pricing platform GoodRx announced its entry into the crowded field with