vance

Recap Of Q2 Health Plan Financials A good recap in Modern Healthcare on Q2 financial results of big health plans and strategies they are employing to get back to margin. The secret in Medicare Advantage (MA) will be to prioritize margin over enrollment and growth. United and Aetna have already sent word they will pare back offerings. The secret in Medicaid will be strong lobbying efforts in each state for rates and to offset program reductions. Premium increases will dominate the Exchanges. I especially liked Elevance Health’s promise to continue legal challenges against providers on the No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution process. Bravo. It is abused by a small group of providers. In general, the provider-friendly process will drive up prices throughout the system. (Article may require a subscription.) #healthplans #margins #medicareadvantage #medicaid #exchanges https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-aetna-cigna-unitedhealth-centene-q2-earnings Optum Acquires More Docs Optum has acquired Kingsport, Tenn.-based Holston Medical Group. The 200-provider

Exchange Enrollment Fraud Examined Conservatives in and out of government made a case that there was major fraud in Exchange enrollments, especially after subsidies became more generous. The Paragon Health Institute and other conservative healthcare policy outfits did a great deal of research and it does seem credible. The GOP Congress was convinced and made some major changes to eligibility and enrollment in the Exchanges in the budget reconciliation bill. Congress also did not act to extend more generous premium subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Now, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published data that continues to fuel the narrative of rampant broker fraud. Plans were sent data by CMS that found that 35% of enrollees did not have a claim in 2024. Before the pandemic, the data showed about 22% to 24% of enrollees did not have a claim. The phenomenon

Providers Readying Opposition To 340B Pilot Providers say they are in store for significant cash flow and operational problems if a 340B pilot proposed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) goes into effect. Given interest in reform, HRSA proposed a voluntary pilot to allow brand drug makers to convert to a rebate on a small subset of drugs as opposed to an upfront discount in the drug discount program. The program is meant to help ensure availability of drugs to lower income populations. The 340B program pricing is 25%-50% less. Providers fear the pilot will eventually become how the entire program is run. Brand drug makers support the change as they feel the program is not living up to the original intent. Indeed, studies show that eligible providers, often hospitals, are not extending the discounts to low-income populations and instead are pocketing the discount. Indeed, some studies suggest

Eroding Employer Coverage Squeezes Average Americans A good Health Affairs Forefront Blog on eroding employer coverage and the impact on the lowest tier of working Americans. The article does a good job of discussing the chasm between what private healthcare coverage pays providers and what government programs pay. It notes that statistics bear out that price and not utilization largely drives spending growth in the employer market. It says U.S. hospitals charge privately insured patients nearly 2.5 times more than what Medicare pays for the exact same service. The articles disclaims that there is a cost-shift, but instead says it is related to provider market power. Well, I still think there is a cost-shift to some degree that is occurring, but I can also buy the author’s market power argument. The article notes that the price differences are a systemic issue and those who ultimately pay the price are “workers

Paragon Seeks More Healthcare Changes Paragon Health Institute is riding a wave of success after many of its core healthcare proposals ended up in the recent budget reconciliation bill. It is busy defending the legislation but also pushing for more reforms in a possible second budget bill. Paragon is now pushing the following for inclusion: #healthcare #healthcarereform #medicare #medicaid #medicareadvantage #exchanges https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/conservative-policy-shop-paragon-health-previews-next-health-reform-priorities Aetna To Contract In MA Again After contracting products in MA dramatically in 2025, Aetna has announced it will end nearly 90 MA plans across 34 states in 2026. Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) products are being targeted. Further, health systems that sponsor Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are looking for opportunities to expand as big national plans reduce their enrollment by several million over the past few years and now into 2026. As was previously announced, UnitedHealthcare will shed as many as 600,000 lives in MA in 2026. Additional

Insurer Woes Dominate Headlines Clover reported meeting guidance to The Street, but saw its stock drop due to reports of higher expenses, especially related to Part D drug costs from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Clover’s medical expenses were 88.4% of revenue and could climb in 2025 to just 89.5%. After decreasing full-year guidance by about half a billion dollars recently, Oscar Health missed earnings projections for Q2. Oscar had a net loss of $228 million, after reporting a net profit of $275 million in Q1. Its medical expense climbed to 91.1%. Oscar says sicker individuals are entering the Exchanges from Medicaid and healthier enrollees are leaving. The company is trimming its workforce to help save on administrative expense. It continues to maintain its financial targets, in part through its investments in the “ICHRA” program, created by Trump 45 to allow employers to seed premiums to employees who enroll in

Trump Wants 250% Drug Tariffs President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, higher than the 200% discussed before. Tariffs would be minimal at first, but increase in 12 to 18 months to 150% and eventually 250%. Trump is seeking drug makers to re-shore production, but supply chains and other barriers make re-shoring completely very difficult. Tariffs would cause healthcare costs to spiral given our reliance on generics and brands from foreign countries. #drugpricing #trump #tariffs   https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5436846-drug-import-tariffs-trump/ FTC Session Looks At High Drug Prices While pharmacy benefits managers (PBM) were a key focus of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) listening session on high drug prices, it is clear that a great deal more drives obsene drug costs in America. The session concluded that a labyrinthine and opaque drug channel, a lack of transparency, patent thickets and other abuses also play a major

More Costs Will Be Pushed To Employees In 2026 A new Mercer study shows that half of large employers plan to shift costs onto employees as well as reduce benefit offerings. Further, due to rising spending, employers are looking for ways to reduce costs while at the same time being open to safeguarding coverage of popular weight loss drugs and well-being. But weight-loss drugs may have to be reined in due to the magnitude of costs. Employers expect costs to rise by 6% in 2025 and go up more in 2026. About 51% of large employers (500 or more employees) said they’re likely or very likely to shift more costs to employees, including raising deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. This compares with 45% in 2024. About 35% of large employers said they plan to offer a non-traditional medical plan option in 2026, such as variable copay plans. #employercoverage #coverage #healthcare https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/mercer-large-employers-to-shift-health-plan-costs-onto-employ/756673