Tea Leaves: July 12, 2024: DC News

The House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal 2025 HHS spending plan along party lines despite Democratic objections to Republican initiatives aimed at restricting abortion access and restructuring National Institues of Health (NIH). The GOP-proposed budget...

Tea Leaves: July 11, 2024: Providers

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a 2.6 percent reimbursement increase for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers next year, reflecting a projected 3 percent market basket increase offset by a -0.4 percent...

Tea Leaves: July 11, 2024: Payers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is poised to sue the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the United States — CVS’ Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx — over their pricing negotiations with pharmaceutical...

Tea Leaves: July 11, 2024: M&A

Midwest health systems Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System have announced plans to explore a merger, potentially forming a significant nonprofit entity with 56 hospitals and projected revenues of $10 billion. This merger aims to leverage their...

Tea Leaves: July 10, 2024: Payers

A federal judge in Texas recently blocked a Biden administration policy designed to prevent Medicare insurers from paying commissions to agents and brokers who enroll people in certain plans. This decision is significant as it undermines efforts by the administration...