Medicaid reimbursement portals were down Tuesday in all 50 states on the heels of a funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration of federal grants and loans, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.
Russell T. Vought, President Trump's nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, told Senate lawmakers in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he supported work requirements for low-income Americans receiving publicly subsidized health insurance, a policy that Mr. Trump pursued in his first term but that the Biden administration mostly reversed. The comments suggested that the Trump administration was likely to seek a broad overhaul of how the federal government administers Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for more than 70 million people.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is offering buyouts to eligible employees as it copes with financial strain from rising prescription drug prices. Nonunion employees have until the end of the month to accept a voluntary separation offer. The initiative is part of the company's plan to slash $600 million in administrative costs during the next several years.
In UnitedHealth Group's first public appearance since the killing of a top executive, leaders acknowledged the public's discontent with the healthcare system, but quickly piled blame on drug companies and hospitals. The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson led to a wave of vitriol and frustration toward health insurance companies, of which UnitedHealthcare is the largest. The company's stock has lost nearly 14% of its value since the Dec. 4 killing. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty says the healthcare system "needs to be less confusing, less complex, and less costly" — before mounting a full defense of his company, which has increasingly dominated the system, from insurance to drug benefits to medical care.
Groups representing employers that offer health insurance are gearing up to defend and try to bolster the largest source of health coverage for people under 65 in the U.S. Donald Trump's election and Republican majorities in Congress have raised some uncertainty on what's coming down the pike for employer-sponsored health insurance, which covers almost 165 million Americans.
The intention behind the federal program was for a small number of safety-net providers to have access to affordable drugs and be able to expand their care for needy patients. But instead, the program has exploded: Now, more than half of nonprofit hospitals in the United States take part. While some providers say it has helped keep their doors open, others — especially large nonprofit health systems — have been accused of maximizing payouts and swallowing the profits.