The Biden administration within days is expected to select the next batch of drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations — a process that this time could include Novo Nordisk's blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy. The political appeal of bringing down the price of the wildly popular drugs and other medicines for seniors could outweigh deep misgivings in Republican circles about one of Democrats' most significant health policy achievements.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that cuts to Social Security and Medicare won't be part of the legislative package being worked out to fund President-elect Donald Trump's agenda. "No, the president has made clear that Social Security and Medicare have to be preserved," Johnson replied when asked if he was open to cutting the programs as part of the spending plans being worked out between House and Senate Republican leaders. "We have to look at all spending while maintaining… The Republican Party will not cut benefits."
A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the ACA, former President Barack Obama's landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in healthcare coverage through the government marketplace, a point of pride for many Democrats but a red flag to some Republicans.
Over the past few years the health insurance industry has seen major M&As, further consolidating power into the hands of a few dominant companies — leaving Americans with fewer options. As of 2023, just four health insurers control a staggering 50% of the market, while six companies account for 30% of all healthcare spending in the United States. While these mergers have boosted profits for these companies, they also, in some cases, raised premiums for consumers.
The man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare's CEO outside a New York City hotel is unlikely to appear in Manhattan federal court again before mid-February after prosecutors and lawyers on Monday requested more time to prepare the case for trial. The lawyers agreed in a letter to the court that the deadline to bring an indictment against Luigi Mangione can be extended from Jan. 18 to Feb. 17.
A Massachusetts court ordered three health insurance companies affiliated with UnitedHealthcare to pay $165 million in damages to consumers and the state after an earlier finding the companies engaged in deceptive sales practices, the state attorney general's office said Monday.
Suffolk Superior Court Justice Hélène Kazanjian ruled that HealthMarkets Inc., and two subsidiaries, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company and HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, must pay $50 million in restitution for Massachusetts consumers and $115 million in civil penalties to the state. The charges are a result of violations to a previous settlement agreement and Massachusetts law.
Key violations by the insurers include misleading customers into buying supplemental health insurance through deceptive "bundling" practices and agents misrepresenting themselves as impartial, licensed "insurance advisors," or representing all insurance carriers.