Improved birth rates are a stated priority for President Donald Trump's administration—but proposed budget cuts could make it harder for many Americans to afford a safe, healthy pregnancy.
UnitedHealth Group surprised investors with what its CEO said was an 'unusual and unacceptable' quarterly earnings miss, and it lowered its outlook for the full year due to higher-than-expected medical costs, sparking a more than 20% selloff in shares that reverberated across the sector. The company's first earnings miss since 2008 and accompanying bleak forecast sent investors to the exits, as they were hoping the U.S. insurer would maintain its profit outlook on expectations that demand for medical services would be similar to 2024.
For a decade and a half, Americans have been guaranteed that no matter their health insurer, certain preventive care like cancer screenings are free of charge. That's because an ACA provision has required insurers to fully cover services given an A or B recommendation by an expert task force. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to this statute in the case of Kennedy v. BraidwoodManagement. Either way the court decides, legal and medical experts told STAT, the ruling could have profound ramifications for the future of preventive healthcare in the United States.
President Trump unveiled a wide-ranging executive order on Tuesday that aims to lower drug prices, boost transparency into fees charged by middlemen, and limit Medicare payments for outpatient services provided by hospitals. Much of the order would require further rulemaking or other actions to have any effect.
Dozens of state attorneys general are urging Congress to pass a law prohibiting PBMs from simultaneously owning pharmacies, arguing such a move would boost competition and create more affordable prescription drug prices for Americans. Their concern is these arrangements create conflicts of interest that allow PBMs to dominate the design of health plans for tens of millions of Americans, and also distort the distribution and pricing for prescription medicines.
A man was arrested Monday after allegedly threatening violence against the UnitedHealthcare corporate campus in Minnetonka. The incident prompted a large police response to the building late Monday morning. Security at UnitedHealthcare has been heightened since its CEO, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot in New York last December. There were no reports of injuries stemming from Monday's incident in Minnetonka. The suspect remained in custody at the Hennepin County Jail as of early Tuesday, pending charges.