Lilly and Novo Nordisk are hoping to win over employers on the idea that obesity and its complications are already a huge cost in terms of healthcare, workers' compensation and disability. By offering employees coverage for the weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy, companies can save money in the long run, the messaging goes. Whether these efforts succeed will help shape the size of the anti-obesity drug market, which some analysts predict could top $100 billion in annual sales. It is an unconventional approach for pharmaceutical companies. They have long used tried-and-true methods to boost sales, including running TV ads aimed at consumers, and sending tenacious representatives to persuade doctors to prescribe drugs to patients and health insurers to pay for them.
Republicans have despised the ACA since its inception almost 15 years ago. But some healthcare executives think Republicans may actually help the law as they regain control of Washington. Enhanced tax credits that help millions of middle-income Americans afford health plans on the ACA's individual marketplaces, signed into law by President Biden, expire at the end of 2025. Conservatives have railed against those subsidies as wasteful spending, but millions of people now depend on them: More than 21 million people had an ACA plan this year, compared with 12 million in 2021, when the enhanced subsidies started rolling out. And executives are banking on President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans not wanting to take the blame if millions of people who currently get these subsidies — many of whom live in red states — suddenly find themselves with coverage they can't afford.
The Justice Department and four Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against the giant UnitedHealth Group in an attempt to block its $3.3 billion deal to take over Amedisys, a large home 'health company. 'Unless this $3.3 billion transaction is stopped, UnitedHealth Group will further extend its grip to home health and hospice care, threatening seniors, their families and nurses,' said Jonathan Kanter, the assistant attorney general who heads DOJ's antitrust division. Antitrust regulators have been reviewing the proposed acquisition amid a federal inquiry into UnitedHealth's sprawling dominance across nearly every segment of health care. As one of the biggest U.S. companies overall, with $372 billion in revenue in 2023.
Lisa Domski, a Catholic who was terminated for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, has been awarded nearly $13 million in damages. A Detroit jury ruled that Blue Cross Blue Shield discriminated against Lisa Domski, by denying her request for a religious exemption from the company's vaccine mandate, which she made based on her 'sincerely held religious beliefs.'
The DOJ is moving to block UnitedHealth Group's $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys Inc. over concerns the deal would harm competition in the market for home health services, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report said antitrust officials have signed off on a lawsuit to be filed in federal court as soon as this week to stop the deal.
Despite his focus on 'Make America Healthy Again,' millions of Americans may lose health insurance subsidies next year, depending on the political climate after the election and the Republicans' control of the Senate. The subsidies, expanded under the 2021 American Rescue Plan, help many, particularly the middle class, afford health insurance through the ACA. These subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, and it remains uncertain whether they will be extended under the new administration.