President Donald Trump has set his sights on the pharmaceutical industry to shoulder part of the cost of his tax cuts, pressing congressional Republicans to force drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions covered by Medicaid.
The 2026 proposal is seeking to cut $33.3 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, representing a 26.2% reduction compared to the fiscal 2025 budget. This includes a $3.6 billion reduction in discretionary funding for the CDC, an $18 billion reduction for NIH, a $674 million reduction for CMS Program Management and a $240 million reduction for Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Hospital Preparedness Program.
Cigna has announced plans to launch a new specialized GLP-1 pharmacy called ENGUIDE from next month, as the obesity drug class popularized by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly becomes a key component of managed care firms' financials. GLP-1 drugs, which include Novo Nordisk's and Eli Lilly's weight loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, are a leading cost driver for managed care firms in a market expected to hit more than $100 billion by 2030.
The Cigna Group swung to a first quarter profit of $1.3 billion as the health insurer begins to gain control of rising medical costs and its Evernorth business continues to perform well. Cigna, which includes Evernorth Health Services and one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit management companies, said first quarter net income was $1.3 billion, or $4.85 per share, compared with a net loss of $277 million, or 97 cents per share, in Q1 2024.
CVS Health will not sell its Aetna health plans in the ACA's individual marketplaces in 2026, marking the second time in the past decade that Aetna has given up on ACA coverage.
The Trump administration on Thursday filed a lawsuit against three of the country's biggest insurance companies, accusing them of shelling out hundreds of millions 'in illegal kickbacks' to insurance brokers 'in exchange for enrollments into the insurers' Medicare Advantage plans.'