No Funding Deal In Sight Following High-Stakes White House Negotiations, Party Leaders Say

President Donald Trump and congressional leaders from both parties exited a high-stakes negotiation meeting Monday afternoon with little optimism a deal could be struck before the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown. “I think we’re heading to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” Vice President J.D. Vance told ...

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Trump Announces Deal With Pfizer To Lower Drug Prices

President Trump on Tuesday announced that Pfizer had agreed to sell its products in the U.S. at “Most Favored Nation” pricing, one day after the administration required companies to respond to his prescription drug pricing executive order. Drugmakers were given until Sept. 29 to respond to Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” Executive Order that required companies ...

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What To Know About Trump’s New Pharmaceutical Tariff Plan

In announcing that branded or patented drugs would be hit with 100 percent tariffs on Oct. 1, Trump also said drugmakers could escape the penalties if they have a U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing plant for which ground has been broken, or is currently under construction.

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How California Families Are Already Bracing For Looming Medicaid Cuts

a host of federally funded healthcare and nutrition programs that serve low-income Americans will be scaled back, revamped with expanded work requirements and other restrictions or canceled altogether if individual states can’t find alternate funding sources.

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Weight-Loss Drugs Can Cut Future Health Costs. The Fight Is Over Who Pays Now.

Millions of Americans who could benefit from GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are caught in the middle of a battle between drug companies and insurers over their costs, leaving them without coverage even as evidence mounts that the drugs could stave off expensive health complications in the future. Insurance coverage for the drugs has barely budged in the ...

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Hospitals, Doctors Face Virtual Care Cliff With Telehealth, Hospital At Home Services On The Line

Medicare beneficiaries stand to lose access to two key virtual care programs that the federal government has offered since the start of the pandemic if the government shuts down Tuesday at midnight. The Medicare telehealth waivers and Acute Hospital at Home programs are set to expire Oct. 1 unless Congress passes a short-term government funding ...

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As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States

With the Trump administration scaling back federal efforts to protect Americans from medical bills they can’t pay, advocates for patients and consumers have shifted their work to contain the nation’s medical debt problem to state Capitols. Despite progress in some mostly blue states this year, however, recent setbacks in more conservative legislatures underscore the persistent ...

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CMS: Average MA Premiums Are Set To Decline For 2026 Plan Year

The Trump administration projects average Medicare Advantage (MA) premiums will decline slightly for the 2026 plan year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday that the average monthly premium across all types of MA coverage is set to be $14, down from $16.40 in 2025. This includes MA plans with prescription drug coverage as ...

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California Expands Vaccine Coverage Requirements

On September 17, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 144 (AB 144) into law, a move in response to recent changes in immunization recommendations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bill, which took effect immediately, mandates that health plans cover a wide range of preventive care services, including immunizations, without cost-sharing or utilization ...

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PBMs Draft Voluntary Changes To Stave Off Federal Action

Pharmacy middlemen are working on a proposal to voluntarily change some of their business practices in an effort to avoid new regulation from the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the discussions. The main lobbying group that represents so-called pharmacy benefit managers, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, has drafted proposals to bring to the ...

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