At least 280 insurance agency mergers and acquisitions were announced during the first half of 2018, according to OPTIS Partners’ M&A database, making it the second-highest six month total. This year’s deals trailed off compared to the first half of 2017 when 333 transactions were reported.

As the pharmaceutical industry faces potential pricing reform and continued criticism from patient advocates and members of Congress, the industry's top trade group spent $15.5 million lobbying in the first half, an 11.5% increase compared with the same period last year.

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is fighting back against recent claims that drug rebates have been the primary driver of the rising cost of prescriptions, releasing their own report Friday about the impact of the discounts.

The Congressional Budget Office vowed it would ramp up oversight of its cost-estimate process after it underestimated the impact of a Medicare Part D change made by Congress by $4 billion.

The CMS may soon restart making billions of dollars in risk-adjustment payments to insurance companies with plans on the individual market via a new rulemaking.

Paul Mango, a former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate who is a fierce critic of ObamaCare, will join the Trump administration in a top health-care role.