CMS Sets A 2.48% Medicare Advantage Payment Rate Increase For 2027
CMS originally proposed a 0.09% rate increase but bumped it up following industry pushback. Other Trump administration news is on TrumpRx, ARPA-H, the immigration crisis, and more.
Fierce Healthcare:
CMS Gives MA Rates A 2.48% Bump For 2027 Plan Year In Final Rule
Following significant industry outcry over a proposal to keep Medicare Advantage rates largely flat in 2027, the Trump administration has bumped payments up slightly in the final policy. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services initially proposed a 0.09% increase in rates as part of the MA and Part D Advance Notice. In the final rule, the increase is instead set at 2.48%, which CMS said equates to about $13 billion in additional payments to plans for the coming plan year. (Minemyer, 4/6)
Fierce Healthcare:
CMS Unveils New Medicare Pilot For Hemp, CBD Products
The Trump administration has announced a new initiative that would allow participants in certain alternative payment models to offer hemp-based products to patients when it aligns with clinical guidance. The new Substance Access Beneficiary Engagement Incentive (BEI) was unveiled on April 1 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency said it would be available to providers participating in the ACO REACH model as well as the Enhancing Oncology Model, and will be allowed under the eventual Long-Term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) Model beginning next year. (Minemyer, 4/6)
More health news from the Trump administration —
CBS News:
Two More Pharmaceutical Companies, Abbvie And Genentech, To Officially Launch On TrumpRx
Two more drug-making giants will officially start selling popular commercial medications on the White House's discounted pharmaceutical site as soon as Monday, CBS News exclusively learned. American pharmaceutical companies Abbvie and Genentech become the 10th and 11th companies to provide their prescriptions at a reduced rate on the "TrumpRx" site. (Rinaldi, 4/6)
The New York Times:
Federal Agency Unveils Three Potential Osteoarthritis Treatments
Three years ago, a little-known new federal agency announced its first big project: It would invest tens of millions of dollars over five years to find a cure for osteoarthritis, the painful wearing away of joints that affects 32 million Americans. Now the agency, ARPA-H (the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health), says it has several promising solutions. Its research teams are contractually obligated to start testing in patients within 18 months. (Kolata, 4/6)
The New York Times:
Trump’s USAID Overhaul Sent Millions More Dollars To Big U.S.-Based Contractors
When the Trump administration began its overhaul of foreign aid in January 2025, officials made no secret of their disdain for giant aid organizations and private businesses who received multimillion dollar contracts to deliver health services to poor nations. They characterized them as “beltway bandits” who charged bloated amounts of overhead. They vowed to shut down the big U.S. players and instead channel aid through smaller organizations based in the countries receiving assistance. (Nolen, 4/6)
Stat:
A Star Scientist Showed That Better Genetics Lessons Could Reduce Racism. It Was The Death Knell For His Career
Described as a "generational talent," Donovan's revamp of genetics education came crashing down with NSF budget cuts. (Molteni, 4/7)
On the immigration crisis —
Spotlight PA:
Jails Earn Millions Of Dollars Detaining Immigrants For ICE
A group of Pennsylvania counties has billed the federal government more than $21 million in recent years to detain immigrants in their jails, a first-of-its-kind review by Spotlight PA has found. While these agreements predate the second Trump administration by years or even decades, they are receiving new attention as the president executes a mass deportation campaign that relies heavily on local partners. (Huangpu and Ohl, 4/6)
Undark:
A DNA Archive Built To Identify Missing Migrants Has Vanished
In 2016, Irma Carrillo Nevares swabbed the inside of her cheek and signed a consent form allowing the Colibrí Center for Human Rights to add her DNA to its database. Carrillo Nevares’ son and daughter had gone missing while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border 17 years earlier. She was desperate to find out what had happened to them, and Colibrí’s database offered a ray of hope. (Schivone and Tracey, 4/7)
And an election today could help influence control of Congress —
CNN:
The Democrat Vying To Replace Marjorie Taylor Greene Faces A Tall Task, But Republicans Are Still Watching Closely
The race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former ally of President Donald Trump turned critic who resigned from Congress in January, advanced to a runoff when neither Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army brigadier general, nor Republican Clay Fuller was able to win a majority in a crowded all-party election on March 10. A potential win by Harris would be devastating to the House GOP majority, especially because a special election in New Jersey to fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s seat, in just over a week, will almost certainly add another Democrat to House ranks. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson can lose only one vote with his slim majority. Johnson could be looking at a scenario in which he cannot afford to lose a single vote. (English, 4/7)
