Five Key Health Insurers Reveal 2025’s Medicare Advantage Plans
The announcements by Cigna, CVS, Humana, Centene, and UnitedHealth were made ahead of the beginning of Medicare Advantage enrollment, which begins Oct. 15. Among other news, a top California health plan will offer one of the world's top-selling drugs, Humira, for free to show how skirting middlemen can improve drug affordability.
Reuters:
Health Insurers Unveil Medicare Advantage Plans For 2025
Health insurers Cigna, CVS Health, Humana, Centene, and UnitedHealth on Tuesday released details on their government-backed health insurance plans for next year for people aged 65 and above. The announcements come ahead of the beginning of enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans on Oct. 15, which will continue through Dec. 7. (10/1)
In other health care and pharmaceutical news —
Bloomberg:
Humira Cost Slashed As California Insurer Bypasses Drug Fees
A top California health plan is set to offer one of the world’s biggest-selling drugs for free in a bid to show the medicine can reach Americans affordably without going through the middlemen that typically control its flow. Blue Shield of California struck an unusual deal to buy a lower-cost version of Humira directly from a manufacturer, bypassing the giant pharmacy benefit managers that normally determine which maker’s drug will go to tens of millions Americans. (Tozzi, 10/1)
Bloomberg:
CVS Management, Board Have Been Weighing Options For Months
CVS Health Corp. has been reviewing its strategic options for months, including a potential breakup, according to a person familiar with the talks, as rising medical costs in its Aetna insurance arm weigh on the health-care conglomerate. The entrance of hedge fund Glenview Capital Management, which approached the company a few weeks ago about improving the business, made the conversation public and ratcheted up pressure on Chief Executive Officer Karen Lynch. (Koons and Rutherford, 10/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
CVS, Considering A Breakup, Will Find It’s Hard To Do
Separating the pieces would be difficult, with a danger of orphaning units that might struggle to flourish on their own, analysts said. “The risk is if breaking up the business creates lost customers, lost revenue, translating into lost profit,” said Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny. But running the intact company is also a challenging path forward for CVS Chief Executive Karen Lynch and the rest of the company’s leadership. (Mathews, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare:
Tenet Sells Majority Stake In 5 Hospitals To Orlando Health
Tenet Healthcare Corporation completed the sale of its majority stake in Brookwood Baptist Health to Florida-based Orlando Health. The deal includes five hospitals and related operations in Alabama: Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, Citizens Baptist Medical Center, Princeton Baptist Medical Center, Shelby Baptist Medical Center and Walker Baptist Medical Center, according to a Tuesday news release. (Eastabrook, 10/1)
Bloomberg:
Sanofi Is Said To Ask Bidders To Revise Consumer Health Offers
Sanofi has asked bidders to revise their proposals for its consumer health unit, people with knowledge of the matter said, as it considers whether to seek a sale or listing of the business. The French company asked suitors to submit revised bids for the Opella business in the coming days, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The request gives bidders the chance to either improve their proposals or provide additional clarity on specific terms under negotiation, according to the people. (David, Nair, and Barbaglia, 10/1)
Reuters:
Kidney Transplant Policy Spurs Lawsuits Claiming Racial Discrimination
A growing number of lawsuits claim the nonprofit that administers the nation’s organ transplant network used a racist calculation to require Black people with kidney failure to be sicker before they could receive a transplant. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed against United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the nation's network of organ transplant programs at hospitals, in federal courts across the country since April 2023. Lawyers involved say they expect the volume of cases to grow as more people learn they were affected. (Jones, 10/1)
KFF Health News:
Benefit Trend: Employers Opt To Give Workers An Allowance For Coverage
Dave Lantz is no stranger to emergency department or doctor bills. With three kids in their teens and early 20s, “when someone gets sick or breaks an arm, all of a sudden you have thousand-dollar medical bills,” Lantz said. The family’s health plan that he used to get as the assistant director of physical plant at Lycoming College, a small liberal arts school in central Pennsylvania, didn’t start to cover their costs until they had paid $5,600 in medical bills. (Andrews, 10/2)
KFF Health News:
Letters To The Editor: Setting The Record Straight On The FDA'S Authority Over Drug Ads
While several inaccuracies in the recent opinion piece about direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements by KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal have been corrected in response to FDA’s direct requests, in this letter the FDA seeks to provide additional information about the agency’s oversight to readers and correct any misimpressions that may remain (“Perspective: With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get,” Sept. 9). (10/2)
