Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
UnitedHealth Group Says It Will Slash Pre-Authorizations By 30%
The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth To Make It Easier For Patients To Get A Range Of Procedures
UnitedHealth Group plans to stop requiring doctors to get approvals for an array of procedures, tests and services, cutting back on a process that has long been detested by physicians and patients. UnitedHealth, parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer, said the changes will slash the number of reviews by nearly a third starting later this year. Doctors have long complained about the paperwork they must complete to get insurers’ permission for care, which can lead to delays and denials. (Wilde Mathews, 5/5)
More news about the high cost of health care —
Becker's Hospital Review: Hospitals Face Growing Fallout From ACA Coverage Cliff
The warning signs were visible for months. Enhanced ACA premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and insurers are pulling back from the ACA marketplace while enrollment composition shifts toward high-deductible bronze plans. Now, the knock-on effects of these moves are beginning to emerge as leaders from the largest for-profit health systems elaborated on first-quarter results. (Condon, 5/4)
Healthcare Dive: Healthcare Bankruptcies Rise In Q1: Report
The sector recorded 12 bankruptcy filings in the first quarter, up 33% from the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the analysis by Gibbins Advisors. (Olsen, 5/4)
Modern Healthcare: Humana Gains Medicare Advantage Members As Rivals Exit Markets
A flurry of strategic decisions by Medicare Advantage insurers to exit underperforming geographic markets, mostly in rural areas, left Humana as the last company standing in dozens of counties this year. When the 2026 annual enrollment period closed, Humana had gained more than 1 million new Medicare Advantage members. That was more than it bargained for and the most in the industry. (Tepper and Broderick, 5/4)
CNBC: Health Cost Surge Makes Parental Paid Leave Benefits A Target For Cuts
As healthcare costs soar, it’s not only individual Americans feeling the financial pain and looking to make trade-offs. Employers are scouring for ways to cut back and generous paid parental leave is among the employee benefits on the chopping block. (Munk, 5/3)
Stat: AMA Billing Codes Are New Target In D.C.'s. War On Health Care Fraud
For decades, politicians have blamed the country’s biggest doctor lobby for some of the health care systems problems. Now it faces a new line of attack as Republicans portray their health care cuts as fraud-fighting policies. (Wilkerson, 5/5)
Modern Healthcare: GOP Reconciliation Bill May Target More Healthcare Cuts
Congress struck a deal last week on the homeland security budget that doesn’t contain any more healthcare cuts, but the sector’s respite could prove brief. Those in the Republican majority who want to dig deeper into federal healthcare spending after enacting more than $1 trillion in cuts last year see more opportunities to press their case this year. (McAuliff, 5/4)
On Medicaid —
Healthcare Dive: How States Are Planning To Implement Medicaid Work Requirements: Survey
Most states are planning to adopt less restrictive policies to verify compliance with work requirements mandated by the “Big Beautiful Bill,” but some are implementing the policies early or checking eligibility more frequently. (Olsen, 5/4)
MedPage Today: Will The Coming Cuts To Medicaid Spare The 'Truly Needy'?
Based on prior history, cuts to federal healthcare programs as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium subsidies will result in big drops in public coverage that will worsen existing problems in the health insurance marketplace, authors of a study found. (Frieden, 5/4)
KFF Health News: States Eye Aid To Prop Up Distressed Hospitals Amid Federal Medicaid Cuts
At Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, patients on gurneys line the hallways of the emergency department waiting for care, and overflow mental health patients are consigned to outdoor tents. The 152-bed hospital, which sits on a sprawling medical campus close to the predominantly Latino and Black neighborhood of Watts, is struggling for financial stability. Its patients are poorer and sicker than average, many of them are uninsured, and three-quarters of MLK’s patient care revenue comes from Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the Medicaid program, which pays low rates. For hospitals statewide, by comparison, less than one-third of patient revenue comes from Medi-Cal. (Wolfson, 5/5)
In other healthcare industry updates —
Modern Healthcare: UPMC To Acquire CommonSpirit’s Trinity Health
CommonSpirit Health and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have signed a definitive agreement to transfer Steubenville, Ohio-based Trinity Health System to UPMC. The proposed deal includes Trinity Medical Center West, Trinity Medical Center East, Trinity St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, Trinity Twin City Medical Center and associated clinics, according to a Monday news release. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the fall, pending regulatory review and customary closing conditions. (Eastabrook, 5/4)
Modern Healthcare: Masimo Shareholders Approve Its Acquisition By Danaher For $9.9B
Masimo Corp. shareholders have approved its proposed $9.9 billion acquisition by life sciences company Danaher Corp. Stockholders voted on the decision at a May 1 special meeting, the patient monitoring company said Monday. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Masimo said it expects the acquisition to close this year. (Dubinsky, 5/4)
Bloomberg: ASG Hospital Said To Plan Filing For $500 Million IPO This Month
ASG Hospital Pvt., an Indian eye-care chain backed by General Atlantic, is planning to file for an initial public offering as early as this month that could raise up to $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is considering selling roughly 15% of fresh equity in the offering, which is expected to also include stock sold by existing investors, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. (Mascarenhas and Sanjay, 5/5)
