Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Hires Economic Adviser To Oversee Health Care Affordability
The Trump administration is bringing on a new official to focus on health care affordability, the Department of Health and Human Services tells Axios. The personnel move suggests the administration is attempting to respond to voters' concerns about health care costs ahead of the midterm elections. (Owens, 4/16)
More on the high cost of health care
Baylor Scott & White Health Plan is quitting Medicaid and the health insurance exchange, the company announced Tuesday. The insurance division of the Dallas-based health system Baylor Scott & White Health notified members and Texas regulators it would leave the Medicaid managed care program on Aug. 31 and shut down its individual exchange operations at the end of the year. (Tong, 4/15)
Colorado Access President and CEO Annie Lee knows its a strange time to enter the health insurance exchanges. The expiration of enhanced subsidies combined with unexpectedly high medical costs and uncertainty over how President Donald Trumps administration will reshape the Affordable Care Act of 2010 marketplaces hasnt exactly attracted insurers, she said. CVS Health subsidiary Aetna notably exited the market last year, for example. Things have become more volatile. Theres not a financial draw, Lee said. (Tepper, 4/15)
Gov. Ned Lamont has got a sweet deal for Connecticut small businesses struggling to provide health insurance coverage to their employees. (Golvala, 4/15)
For Dr. Joseph Cacchione, the math on GLP-1 drugs stopped making sense. The CEO of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit hospital system Jefferson said his organization now spends more on prescription drug coverage fueled by the soaring use of weight loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound than it does on inpatient care. (Lovelace Jr., Herzberg and Thompson, 4/16)
Hospital merger and acquisition activity has ramped up as health systems brace for financial pressure from shifting federal policies. Health systems proposed 22 hospital mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter, up from five in the first quarter of 2025 and nearing pre-pandemic levels of deal activity, according to data from consultancy Kaufman Hall. Executives have inked more merger and acquisition agreements this year following a historically slow 2025, and advisers expect the momentum to continue for the rest of the year. (Kacik, 4/15)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is proposing to repeal a pathway that currently allows breakthrough devices to qualify for supplementary payments without proving they provide a substantial clinical improvement over alternatives. (Palmer, 4/15)
