Drugmakers meet Trump only halfway on pricing plan
By Peter Sullivan
axios.com – Big drug companies so far are responding to President Trump’s demand they commit to his “most favored nation” pricing policy by raising prices abroad without cutting them in the U.S.
Why it matters: That only gets halfway toward Trump’s goal of ending what he calls “global freeloading” and getting other developed countries to foot more of the cost while lowering costs for Americans.
Driving the news: Bristol Myers Squibb became the latest company to make a pricing move on Monday, when it said it would sell its schizophrenia drug Cobenfy in the United Kingdom at the higher U.S. list price.
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Aging developing nations and the care gap for noncommunicable diseases
By Michael Conway with Defne Yorgancioglu
mckinsey.com – Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have historically been characterized by relatively young populations. But recently, declining birth rates and rising life expectancies have been fundamentally restructuring these countries’ population pyramids. In the coming decades, the number of older people in LMICs is expected to more than double to 1.3 billion by 2050, accounting for around 60 percent of global growth in this demographic over the next 25 years.
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At the center of shutdown fight, health care is one of the most intractable issues in Congress
By Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking
Democrats believe health care is an issue that resonates with a majority of Americans as they demand an extension of subsidies for their votes to reopen the shuttered U.S. government. But it is also one of the most intractable issues in Congress — and a real compromise is unlikely to be easy, or quick.
There are some Republicans in Congress who want to extend the higher subsidies, which were first put in place in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of people who receive their insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are set to receive notices that their premiums will increase at the beginning of the year. But many GOP lawmakers are strongly opposed to any extension — and see the debate as a new opportunity to cut back on the program altogether.
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ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Would More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire
By Justin Lo, Larry Levitt, Jared Ortaliza and Cynthia Cox
kff.org – Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year. Enhanced premium tax credits were introduced in 2021 and later extended through the end of 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act. The enhanced tax credits both increased the amount of financial assistance already eligible ACA Marketplace enrollees received as well as made middle-income enrollees with income above 400% of federal poverty guidelines newly eligible for premium tax credits.
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A healthcare compromise could end the shutdown. The question is when.
By Ben Weschkul, Washington Correspondent
finance.yahoo.com – Hopes for ending the government shutdown after a week of bluster in Washington could hinge on negotiations about reviving expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
But timing is the issue.
Republicans are dug into a position that they will only talk about this healthcare issue once Democrats vote to end the shutdown.
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States are cutting Medicaid provider payments long before Trump cuts hit
By Bram Sable-Smith, Sarah Jane Tribble
npr.org – Every day for nearly 18 years, Alessandra Fabrello has been a medical caregiver for her son, on top of being his mom.
“It is almost impossible to explain what it takes to keep a child alive who should be dead,” said Fabrello, whose son, Ysadore Maklakoff, experienced a rare brain condition called acute necrotizing encephalopathy at 9 months old.
Through North Carolina’s Medicaid program, Maklakoff qualifies for a large slate of medical care in the family’s home in Chapel Hill.
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