Obamacare Sign-Ups Steady As Debate Persists Over Its Future

More than 8 million people have signed up for coverage next year under former President Barack Obama's health care law, the government said Friday, a sign of continued demand for the program amid persistent uncertainty over its future. Preliminary numbers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed that 8.3 million people enrolled from Nov. 1-Dec. 17, about 2 percent fewer than last year. The final number will be higher after states that run their own sign-up drives report their results. National totals are usually released in March.

By Alonso-Zaldivar, Published in The Associated Press

 

Congress Showers Health Care Industry With Multibillion-Dollar Victory After Wagging Finger At It For Much Of 2019
Vilified by lawmakers from both parties for months, the health-care industry this year appeared to face an existential threat to its business model. But this week, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, insurance companies and medical device manufacturers practically ran the table in Congress, winning hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks and other gifts through old-fashioned lobbying, re-exerting their political prowess. "It's the 'no special interest left behind bill' of 2019. That's what it feels like this is," said Andy Slavitt, a former health administrator who served in the Obama administration. "There's no other explanation." By Stein and Abutaleb, Published in The Washington Post

 

Cigna's Express Scripts Partners With Prime Therapeutics
Cigna Corp.'s Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics solidified the terms of a three-year collaboration as the pharmacy benefit managers look to leverage the scale of the more than 100 million individuals that their clients cover. Express Scripts, the nation's largest PBM that merged with Cigna last year, said Thursday that it will offer retail pharmacy and drug manufacturer contract services to Prime, which is owned by 18 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans that stand to benefit from Express Scripts' purchasing power. Prime said it will continue to supply full-service pharmacy benefit management offerings for its clients.

By Kacik, Published in Modern Healthcare

 

House Passes North American Trade Pact With Bipartisan Support

The House of Representatives approved President Trump's amended North American trade pact on Thursday in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion, a rare instance of legislative cooperation in an era of intense political divisions. The House approved legislation to implement the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA, by a 385 to 41 vote, with 193 Democrats and 192 Republicans backing the pact. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation early next year, after which the president would sign it into law. By Mauldin and Andrews, Published in The Wall Street Journal.