October 23, 2025
GKOS: iDose Smoke or Fire?
We view the weakness in GKOS shares this week as somewhat overdone following the announcement that iDose will be the subject of a Nov. 12 Contractor Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting among five Medicare Administrative Contractors…
October 22, 2025
(DE, ADM, MOS, TSCO) The Farm Complex: We’re from Washington and We’re Here to Help
We continue to see a few positive developments for the farm complex and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ comments late yesterday that the administration was going to provide $3 billion in aid to farmers from…
October 21, 2025
Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP): Seems Less About Hospitals and More About Systemic Change [CYH, ARDT, THC, municipal facilities, OMDA, TDOC, RDNT]
As the November 5 deadline approaches for state submissions to the highly anticipated $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), uncertainty remains about whether – or even how – these funds will reach hospitals [CYH,…
October 20, 2025
Capitol Policy Weekly: Government Shutdown, Russia-Ukraine and Trade
The top story in Washington this week remains the government shutdown, but a potential meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov in talks to try and end the…
October 17, 2025
Medtech & Biopharma 4Q25 Issue Items
Even amid a government shutdown – and in some ways because of it – 4Q25 promises a large number of policy catalysts across the medtech, diagnostics, life science tools (LST), and biopharma landscapes, informing company…
October 17, 2025
Trump’s Fertility Push May Cut Costs, But Adoption Barriers May Remain [PGNY, Maven, Carrot, MRK.GY]
The Trump administration’s new guidance on employer-sponsored fertility benefits and deal with Merck KGaA’s (MRK.GY) EMD Serono to sell select fertility drugs at most-favored-nation (MFN) prices, which were announced Thursday, boosts visibility for companies like…
October 15, 2025
Trade Update: China, Asia, and Spain in the Spotlight
We have the following thoughts about various updates on the trade front: We continue to believe that the recent trade / tariff tit for tat by China and the U.S. is mostly posturing. We see…
October 15, 2025
PBMs: Policy Headwinds Persist with Some New Developments [CVS, CI, UNH, ELV]
Policy headwinds facing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) [CVS, CI, UNH, ELV] remain entrenched despite shifting details since this spring. Recent developments, like California’s PBM law, White House drug pricing efforts, and the FTC litigation, underscore…
October 15, 2025
Multi-Cancer / Colorectal Coverage & Payments
We remain cautiously optimistic that any eventual longer-term FY26 funding bill will include legislation allowing – but not requiring – Medicare coverage of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) screening [GH, EXAS, GRAL]. Larger firms may nevertheless…
October 14, 2025
[HUM] Stars Rating Litigation Likely Brings Chapter to Close
We think this morning’s court ruling against Humana (HUM) in its Medicare Advantage (MA) Stars litigation is likely the end of the road in its efforts to secure a higher score for its 2026 payment…