March 16, 2026
Medicare Advantage: Final CY27 Rates Expectations of 1%-3% Increase [HUM, ALHC, UNH, CVS, ELV, CNC, PRVA, ASTH, EVH, DVA, FRE.DE]
We continue to expect CMS’s final CY27 rate announcement for Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers [HUM, ALHC, UNH, CVS, ELV, CNC], affecting their contracted value-based care providers [PRVA, ASTH, EVH], to produce a low single-digit increase…
March 16, 2026
Capitol Policy Weekly: Iran Conflict Likely, Fed Standoff Continues, SAVE Act Politics and the Government Shutdown Continues
With both the House and Senate back in Washington, the focused will be on a number of issues, including: The evolving Iran conflict. The standoff surrounding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Senate debate over the SAVE America Act. Also, the Federal…
March 13, 2026
Trade Potpourri: Sec. 301, Court Challenge to Sec. 122 Tariffs, U.S.-China Trade and the USMCA
There is a lot happening on the trade front from 60 Section 301 tariff country investigations announced by the Trump administration yesterday, to court dates set in the Section 122 legal challenge, and the ongoing USMCA saga. Taken together, these issues are likely to…
March 13, 2026
Amazon (AMZN) Satellite Waiver: FCC Relief Likely Despite Carr’s Comments on Deployment Shortfall
Amazon’s (AMZN) request for additional time to meet its Project Kuiper deployment timeframe has attracted renewed scrutiny from the FCC, given recent comments from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr—including a post on X this week criticizing the company’s opposition to SpaceX’s satellite expansion and…
March 12, 2026
Hospitals: Latest CMS Batch of Approved Hospital-Specific DPPs [HCA, THC, UHS]
CMS’s latest approvals for hospital-specific Medicaid state directed payment programs (DPPs) provide incremental positive news for HCA, THC and UHS due to their footprint in certain states (Georgia, Michigan, Kentucky, and Nevada) where CMS recently…
March 10, 2026
GKOS: Less Sanguine on iDose Coverage Questions
Despite recent speculation that Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) may not pursue a formal coverage policy for GKOS iDose procedures, we continue to expect a draft local coverage determination (LCD) in Q2 / Q3. Following the…
March 10, 2026
Medicaid Expansion Levels – Thoughts on Potential 2027 Enrollment Declines [MOH, CNC, ELV]
With Medicaid insurers [MOH, CNC, ELV] projecting more muted Medicaid enrollment changes for 2026 compared with the sizable attrition during the post-pandemic Medicaid unwinding – and little guidance on what comes next – investors are…
March 9, 2026
Capitol Policy Weekly: Iran Pressures Markets, Housing Advances, Trade Tensions Return
With Congress partially out of session this week, Washington will continue to revolve around the Iran conflict, trade policy adjustments, and a handful of legislative initiatives moving through the Senate. The Senate remains in session while the…
March 9, 2026
[LNTH] Pylarify 2.0 Payment Pathway
Following FDA approval of LNTH’s Pylarify TruVu late Friday, we continue to expect CMS to provide a three-year transitional pass-through (TPT) payment for hospital outpatient services effective Oct. 1, 2026, with our best estimate on…
March 6, 2026
[INSP, LIVN, NYXH] New Hypoglossal Code By 2028
As we had anticipated, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) CPT Editorial Panel will evaluate the creation of a new reimbursement code to describe single lead hypoglossal nerve neurostimulation (HGNS) devices (e.g., INSP’s Inspire V) at…