The House and Senate are in this week but mainly to pass the reconciliation bill and then they will adjourn for the week. Progress has also been made on getting the GENIUS Act, which would…

We expect the Senate to pass the reconciliation bill within the next 24 hours, despite the current reconciliation drama (parliamentarian rulings, CBO projection of deficits post-2034, Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) retirement announcement, House member opposition,…

We view CMS’s new Medicare prior authorization model – announced late Friday and scheduled for implementation Jan. 1, 2026 – as an incremental headwind for device manufacturers within the selected therapeutic and geographic areas, which…

Consistent with our expectations, the Supreme Court today upheld the validity of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) appointments and – by extension – the mandate that insures cover recommended services without patient cost-sharing, lifting…

With CMS likely to publish its CY26 physician / hospital outpatient rate proposals the week of July 7-11, we continue to expect physician payments for PRCT’s Aquablation to fall ~20% ($765 to ~$600) [see prior…

The sizable hole left by the Senate parliamentarian decisions on various Medicaid and Obamacare provisions, which were reported this morning by Senate democrats (here and here) injects uncertainty for hospitals, Obamacare insurers, Medicaid managed care,…

In our view, the debate over the reconciliation bill isn’t about whether or not it will pass—it’s mostly a foregone conclusion that it will—but whether Congress can get it done by President Trump’s desired date…

Having received a number of questions on an “update” posted to CMS’s National Coverage What’s New Report yesterday – which some have taken to imply a near-term reopening of the agency’s coverage policy for transcatheter…

In the upcoming CY26 Medicare payment proposal for home health (HH) agencies [AMED, PNTG, BTSG, ADUS, AVAH, UNH], which we expect within the next two weeks based on historical patterns, we think it is more…

The House and Senate are both in session this week with the U.S. attack on Iran and reconciliation likely leading the headlines.  President Trump is scheduled to give a speech at the NATO summit in…

Amidst the behind-the-scenes Senate debate of its draft reconciliation bill, CMS made good on its threat to jettison improper and fraudulent Obamacare enrollment, impacting ACA insurers [OSCR, CNC, ELV, MOH] and hospitals / behavioral facilities…

Amid reports that HHS is considering steps to curtail direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertisements – with negative implications for high spenders in this area [ABBV, NVO, REGN] – we see significant impediments to how far /…

The Senate Finance Committee’s (SFC) draft healthcare and tax portion of the reconciliation bill makes some changes, relative to the House-passed measure, but is overall consistent with that version, with the implications being lower Medicaid…

Late Friday, CMS announced the latest list of Medicare Advantage (MA) contracts to be targeted for risk adjustment data verification (RADV) audits – this time for payment year (PY) 2019 – and its associated processes…

In light of the weighty sports betting tax hike in Illinois over the weekend and the modest increase in Maryland last week, investors should continue to expect tax hikes in various states offset at times…