Benjamins
Adobe

Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers — reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

Health insurers have endured a litany of problems with Medicare Advantage over the past three years. They were optimistic things would turn around with the Trump administration in charge.

Tough luck, for now.

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The administration stunned Medicare Advantage insurers and their investors by proposing a minuscule pay raise for 2027 and, more importantly, another series of policies that intend to root out unscrupulous behaviors that insurers have used to elevate profits. The proposed regulation from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wiped away tens of billions of dollars in market value collectively from the largest sellers of private Medicare plans, including UnitedHealth Group, Humana, CVS Health, and Elevance Health. 

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