Insights: Clients

Medicaid, ACA, PBMs, and HSAs in Reconciliation

Senate Republicans are in intense negotiations over modifications to the Finance Committee (SFC) draft contribution to the reconciliation bill, covering Medicaid, ACA, and other provisions (e.g., HSAs, PBMs). The SFC draft, which is more aggressive than the House bill, continues to draw push back from Republicans in both the House and Senate.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Omnicom/Interpublic

Various news outlets, including the New York Times, Bloomberg, and Reuters reported last week that the companies and FTC are in discussions over a consent decree intended to prevent the combined company from boycotting media companies due to their political content. This news comes on the heels of reports that the FTC has requested information...

The Senate yesterday passed stablecoin legislation on a 68-30 vote, with the support of 18 Democrats. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) has passed both a stablecoin and broader crypto market structure bill in recent weeks. The House Agriculture Committee also passed the market structure bill. HFSC Chair Hill (R-AR) has to-date...

Energy, Healthcare, Macro

Last night, the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) released its draft contribution to the reconciliation bill, covering taxes and Medicaid. Notably, the SFC draft is more aggressive than the House version of the bill in cutting Medicaid, takes a slightly more moderate approach to the House’s cuts to IRA clean energy credits, and extends the SALT cap...

Pharmacy Benefit Managers

In recent weeks, CVS Health, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) – the trade association representing PBMs – have filed separate federal lawsuits seeking to block implementation of a first-of-its-kind Arkansas law (Act 624) that prohibits PBMs from owning or operating pharmacies in the state.

Medicare/Medicaid

As the Senate makes edits to the House-passed reconciliation bill, two key threads of activity are emerging. First, as discussed in our recent comments regarding the broader reconciliation landscape, there are clear indications that the primary areas of concern amongst Senate Republicans regarding the House’s Medicaid proposals revolve around...