Insights | Meridian Research Group | Page 17

Late last week, the FDA issued a Declaratory Order determining that the semaglutide drug shortage has been resolved and announcing that the drug (the active ingredient in Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy) would be removed from the agency’s 506e shortage list. Just days later, the Outsourcing Facilities Association (OFA) – which represents the...

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)

Earlier this week, the House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the practices of PBMs and set the table for possible legislative reforms this year.

Medicare Advantage (MA)

Improper upcoding by MA plans is gaining some visibility amongst regulators and policymakers. Last week, it was reported that the DOJ had initiated a civil fraud investigation into UnitedHealth’s MA billing practices, focusing on whether the company recorded questionable diagnoses to secure higher payments for its MA plans. And following the...

Crypto (Stablecoins, Market structure)

In addition to the strong commitment President Trump has made to facilitating a supportive regulatory environment for crypto, Congressional Republicans have begun to move quickly on legislation in this area, and have set expectations that this is their top priority for financial services policy and that a bill will be enacted into law. They have...

The bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees continue to indicate they are close to reaching a deal on top-line spending levels for the remainder of FY25. The current extension of FY25 funding expires on 3/14, and if resolution is not reached by then, government operations will “shut down.” Despite bipartisan progress...

President Trump and conservatives have expressed a preference for addressing the debt limit on a partisan basis, so as not to give Democrats the ability to leverage it for achieving other policy concessions. Reflecting this sentiment, the House-passed budget resolution includes a $4t debt limit increase. The Senate-passed budget resolution does...