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EU Unblocks €90bn Ukraine Loan as Druzhba Pipeline Restarts

EU Unblocks €90bn Ukraine Loan as Druzhba Pipeline Restarts

The European Union has moved to unblock a €90 billion loan package for Ukraine after…

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Ayesha Masood
Punjab Announces Scholarships for Balochistan Students

Punjab Announces Scholarships for Balochistan Students

The Punjab government has announced 460 scholarships for students from Balochistan in a move aimed…

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Ayesha Masood
EPA, Maryland Sue DC Water Over Massive Potomac Sewage Spill

EPA, Maryland Sue DC Water Over Massive Potomac Sewage Spill

The federal government and the state of Maryland have filed separate lawsuits against DC Water,…

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Ayesha Masood

Sindh and Federal Government Revive Karachi Circular Railway Project

KARACHI — The federal and provincial governments have agreed to revive the long-stalled Karachi Circular…

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mediahyde
WASHINGTON: UnitedHealth has warned that the Trump administration’s planned Medicare obesity-drug pilot faces “notable challenges,” casting doubt over how smoothly the program can move ahead if major insurers stay cautious. Recent market reporting said the model depends heavily on participation from Medicare drug plans that cover most Part D enrollees, which makes the stance of large insurers especially important. The concern centers on a broader CMS effort to expand access to GLP-1 weight-loss medicines for seniors. Under CMS’s published framework, the longer-term BALANCE Model would begin in Medicare Part D in January 2027, while a temporary Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is designed to start earlier and give eligible beneficiaries short-term access before that main model begins. What makes this a little more complicated is that the short-term bridge and the longer pilot are not the same thing. CMS says the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge operates outside the normal Part D coverage and payment flow, meaning Part D sponsors are not directly involved in that bridge arrangement. In other words, insurer participation is a much bigger issue for the 2027 BALANCE rollout than for the bridge itself. That distinction matters because investors and drugmakers are watching this closely. Reports said shares of obesity-drug makers fell after UnitedHealth’s comments, largely because Medicare coverage is seen as a huge growth opportunity for drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound. If major insurers hesitate, the program could struggle to achieve the scale CMS appears to want. There is already some evidence of resistance. MarketWatch reported that CVS Health has opted out, while UnitedHealth is still evaluating the structure and discussing possible changes with Medicare officials. That does not mean the program is dead, not yet anyway, but it does suggest the administration may need to revise the design or sweeten the terms if it wants broader insurer buy-in. The bigger backdrop here is cost. Medicare has long been wary of broad obesity-drug coverage because GLP-1 therapies are expensive and potentially involve very large patient populations. Earlier policy debates around these drugs were shaped by concerns that wide coverage could drive up federal spending sharply, even as supporters argued the medicines could reduce longer-term health costs tied to obesity. So the headline problem for CMS is pretty straightforward: it has created a short-term bridge that can move without direct Part D plan involvement, but the more ambitious long-term Medicare model still appears to need insurers on board. UnitedHealth’s warning does not shut the door, but it does signal that one of the industry’s biggest players thinks the current setup may not be ready for easy launch.

UnitedHealth raises red flags over Medicare obesity-drug pilot

WASHINGTON: UnitedHealth has warned that the Trump administration’s planned Medicare obesity-drug pilot faces “notable challenges,”…

By
Mabruka Khan
Meta Tests ‘WhatsApp Plus’ Subscription With New Features

Meta Tests ‘WhatsApp Plus’ Subscription With New Features

Meta is testing a new paid tier for WhatsApp called WhatsApp Plus, adding a batch…

By
Ayesha Masood
Areas Being Made ‘Beaver-Ready’ Ahead of Possible Release

Areas Being Made ‘Beaver-Ready’ Ahead of Possible Release

Parts of England are being prepared for possible future beaver releases as conservation groups and…

By
Ayesha Masood
Pakistan says it remains ready to host U.S.-Iran dialogue as uncertainty clouds next round

Pakistan says it remains ready to host U.S.-Iran dialogue as uncertainty clouds next round

Pakistan has reaffirmed that it is still prepared to host another round of U.S.-Iran talks,…

By
Ayesha Masood