The weekly briefing

Ten things from the week that a healthcare executive should act on, each with its sources.

Latest · Week of October 30, 2026 - November 5, 2026

CVS Health will split into two publicly traded companies by 2028, separating Aetna and Caremark from its roughly 9,000 retail pharmacies.

Past weeks

October 23 – October 29Medicaid work requirements start in about ten weeks, and the researchers studying implementation say most states aren't ready to run them.
October 16 – October 22UnitedHealthcare and Humana are canceling Medicare Advantage (MA) plans covering nearly 1 million beneficiaries, citing elevated medical costs and unprofitable counties.
October 9 – October 15Epic has launched a prescription price transparency tool inside its electronic health record (EHR) that shows clinicians real-time drug costs and lower-cost alternatives at the moment they prescribe, according to Modern Healthcare.
October 2 – October 8Leerink Partners data shows the largest Medicare Advantage carriers are reducing dental allowances and premium givebacks for 2027, even as they publicly say benefits are holding steady.
September 25 – October 1Foley & Lardner published a detailed analysis of the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, introduced September 16 with Senators Warren, Wyden, and Merkley among its sponsors, which would create a federal ban on the corporate practice of medicine (CPOM).
September 18 – September 24[HFMA argues](https://www.hfma.org/fast-finance/trump-administration-affordability-push-features-sdp-cuts/) that the administration's "affordability" push is a Medicaid spending cut with better branding, and the state-directed payment reductions at its center land directly on hospital balance sheets.
September 11 – September 17The October 1 Medicaid cliff is the story nobody in the rural funding press releases wants to talk about—and it's ten days away.
September 4 – September 10The OBBBA and H.R. 1 combination is set to deliver the deepest structural Medicaid contraction in decades—and most FY2027 financial plans haven't caught up.
August 21 – August 27Transcarent just did what most of the industry said couldn't be done—it built a bundled payment model for CAR-T and BiTE cancer therapies delivered through community oncology.
August 14 – August 20Prior authorization has quietly become the single biggest threat to value-based contract performance—and the industry is finally saying so out loud.
August 7 – August 13Americans want the healthcare system fixed—they just don't agree on who should do the fixing, and increasingly they've stopped looking to Washington.
July 31 – August 6CMS is taking joint replacement bundles nationwide, and if you're an orthopedic service line outside a current CJR market, the clock just started ticking.
July 24 – July 30The Medicaid Fraud War Room stopped more than $203 million in improper payments in just 88 days—and if you run a Medicaid managed care shop, that number should get your attention.
July 17 – July 23The most underappreciated financial risk to safety-net value-based care this week came buried in a proposed rule about Medicaid provider taxes.
July 10 – July 16CMS just released its CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, and the agency isn't being subtle—it's calling this a "transformational" pivot from sick care to value-based care.
July 3 – July 9U.S. health spending is on track to blow past 20% of GDP by 2034—and that's the number that should reframe every strategic plan on your desk.
June 26 – July 2The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is the most consequential coverage shift of the week—and CMS just changed the actuarial math for every risk-bearing organization.
June 19 – June 25The behavioral health and specialty care VBC readiness gap just got named out loud—and it's wider than most C-suites want to admit.
June 12 – June 18Federal watchdogs just caught the three biggest Medicare Advantage insurers denying post-acute care at rates that look a lot more like profit-seeking than clinical judgment.
June 5 – June 11The OIG just put Medicare Advantage prior authorization on blast—and post-acute providers should be paying close attention.
May 29 – June 4CMS launched its nationwide Medicaid work requirements framework this week, and the clock is now ticking toward a July 31 effective date that will reshape attributed Medicaid populations across the country.
May 22 – May 28Providers are stacking courtroom wins against the No Surprises Act's arbitration framework, and payers should be paying attention.
May 15 – May 21Hospitals are running leaner than they have in years — and it still isn't enough to fix the bottom line.
May 8 – May 14The LEAD ACO Model's 10-year downside risk structure is forcing a strategic reckoning that most ACO REACH participants haven't fully internalized yet.
April 24 – April 30CMS and FDA launched the [RAPID Coverage Pathway](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-fda-announce-rapid-coverage-pathway-accelerate-patient-access-life-changing-medical-devices), a joint framework designed to collapse the historically brutal gap between FDA device approval and Medicare reimbursement.
April 18 – April 24Privia Health's 22% Q4 revenue growth isn't just an earnings beat—it's a market signal about where physician-enablement platforms are headed in value-based care.
April 17 – April 23Electronic prior authorization just moved from "nice to have" to "you need a plan" — CMS dropped new ePA guidance this week that lands squarely in the middle of the broader CMS-0062-P interoperability push.
April 3 – April 9Healthcare providers face a perfect storm as ACA marketplace enrollment drops 4.9% following subsidy expiration, forcing organizations to balance financial sustainability with care access obligations.
March 27 – April 2Healthcare affordability hit a breaking point this week as ACA premiums spiked 58% following subsidy expiration, driving consumers toward high-deductible bronze plans while insurers denied 19% of in-network claims.
March 20 – March 26CMS just launched what KFF calls "the largest drug coverage experiment in a generation" with the BALANCE Model for GLP-1 drugs in Medicare and Medicaid.
March 13 – March 19CMS drops a $50 billion bomb on rural healthcare, fundamentally reshaping the value-based care landscape for underserved markets.
March 6 – March 12CMS just dropped a bombshell on outpatient specialists—mandatory value-based care starts January 2027, and it's going to reshape the entire ambulatory landscape.
February 27 – March 5CMS just froze enrollment in Elevance Health's Medicare Advantage plans, citing years of risk adjustment violations—and this is just the beginning.
February 21 – February 27Healthcare affordability has officially reached crisis mode—76% of patient bills are going uncollected according to HFMA's latest survey, and that's before enhanced ACA premium tax credits expire.
February 20 – February 26
February 14 – February 20
February 13 – February 19
February 7 – February 13
February 6 – February 12
January 31 – February 6
January 24 – January 30Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed as CMS Administrator Wednesday and immediately announced a 90-day "regulatory reset" affecting all major value-based care programs.
January 17 – January 23
January 10 – January 16
January 3 – January 9Dr. Mehmet Oz confirmed as CMS Administrator, immediately signals "Medicare modernization" as top priority during first week in office.
December 27 – January 2
December 20 – December 26
December 13 – December 19
December 6 – December 12
November 29 – December 5
November 22 – November 28Dr. Oz and the new CMS leadership team unveiled their 100-day action plan focusing heavily on real-world data integration and patient-reported outcomes across all major programs.
November 15 – November 21
November 8 – November 14Dr. Oz wasted no time reshaping CMS priorities, announcing a comprehensive review of all CMMI models within his first 72 hours as Administrator.
November 1 – November 7
October 25 – October 31Dr. Oz announced a sweeping overhaul of CMS quality measurement systems, integrating artificial intelligence to track real-time patient outcomes across all Medicare Advantage and ACO programs.
October 18 – October 24Dr. Mehmet Oz officially assumed the CMS Administrator role Monday, immediately announcing a "patient-first, technology-forward" vision for Medicare and Medicaid programs.
October 11 – October 17
October 4 – October 10Dr. Mehmet Oz wasted no time signaling his priorities as CMS Administrator, announcing a comprehensive review of Medicare Advantage quality bonus payments within his first 48 hours in office.
September 27 – October 3