Health Care
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Health Care
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UnitedHealth CEO blames drug companies for high costs |
In his first public remarks since the murder of a top executive, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty acknowledged systemic flaws in the U.S. health care system but placed the blame solely on drug companies and hospitals. |
The killing of CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last month set off a wave of vitriol and resentment against the insurance industry and health care system at large. Thompson ran UnitedHealth’s insurance division, UnitedHealthcare, which is the largest in the industry.
Witty spoke briefly about the slain CEO at the top of an earnings call Thursday, praising his legacy.
“He devoted his time to helping make the health system work better for all of the people we're privileged to serve,” Witty said. - During the call, UnitedHealth announced more than $400 billion in revenue and almost $14.5 billion in net profits last year.
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Witty said the health system “needs to be less confusing, less complex and less costly,” and said costs need to come down.
“Fundamentally, health care costs more in the U.S. because the price of a single procedure, visit or prescription is higher here than it is in other countries. The core fact is that price, more than utilization, drives system costs higher,” Witty said.
But he said the main culprits for high costs were drug manufacturers, pointing specifically to GLP-1 prices. Witty noted the drugs cost about a tenth as much in Europe as they do in the U.S.
UnitedHealth owns pharmacy benefit manager Optum Rx, which is supposed to negotiate discounts on drugs in the form of rebates and pass them on to consumers. PBMs have been facing scrutiny from lawmakers and federal regulators, but Witty said they play a “vital role” in holding down costs, which is why they are being attacked by drug companies.
Optum Rx will pass through 100 percent of drug rebates back to consumers and employers by 2028, Witty said. “This will help make it more transparent who is really responsible for drug pricing in this country: The drug companies themselves,” he said. He also took a thinly veiled swipe at hospitals, saying there are "participants in the system who benefit” from high prices.
Patients would benefit from lower-cost sites of service — something Congress is looking to implement for Medicare — but hospitals vehemently oppose it. Witty said such a move would “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more for care.” |
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Democratic North Carolina Governor Josh Stein issued an executive order Thursday that he believes will further protect reproductive health care access across the state. The order directs cabinet agencies to protect women’s medical privacy, protect doctors providing abortions in the state and not cooperate with efforts to impose penalties, investigations or prosecutions of those seeking reproductive health care like abortion. … |
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Three Republican-led states will be allowed to move forward with a lawsuit to restrict access to mifepristone, a Texas federal judge ruled Thursday, months after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier argument in the case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump, said Idaho, Missouri and Kansas can intervene and file a complaint in the case that was originally brought a … |
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The cancer mortality rate is continuing to decrease in America, but women — especially younger women — are seeing an uptick in diagnoses, according to data released by the American Cancer Society (ACS). The ACS report, published Thursday, includes statistics based on mortality data through 2022 and cancer incidence data through 2021, which are the most recent years with compiled data available to the public. After the smoking … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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NIH director to step down ahead of Trump inauguration |
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli will resign on Jan. 17, she told staff this week, ending her tenure as the head of the $48 billion biomedical research agency after only a year. “I am so proud of what NIH has been able to achieve in such a short time under my leadership,” Bertagnolli said in her announcement, touting a list of initiatives launched that she hopes the next administration will … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
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Texas lawmakers eye sharing health care workers with other states to address provider shortage (The Texas Tribune)
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Newsom committed California to making its own insulin. It’s a least a year behind schedule (Cal Matters)
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Missouri lawmakers look to broaden women’s access to healthcare (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Cancer cases rising for women and younger adults, report finds (The Guardian)
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How would RFK Jr. Handle bird flu? His record on vaccines have experts on edge (NPR)
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How RFK Jr. drove mistrust of a cancer prevention vaccine (Roll Call)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ), has a history of “undermining” voting rights, according to a report … Read more |
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Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) open-minded approach to President-elect Trump is fueling questions about his motives and vexing some of his fellow Democrats. … Read more |
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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But high medical costs contributed to results that disappointed Wall Street, and the company’s stock fell on the news that it had made less than analysts expected.
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