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Hello, diligent HCI readers! I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekends. We’ve got a lot of numbers in today’s edition. Get out your abacus. And tell me if you want more or less math in here: bob.herman@statnews.com.

$775 billion

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Republicans’ recent tax law targets supplemental Medicaid funds that have increasingly propped up hospitals. The cuts are expected to be even bigger than originally forecast, which almost assuredly will provoke an opposition campaign from hospitals.

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Companies that sell Medicare Advantage plans will receive a 2.5% pay bump on average in 2027, up significantly from what was proposed and a win for an industry that has experienced higher medical costs and has opposed nearly all reforms to the lucrative taxpayer-financed program.

More importantly, the Trump administration scrapped a proposal that would have used more updated data in the payment process, ensuring that Medicare Advantage insurers retain billions of dollars.

The finalized rate is estimated to add $13 billion in revenue next year for insurers, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. During trading after the markets closed, the stock prices of UnitedHealth Group, Humana, and CVS Health each climbed by more than 8%. Those companies are the three largest Medicare Advantage insurers, and together cover almost 60% of all people enrolled in the program.

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This is the online version of STAT’s weekly email newsletter Health Care Inc. Sign up here.

Well hullo! You think you can get the last word, literally, with AI? Think again. There’s always human interaction available here: bob.herman@statnews.com.

Today’s the day

By law, the 2027 Medicare Advantage payment regulation must come out today. It will set the tone for how the Trump administration wants to work with the health insurance industry: as the “new sheriff in town” or just another friendly regulator.

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