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Cigna is in advanced talks to sell its Medicare business in an about-face for the health-insurance giant, which had been expanding its footprint in the fast-growing sector. Cigna, which has been running an auction for the business, known as Medicare Advantage, is now in exclusive talks to sell it to Health Care Service Corp. for between $3 billion and $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. (Cooper, Mathews and Thomas, 1/3)

Presidential election years tend to be poor times to attempt major healthcare legislation, but Congress' failure to cope with its 2023 responsibilities has raised the prospects that significant bills could pass in 2024. Lawmakers left town before Christmas having failed to complete much-delayed fiscal 2024 appropriations legislation—the prior fiscal year ended Sept. 30—and leaving in place temporary spending bills that last until Jan. 19 and Feb. 3, depending on the part of government. (McAuliff, 1/3)

Inflation is threatening health care access across the country as the gap widens between the cost of medical services and the coverage rates paid out by Medicare, Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) warned last month. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle joined The Hill’s “Medicare Drug Price Negotiation: How to Ensure Access and Equity” event, sponsored by the Alliance for Aging Research, to discuss the effects of the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act. (Irwin, 1/3)

Medicaid has a new rebate rule for prescription drugs which underwent substantial price increases in the past. In response, the pharmaceutical firm GSK is withdrawing branded Flovent, an asthma medication, and replacing it with an "authorized generic" at a modestly lower price than the branded product. But because it will have no price history it will not be subject to the Medicaid rule. However, owing to the convoluted drug pricing and reimbursement system in the U.S., the authorized generic Flovent won’t be as broadly covered by pharmacy benefit managers as the branded product was, leaving some patients with an access problem. (Cohen, 1/3)

Street medicine teams that provide care for people who are unhoused hope that new Medicaid reimbursements will help them expand operations. (Leonard, 1/4)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Utah Survey Shows Why So Many People Were Dumped From Medicaid 

It’s one of the biggest mysteries in health policy: What happened to millions of Americans kicked out of Medicaid last year? A survey conducted for state officials in Utah, obtained by �鶹Ů�� Health News, holds some clues. Like many states, Utah terminated Medicaid coverage for a large share of enrollees whose eligibility was reevaluated in 2023, following a three-year pause during the coronavirus pandemic. And like most states, an overwhelming share of those disenrollments were made for procedural reasons, such as missing paperwork. (Galewitz, 1/3)