Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Seeking Government Approval Of Humana Merger, Aetna Hires Lobbyists
Aetna is determined to nab government approval of its $37 billion acquisition of Humana. And the health insurance titan has bulked up its roster of hired guns to meet that goal. Last week, Aetna hired four Washington-based lobbying firms, according to a Politico news brief. The not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation shows that Aetna brought on Bloom Strategic Counsel, CGCN Group, The Gibson Group and West Front Strategies. Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna now has six lobbying firms working on its behalf this year (the other two are Capitol Hill Consulting Group and Sidley Austin). (Herman, 8/19)
The world's largest retailer has a drug problem. Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday that lower margins in its pharmacy business had emerged as a drag on profits, as it gets paid less by drug plan managers and as fewer customers pay in cash, since Obamacare has increased the ranks of insured Americans. The company warned that the margin squeeze would continue for at least the remainder of the year, although a spokesman told Reuters the pharmacy business is profitable and that Wal-Mart has no plans to sell it or find a partner to share the risk. (Layne, 8/19)
A footnote in Wal-Mart's second quarter earnings release this week highlighted one of the many effects of more people gaining health insurance under the Affordable Care Act: its pharmacies are no longer as profitable. The retail giant blamed weak quarterly earnings that underperformed expectations partly on challenges facing its U.S. pharmacy business. (Johnson, 8/20)
Samsung will make its first entry into U.S. stock markets with an anticipated $1 billion listing of its biotechnology affiliate, according to people familiar with the matter, marking a major step in the South Korean conglomerate鈥檚 foray into a new industry outside its better-known electronics business. The listing of Samsung Bioepis Co. on the Nasdaq Stock Market will allow the company to raise money as it pours billions of dollars into research and development and production facilities to tap into the nascent and fast-growing field of biosimilars. Biosimilars are biotechnology drugs analogous to generic drugs. (Cheng and Lee, 8/20)
