Healthcare Finance and Business Strategy News
News Briefs: Relief might be fleeting for healthcare after Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs
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5 hours ago
The Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 decision striking down most of the Trump administration’s tariff policy negated many of the tariffs that have affected healthcare and other industries since beginning in August 2025.
The ruling leaves in place sector-specific tariffs such as increased levies on imports of steel and aluminum, for which the tariff has been 50%. And in response to the decision, President Donald Trump immediately imposed a 15% global tariff via executive order, although any such tariff is statutorily limited to 150 days unless Congress approves an extension.
Trump also said he has long-term tariff options that would allow the administration to “charge much more” than previously. For healthcare, such an option could be in place when the temporary tariffs expire.
One path to legally implementing tariffs involves a formal investigation by the U.S. Commerce Department into an industry- or product-specific trade deficit. Such an investigation was launched in September and would have substantial implications for healthcare if the findings result in tariffs. The investigation is examining imports of personal protective equipment, medical consumables and medical equipment and devices.
CMS provides more leeway to Medicaid SDPs prior to new limits
A bulletin regarding Medicaid state-directed payments (SDPs) makes it easier for states to maintain eligibility for higher SDPs before the legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) ushers in new restrictions starting in 2028.
That’s when existing SDPs must be reduced by 10% per year until reaching new caps of 110% of the Medicare rate in non-expansion states and 100% in expansion states. Those limits already apply to non-grandfathered SDPs, per the legislation. Before the OBBBA, the regulatory ceiling for hospital and skilled nursing facility SDPs was the average commercial rate.
According to the new guidance, SDP rates can be grandfathered and thus continue to exceed the new caps through 2027 if the SDP has a Medicaid rating period within 180 business days before or after the OBBBA’s enactment date of July 4, 2025. The new guidance supplants September 2025 guidance that set the time frame at 180 calendar days, rather than business days, meaning the revision gives states a larger window in which to capitalize on the grandfather option.
CMS proposes 2027 ACA marketplace changes to address rising premiums
CMS hopes the concepts published Feb. 11 in a proposed rule can help stabilize Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plan enrollment from 2026 to 2027.
The proposals coincided with the Senate’s continuing inability to agree on extending the enhanced subsidies for the marketplaces, removing a key affordability mechanism in federally sponsored healthcare coverage.
The enrollment impact of allowing the subsidies to end remains to be seen. Through mid-January, reported enrollment was roughly 1.2 million lower than it was at the same point in 2025, with the potential for the gap to widen as enrollees who were auto-renewed drop out by choosing not to pay their initial premium.
Among other changes, the 2027 rule would make non-network plans eligible to join the marketplaces. Non-network plans do not maintain a contracted network of providers but would need to meet ACA standards for essential health benefits and coverage protections. They also would need to demonstrate that they offer a sufficient choice of providers, including those that furnish mental health and substance-use disorder services.
Hospitals urged to strengthen cybersecurity amid rising Iran-linked threats
Hospitals are among the organizations that should pay special attention to ensuring their cybersecurity is shored up amid the ongoing conflict in Iran, according to federal authorities.
Federal agencies and the American Hospital Association (AHA) have said they do not know of specific credible threats targeting U.S. healthcare. As a precaution, the FBI and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency re-issued an alert that was published amid attacks by the United States on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
An attempted cyberattack by an Iran-aligned group may aim to disrupt service or steal sensitive data. Attacks may target not only clinical systems but also other components of hospital operations, such as patient portals or electronic health records.
During the week of March 9, the Michigan-based medical equipment manufacturer Stryker reported being hit by a cyberattack perpetrated by a hacking group linked to Iran. A company statement indicated that operations ranging from manufacturing to processing and shipping were affected.
Determining the MA payment rate for 2027
As published in January, the 2027 advance rate notice for Medicare Advantage (MA) health plans drew attention for keeping rates essentially flat relative to 2026. Here’s the estimated impact of the different components that affect the rate. CMS noted that the rate could change when the final notice is published in April.
| Element | Year-over-year rate impact |
|---|---|
| Effective growth rate | 4.97% |
| Rebasing/repricing | TBD |
| Change in star ratings | –0.03% |
| MA coding pattern adjustment | 0% |
| Risk model revision and normalization | –3.32% |
| Sources of diagnoses | –1.53%a |
| Expected average change | 0.09% |
Source: CMS fact sheet, “2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D advance notice,” Jan. 26, 2026
GAO examines No Surprises Act network patterns
Trends seen as a consequence of the No Surprises Act (NSA) include modest increases in the share of providers going in-network for emergency medicine and anesthesiology, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
Increasing the availability of in-network providers was a secondary goal of the 2020 year-end legislation and could belie concerns that the large share of NSA arbitration decisions in favor of providers would diminish the incentive to join insurance networks.
Caveats to the findings include the indeterminate impact of additional factors, the GAO said, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in healthcare market consolidation during the five-year study period.
In addition, the agency said the findings apply only to the national and regional insurers that were included in the claims data set covering more than 110 million patients per year.
CMS details implementation of Medicaid 6-month eligibility checks
CMS has issued guidance on how Medicaid expansion states should implement the higher-frequency eligibility redeterminations as required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Starting in 2027, states must conduct eligibility checks of most adults in the expansion population every six months, up from annually under current policy.
The increased checks similarly apply to people covered under Section 1115 demonstrations that provide minimum essential coverage to all expansion adults in the state, CMS wrote in a March 6 bulletin.
The six-month requirement has raised concern for providers about an increase in coverage lapses among individuals who miss paperwork or do not respond on time. A recent RAND analysis projected that by 2034 the six-month checks will have led to a Medicaid enrollment reduction of 923,000.
