Insurers fault others, including drugmakers, as D.C. scrutiny of pricing intensifies

Health insurance executives told Congress yesterday that they share lawmakers' frustration with an overpriced, wasteful U.S. health care system. But they argued that the biggest drivers of rising costs are not insurers but others, particularly hospitals and drugmakers, STAT's Bob Herman and Daniel Payne report.

CEOs from UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Elevance Health, Cigna, and Ascendiun defended their role as middlemen negotiating prices, even as lawmakers from both parties pressed them on care denials, delays, and the growing reach of insurance giants. The marathon of hearings — in front of two committees — highlighted a shifting political dynamic, with Republicans increasingly open to using federal power to rein in health care costs. Meanwhile, Democrats pushed for transparency and pricing reforms.

"When the same companies control the insurance, the doctors, and delivery of care, competition just breaks down, and families pay more," said Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). "What's clear right now is that this system is working very well for corporate profits, but this committee has a responsibility to fix a system that today isn't working for patients."

podcast

A measles outbreak and hospitals' financial troubles

Why is the U.S. at risk of losing its measles elimination status? How are health officials reacting to the measles outbreak? And what did top Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official Mehmet Oz tell hospital executives at a fancy yacht party in San Francisco?

We discuss all that and more on this week's episode of "The Readout LOUD," STAT's weekly biotech podcast. We bring on our infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell to talk about the ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina and what it means for the U.S. more broadly.

We also chat with our hospitals and insurance reporter Tara Bannow about the financial troubles afflicting nonprofit hospitals and how they spent their time at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Listen here.

supply chain

Drug shortages ease, but the system is fragile

U.S. prescription drug shortages edged up slightly at the end of 2025 but remained well below the early-2024 peak. Last year, 216 medicines were in short supply, compared to 323 a year earlier, according to a new report from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The number of new shortages fell to just 89 last year — the lowest level since 2006 — and most active shortages began in 2022 or later, suggesting some long-standing problems are easing. Still, ASHP cautioned that more than 200 shortages persist, the supply chain remains vulnerable due to just-in-time inventories, and a single shortage can affect large numbers of patients.

nih

NIH expands ban on fetal tissue in research

The National Institutes of Health said it will no longer fund research using human fetal tissue derived from abortions, expanding restrictions first imposed during President Trump's initial term and later rolled back under President Biden.

The policy, long pushed by anti-abortion groups, applies to all NIH-funded work, even as scientists argue fetal tissue — otherwise discarded — remains critical for certain studies, including HIV and cancer research, and lacks adequate substitutes.

Use of such tissue has declined since 2019. The $47 billion agency counted just 77 projects funded in 2024 that included fetal tissue.