News

News

March 27, 2026

Judge rules Aetna, Elevance, Humana must face Medicare kickback allegations

A judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a broker kickback scheme involving CVS Health’s Aetna, Elevance Health and Humana, according to a March 25 filing in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

The judge also ruled that Medicare Advantage brokers GoHealth, SelectQuote and eHealth will continue to face litigation. In 2025, the government decided to intervene and the Department of Justice filed the sweeping lawsuit, building on a 2021 whistleblower complaint. The lawsuit alleged that, between 2016 and 2021, insurers agreed to pay brokers “hundreds of millions” in exchange for marketing services that steered beneficiaries away from competitor plans.

The lawsuit also said Humana and Aetna arranged payments to be hinged on limiting the number of beneficiaries enrolled with disabilities. This may have interfered with how brokers treated those with disabilities who were seeking Medicare coverage.

The latest filing allows the government to move forward with the kickback and discrimination concerns, but the judge dismissed the unjust enrichment claim. The court said there is a sufficient legal alternative, the False Claims Act, to recover money.

MA marketing practices have been subject to scrutiny in recent months. In July, HHS said it kicked off a study into “misleading” efforts. In August, a SelectQuote shareholder filed a proposed class action against the broker and its leaders, alleging the company misled investors amid the DOJ investigation.

CVS and Aetna declined to comment. Becker’s also contacted Elevance, Humana, GoHealth and SelectQuote and will update this story if more information becomes available.

Federal bill would cap insulin cost-sharing at $35 monthly

Federal lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation that would cap patients’ insulin costs at $35 per month.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and John Kennedy, R-La., introduced the bill March 25.

The $35 monthly price cap would apply to most patients with private and employer-sponsored insurance beginning in 2027. The legislation would require group and individual market health plans to waive deductibles and limit cost-sharing to no more than $35 for a 30-day supply of selected insulin products, defined as at least one of each dosage form and type of insulin.

In 2028, the cap would shift to either $35 or 25% of the drug’s negotiated price, whichever is lower. Plans would be restricted from imposing most prior authorization and utilization management requirements, with limited exceptions, and cost protections may not apply to out-of-network coverage.

The bill would also establish a five-year pilot program in 10 states to expand access to low-cost insulin for uninsured individuals, as well as fund a national resource center and hotline to help patients find and enroll in assistance programs.

Democrat ‘Guilty’ of Dozens of Violations, Faces Expulsion from Congress

The House Ethics Committee on Friday issued a statement that members determined Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, a Democrat, is guilty of dozens of ethics violations.

The committee in its statement alleged that Cherfilus-McCormick was guilty of all but two of 27 counts brought against her, saying that the evidence against the representative was “clear and convincing.”

Cherfilus-McCormick stands accused of misappropriating $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, specifically an overpayment linked to a COVID-19 vaccination-staffing contract awarded to their family home-health-care business and then subsequently “laundered” through multiple accounts with a significant portion routed to her campaign.

The decision lays the groundwork for a vote by the full chamber to expel Cherfilus-McCormick.

Russian Jailed in UK for Attacking Woman

A Russian man was jailed for four years by a British court on Friday after the U.S. president’s son Barron Trump had witnessed an assault on a woman friend of his during a video call and alerted police.

The 20-year-old youngest son of President Donald Trump told police that he had called the victim at her home in London in January last year from the U.S. and saw she was being attacked.

Officers arrested Matvei Rumiantsev, 22, who had been dating the woman on and off for several months.

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