April 23, 2026

Wakely supports a range of providers who take risk in Medicare Advantage (MA) and other government and commercial insurance programs.

The CMS is delaying the launch of its BALANCE model for covering GLP-1 drugs in Medicare Part D after insurers raised concerns about cost risk and unclear utilization. Instead, CMS will extend a temporary “bridge” program through 2027 that allows access to these drugs without requiring plan participation or risk. The delay gives CMS more time to gather data and address payer concerns before potentially implementing the model in Part D.

A broad coalition of employers, lawmakers, and healthcare groups is urging the U.S. Department of Labor to finalize a rule requiring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to disclose detailed pricing and compensation data, arguing it would improve transparency and lower drug costs. PBMs oppose the rule, calling it government overreach and warning it could harm competition and duplicate existing regulations. The proposal reflects growing pressure to regulate PBMs, though debate continues over how extensive the transparency requirements should be.

mRNA vaccines first gained widespread attention when Moderna and others used the technology to rapidly develop COVID-19 vaccines. Despite their success, the Trump administration canceled a federal contract aimed at supporting Moderna’s development of new mRNA vaccines and strengthening U.S. pandemic preparedness. Following the funding cut, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations stepped in with $54.3 million to support the effort. On Tuesday, Moderna announced that researchers have administered the first doses in a Phase 3 trial.

The 340B program, designed to provide discounted drugs to safety-net hospitals and clinics, has traditionally offered upfront discounts at the point of sale. However, manufacturers have argued that some providers exploit the program to secure larger discounts. In response, the Trump administration proposed piloting a rebate-based model for certain drugs. Ahead of Monday’s deadline, more than 5,500 comments were submitted urging regulators not to proceed, citing concerns about increased administrative burden and costs.

The article also argues that OpenAI is trying to differentiate the product on trust and usability by highlighting healthcare-specific benchmarking, safety testing, reusable workflow skills, clinical search, CME credit support, and options for HIPAA-aligned use with a BAA for eligible accounts.