On Jan. 22, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee and House Ways & Means Committee held hearings with the Chief Executives of five major health insurers. With a focus on affordability, Members and witnesses each shared a series of questions, proposals, and commitments regarding the increasing costs of care in the United States. And while health policy proposals continue to face partisan gridlock in Congress, legislators on both sides of the aisle agreed that health insurance premiums have risen exponentially, while increasing rates of prior authorization denials hamper patient access to care.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the House appropriators unveiled a three-part minibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2026. The package covers appropriations for the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, and Department of Homeland Security. In addition to appropriations funding, the proposal includes several policy changes such as long-term extensions of expiring Medicare telehealth flexibilities and community health center funding, health care program reauthorizations, and significant pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform proposals extending to both Medicare and commercial plans.

Write-ups of presentations on the 340B Drug Pricing Program were among the most viewed conference-related articles on the MHE website in 2025. At the 2025 AMCP annual meeting in Houston, John M. O'Brien, Pharm.D., M.P.H., president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council, shared concerns and potential reforms in a conversation with Managed Healthcare Executive.

At last year’s Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus conference, the poster presentations underscored a pivotal transition in how the industry views mental health and neurology—moving beyond simple symptom management to a holistic evaluation of functional outcomes and economic burden. To delve into these findings, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) spoke with Mitzi Wasik, PharmD, executive director at the AMCP Foundation, via email for insights on the recurring themes of the meeting.

Exclusive Coverage of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2025 Meeting October 27-30, 2025 | National Harbor, MD. This publication was supported through an independent medical education grant from Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.

After months of fruitless negotiations to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that have since expired, congressional leaders announced Tuesday they’d notched a rare bipartisan win to overhaul other parts of the health care system.

AMCP’s Policy Outlook 2026 provides a forward-looking analysis of the political, legislative, and regulatory developments poised to shape managed care pharmacy in the year ahead, from the 2026 midterm elections and government funding deadlines to major policy debates around PBM reform, Medicare drug price negotiation, GLP-1 coverage, direct-to-consumer drug models, and the 340B program. Designed to help managed care professionals anticipate change and plan strategically, the report breaks down what to expect from Congress, federal agencies, and the administration—and what it all means for patient access, costs, and pharmacy operations. Download the full Policy Outlook 2026 to explore the key issues, timelines, and implications that will define the policy environment in the coming year.