President Trump's immigration crackdown and aggressive foreign policy has put him on a collision course with one of the oldest institutions in the world: The Catholic Church.
Why it matters: Faith leaders and scholars tell Axios that Trump's agenda conflicts with the Church's commitment to safeguarding human dignity. With an American Pope at its helm for the first time, the Vatican is positioned to be a unique foil for the president.
Medicare wants to negotiate lower prices for Eli Lilly's GLP-1drug Trulicity and AbbVie's Botox in its next round of drugmaker negotiations, federal health officials announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The GOP budget law passed over the summer excluded several high-cost drugs from being selected for negotiations. Still, the 15 drugs chosen accounted for $27 billion of Medicare spending between November 2024 and October 2025, per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Congress may be about to make long-sought changes to pharmacy benefit managers' business practices — though the impact on drug costs could be limited.
Why it matters: PBMs negotiate drug prices with drug manufacturers on behalf of health plans and the prospect of changing how they're compensated could remove what critics say are warped incentives that can encourage the use of higher-priced drugs.
Walmart is reshaping pharmacy jobs — raising pay and elevating thousands of technician roles as it invests more heavily in pharmacy workers, the world's largest retailer tells Axios.
Why it matters: As pharmacy jobs evolve beyond filling prescriptions, Walmart's move shows how retailers are reworking frontline roles in the health system to meet patient demand.
Health care stocks plummeted Tuesday after the Trump administration proposed keeping federal payments to private Medicare plans roughly flat in 2027 — far below what insurers had expected.
Why it matters: The proposal threatens revenue and margins in a core profit engine for major health insurers — and signals tough policy headwinds for the industry ahead.
The escalation of ICE activity in Minnesota is disrupting care at hospitals and clinics that already were navigating shifting legal standards on immigration enforcement in their facilities.
Why it matters: Health workers say many patients aren't coming in for necessary care out of fear they'll be detained by federal agents.
"This has become a public health crisis," Janell Johnson Thiele, a nurse and union leader at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, told Axios.
