Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Republicans have won control of the Senate, giving the GOP more control over the health agenda — from the ACA to PBMs.
Why it matters: The shift, while expected, is a clear sign of how tough it will be to renew the enhanced ACA subsidies next year, given Senate Republicans have called them wasteful and costly.
The big picture: If Republicans also win the presidency and the House, cuts to Medicaid and an ACA overhaul are at least on the table, though far from guaranteed.
- Even without that, likely HELP Chair Bill Cassidy has expressed interest in reforming 340B and modernizing NIH.
- Expected Finance Chair Mike Crapo is a critic of the IRA's drug provisions and has placed an emphasis on Medicare physician payment reform.
- Both are backers of regulating PBMs more closely, if that effort does not get across the finish line in the lame duck.
Watch your inbox Wednesday afternoon for more details in our election edition of the newsletter, landing between 1 and 2pm ET.
