• Indiana: Eli Lilly has launched a new direct-to-employer platform for its GLP-1 medications called Employer Connect. The platform will allow employers to offer coverage for Lilly's GLP-1 drug Zepbound at a lower out-of-pocket cost to better align with their benefits strategy and budget. "This is our attempt to respond to some of the tensions that we've heard from employers that are keeping them on the sidelines, to try to address some of those in a way that might enable them to provide access to their employees to these medicines," said Kevin Hern, SVP for Lilly Employer. The platform will launch with 15 independent program administrators as partners, including Teladoc Health, GoodRx, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. (Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare, 3/5)
• Maryland: According to a new report from the Joint Economic Committee, average Medicare premiums were roughly 10% higher, or more than $200 higher annually, in 2025 due to alleged overpayments to MA plans. Overpayments to MA insurers increased Medicare Part B premiums by $13.4 billion, in part due to controversial practices like adding diagnoses to trigger higher payments. Both people enrolled in MA plans and those enrolled in standard Medicare faced these additional costs. Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), who chairs the joint economic committee, said extra spending on MA "is not just coming out of the federal government's budget. A portion of this comes out of you." In response to the report, a spokesperson for the health insurance trade group AHIP, said the findings were based on "fundamentally flawed data, methodology, and extrapolations" and should not inform policy. Separately, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said that he doesn't think MA insurers are "as overpaid as has been reported," but noted that the MA payment system had sometimes led to wrong incentives, and "we should change the rules." (Weaver/Mathews, Wall Street Journal, 3/10)
• Texas: According to new guidance released by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and nine other medical organizations, people who are at risk of heart disease should start taking statins and making lifestyle changes to manage their cholesterol starting as early as age 30 — a decrease from age 40 in previous guidance. The new guidance also lowers the optimal level of LDL cholesterol, as well as the risk threshold for prescribing treatment. Starting at age 30, people who have LDL cholesterol levels of 160 mg/dL are encouraged to make lifestyle changes like improving their diet and exercise or start statins or other drugs, especially if they have a family history of early heart disease or a risk assessment that shows an increased risk. "These guidelines represent an important shift toward identifying higher-risk‑ individuals earlier and treating them more effectively," said Gregg Fonarow, a cardiologist and professor of cardiovascular medicine and science at the University of California, Los Angeles. "It is deeply concerning that so many cardiovascular events occur each year that could have been prevented with earlier identification and treatment of risk. These new guidelines provide a clearer, more contemporary roadmap that can help reduce this burden." (Cooney, STAT, 3/13; Howard, CNN, 3/13)

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