Congress

Insurers point to providers, drugmakers for driving up health costs

Published

5 days ago

January 22, 2026

Health insurance CEOs testifying before Congress about whether they’re to blame for soaring health care costs have a plan: pass the buck.

Five CEOs of major insurers will make the case that the health care premiums they set are rising because of prices charged by other health care players — like hospitals and drugmakers — according to their prepared testimony.

The insurer blueprint comes as the industry is under immense public and political pressure to address rising health care costs, especially after enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expired last year, sending Obamacare premiums skyrocketing for millions.

The well-heeled CEOs of some of America’s biggest insurance companies aren’t used to groveling, but want to keep lawmakers on their side and avoid any viral moment under cross-examination. The questioning could be tough, considering President Donald Trump called their firms “money sucking Insurance Companies” this month on Truth Social.

The CEOs will testify before the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Thursday morning, before facing the Ways and Means panel later in the day. In their testimonies, they’ll attempt to reverse the narrative that they’re at fault for how unaffordable American health care has become.

“The cost of health insurance is driven by the cost of health care. It is a symptom, not a cause,” said UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley in his prepared testimony. “Premium rates are based on two key factors: how much care is used and how much is charged for that care. When the price of care goes up and care activity increases, the cost of health coverage necessarily follows.”

Whether the administration buys that is a different story.

Trump has applied pressure, calling on the companies to slash prices and saying he’d convene the CEOs to secure commitments similar to ones he’s received from the pharmaceutical industry to reduce drug prices.

In their testimony, the CEOs will highlight affordability-related policies they hope Congress will take up — from reforming how providers are paid to digitizing Americans’ health records. The insurers plan to emphasize steps they’ve taken, including commitments to the Trump administration last year to speed up their processes for approving treatments.

Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest insurer, pledged in his testimony to return any profits the company makes on Obamacare plans in 2026 to customers.

“Our message as an industry is that we’re advocates for affordability,” Mike Tuffin, CEO of health insurance trade group AHIP, told Blue Light News. “We’re the only part of the system that gets up every day working to lower costs. We’re doing everything we can to shield consumers from high and rising health care costs.”

Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux plans to point out that hospital care, doctor services and prescription drugs “have been the largest contributors” to rising U.S. health care spending, which grew 7.2 percent to $5.3 trillion in 2024. Cigna CEO David Cordani will highlight data showing hospital prices surged in recent decades — a trend he says has been compounded by hospital acquisitions and private-equity ownership of provider practices.

Some of the executives plan to compare insurers’ thin profit margins to other health care industries’. Insurer profit margins were about 1.8 percent in 2025, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Drug companies’ margins are between 20 to 40 percent, Cordani plans to point out.

Hospitals and drug companies have long made the case that insurers aren’t so innocent. The American Hospital Association, in a statement submitted ahead of the hearing, said “actions by many commercial insurers erect barriers that make it more difficult for patients to receive timely access to needed medical care.”

Congress

Republicans offer early support for Trump’s Minnesota pivot

Published

1 hour ago

January 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed relief after President Donald Trump announced Monday he would send border czar Tom Homan to handle immigration enforcement in Minnesota after Department of Homeland Security agents shot and killed a second U.S. citizen there.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised the move Monday, saying “we need a new set of eyes and someone with his experience to help turn around the problems of the moment and the future.”

“Tom is the right man to find a way to de-escalate the situation,” he added.

A growing number of Hill Republicans have been pushing publicly and privately for a lowering of the temperature, including from the federal government, after DHS agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

GOP lawmakers largely view Homan as a more practical enforcer of Trump’s mass deportation plans as some grow increasingly wary of how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino are handling the campaign, according to six GOP lawmakers granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

“There needed to be a change,” said one of the GOP lawmakers. But other at-risk Republicans have been wary to publicly embrace Homan, who has denied reports that he took a $50,000 bribe from federal agents.

Congress

Trump says Justice Department is investigating Ilhan Omar

Published

2 hours ago

January 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump on Monday said the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, writing: “the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”

It is the latest attack the president has levied at Omar, and the most recent instance of the president directing an investigation into his political rivals.

Trump has previously said Omar should be jailed or deported to Somalia, where she was born, though Omar has been a U.S. citizen since 2000. He has also linked Omar to government services fraud investigations in Minnesota, accusing her of being “one of many scammers,” despite no clear evidence linking her to the cases.

Tensions have only grown between the two as immigration officials continue to patrol the city of Minneapolis, which Omar represents.

Omar’s net worth skyrocketed in the last year, and House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) recently told the New York Post that he plans to launch an investigation into what caused the dramatic spike.

According to financial disclosures filed last year, Omar’s net worth principally increased due to her spouse — and not her work with the government. She disclosed her spouse taking in anywhere between $6 million and $30 million in partnership income from a venture capital firm and a winery.

Members of Congress’ and their spouses’ sources of income and assets are traditionally disclosed in broad ranges, not as a specific dollar amount.

Omar has previously denied the allegations of anything untoward and has said Trump has a “creepy” obsession with her.

Trump also announced Monday that he is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis. Residents have flooded the streets of the city this month, protesting the shootings of Renee Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jan. 7, and Alex Pretti, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent Saturday.

Neither the DOJ nor Omar’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Shutdown odds spike after Minnesota killing

Published

4 hours ago

January 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The killing of Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents is hitting hard on Capitol Hill, ratcheting up the odds of a partial government shutdown and spurring Republican lawmakers to make another break with the Trump administration.

Here’s the latest on how the fallout from the Minnesota shooting is playing out in Congress:

— Shutdown looks likely: The Senate is set to take its first vote on the last tranche of government funding bills Thursday, and things aren’t looking good.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is insisting that Republicans work across the aisle to rewrite DHS funding legislation but also signaling that Democrats would be willing to help advance the other five pending appropriations bills in the meantime. Several Democrats who helped end the previous shutdown say they plan to vote against the funding bills unless there are changes to the ICE operation in Minnesota.

At this stage, Senate GOP leadership expects to move forward as planned on the six-bill package including DHS. Republicans and the White House have reached out to Senate Democrats about how to proceed, but one Senate Democratic leadership aide granted anonymity said they haven’t raised “realistic solutions.” A number of rank-and-file Senate Republicans are speaking out against any attempt to “defund” DHS — and leadership would need buy-in from all 100 senators to quickly strip out the DHS bill. President Donald Trump is now pushing Republicans to pass a bill to “END Sanctuary Cities.”

A couple key reminders: The pending funding bills include money for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services and State, and account for more than 75 percent of federal discretionary spending.

And don’t forget the House is out this week and wouldn’t be around to pass any revamped funding bills before Friday. The Senate won’t hold its first vote of the week until Tuesday afternoon because of the snow storm.

— Trump faces nervous GOP: A growing number of House and Senate Republicans are voicing public concerns about the incident and calling for an investigation, as top administration officials defend the agents involved.

Even close Trump allies are beginning to speak out. Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.) said on X Sunday night that he supports the Border Patrol and ICE but that he agrees with the NRA about the need for a “full investigation.”

House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) is calling for DHS officials to testify. House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested to Fox News that Trump would want to “maybe go to another city” as Minnesota officials push back.

Some Republicans have been privately warning administration officials and GOP leaders for months that Trump’s immigration crackdown is not going over well in some pockets of the country.

“Many of us wonder if the administration has any clue as to how much this will hurt us legislatively and electorally this year,” said one House Republican.

Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.