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Trump unveils health-care plan outline as Congress wrestles over Obamacare subsidies

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Trump unveils health-care plan outline as Congress wrestles over Obamacare subsidies


U.S. President Donald Trump, in front of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., Sept. 22, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday rolled out the broad outline of a health-care plan that the White House claims will lower drug prices and insurance premiums.

The announcement came as a congressional effort to extend key Affordable Care Act tax credits faces headwinds from Senate Republicans, leaving millions at risk of seeing their health insurance premiums spike.

The Trump administration dubbed the initiative “The Great Healthcare Plan,” the president said in a video unveiling the policy Thursday morning.

“I’m calling on Congress to pass this framework into law without delay,” Trump said. “Have to do it right now.”

The plan would codify the deals Trump recently struck with major drugmakers to slash the cost of certain prescription drugs in the U.S. by pegging them to lower prices abroad, as part of his “most-favored-nation” policy.

More than a dozen pharmaceutical companies agreed to lower prices on certain products for Medicaid patients in exchange for a three-year exemption from tariffs.

As part of those deals, companies also agreed to sell some medicines at a discount on Trump’s direct-to-consumer platform, Trump Rx.

Trump, in his video announcement, said those lower drug prices will take effect on the platform when it launches this month. He claimed that those prices would plunge by as much as 500%, even though that would mean prices would fall far below $0.

The health-care framework would “make more verified safe pharmaceutical drugs available for over-the-counter purchase,” according to a White House fact sheet.

It would also purportedly send money for health insurance coverage “directly to the American people” instead of giving “big insurance companies billions in extra taxpayer-funded subsidy payments,” the fact sheet says. Trump has repeatedly floated similar proposals in recent remarks.

The plan would additionally “fund a cost-sharing reduction program,” which the administration says would “reduce the most common Obamacare plan premiums by over 10%.”

Other components of the policy include requiring health insurers to prominently post coverage comparisons “in plain English” on their websites, along with other information about overhead costs and claim denial rates.

It would also require providers who accept either Medicare or Medicaid “to publicly and prominently post their pricing and fees to avoid surprise medical bills.”

The new proposal from the White House comes as senators remain at loggerheads on a deal to extend the now-lapsed ACA, or Obamacare, subsidies. A bipartisan group of senators has been working for weeks on a way forward, but hit a snag recently on language relating to the Hyde Amendment, a statute that bars the use of federal funds for abortion services.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 15, 2026.

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

The White House plan notably leaves out an extension of the ACA subsidies, which Democrats are demanding be extended as a part of any health-care deal. The White House had not publicly put forward a proposal until Thursday, but Trump has repeatedly said he wants funds to go directly to patients rather than insurance companies.

Some negotiators wondered whether the White House plan would hamper negotiations.

“We’ve all known that in order to be able to advance something, we’re going to have to have buy-in from the White House,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the negotiators, told reporters Thursday. “Does this set things back if he signals that he does not support extending [the subsidies]? I mean, that’s the basis of our plan here.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who is leading talks on the Democratic side, said Thursday that she hadn’t yet seen the Trump plan, but signaled optimism about the discussions.

“Most of the areas have agreement, so what we need to do is get bill text together and then get final sign-off so that we can talk to our colleagues about what we’re proposing,” Shaheen told reporters.

A White House official on Thursday said the plan does not close the door on extending the subsidies, but lays out the president’s preferences.

“This does not specifically address those bipartisan congressional negotiations that are going on,” the White House official said. “It does say that we have a preference that money goes to people, as opposed to insurance companies.”

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France Ends Airport Transit Visa Requirement for Indian Travellers | Business – The Times of India

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France Ends Airport Transit Visa Requirement for Indian Travellers | Business – The Times of India


Good news for travellers: France scraps transit visa for Indian passport holders

France has lifted the airport transit visa requirement for Indian nationals with effect from April 10, the French Embassy in India announced on Thursday.Indian nationals holding ordinary passports are no longer required to obtain an airport transit visa when passing through the international zone of airports located on French territory during a layover en route to a third country.The change follows a decree amending the 2010 regulations on documents and visas required for the entry of foreigners into French territory. The decree was adopted and published in the French Official Gazette (Journal Officiel) on April 9, 2026.MEA welcomes the moveThe Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the announcement.“We welcome the announcement on the operationalisation of visa-free transit for Indian nationals transiting through French airports,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.He recalled that the removal of the transit visa requirement for Indian passport holders was agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting in Mumbai in February this year.“The government of France has now operationalized this agreement,” Jaiswal added.Who benefitsThe measure applies to Indian nationals transiting through mainland France exclusively by air, remaining in the international airport zone without entering French territory.President Macron had announced during his visit to India in February that measures would be taken to ease travel for Indian nationals via France.

Poll

What do you think is the main advantage of this visa policy change?

The updated procedures have been reflected on the France-Visas platform.



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Comcast beats revenue, earnings expectations as broadband losses improve

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Comcast beats revenue, earnings expectations as broadband losses improve


Comcast topped Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates for the first quarter on Thursday, lifted by NBC’s sports slate in February and improving broadband customer losses. 

The company said it lost 65,000 broadband customers compared with 183,000 losses in the same period last year. Heightened competition from wireless providers like Verizon and T-Mobile has led to quarterly customer losses for Comcast and its cable peers in recent years – which has weighed on these companies’ stocks in particular. 

In response, Comcast in the last year has shifted its strategy and introduced more competitive pricing packages in a bid to reduce the broadband losses. The company has also leaned on its mobile business for growth, which added 435,000 new lines during the quarter. In total, Comcast now has 9.7 million mobile customers. 

The company also reported 322,000 cable TV customer losses – fewer than the 427,000 in the same period last year. 

Revenue for Comcast’s connectivity and platforms unit, which includes its Xfinity-branded broadband, cable TV, and mobile businesses, decreased 2% to $17.32 billion. 

The company’s stock climbed as much as 8% in premarket trading.

Here’s how Comcast performed for the period compared with average analyst estimates, according to LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 79 cents adjusted vs. 73 cents expected
  • Revenue: $31.46 billion vs. $30.43 billion expected 

Comcast’s net income fell nearly 36% to $2.17 billion, or 60 cents per share, compared to $3.38 billion, or 89 cents a share, during the same period last year. Adjusting for one-time items including amortization and investments, Comcast reported earnings per share of $0.79. 

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down roughly 17% to $7.93 billion. 

Comcast’s overall revenue increased roughly 5% to $31.46 billion for the quarter. 

Revenue got a boost from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which aired a slate of sports – including the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend, during the quarter – that the company coined as “Legendary February.” 

The media business, which is made up of NBCUniversal, recorded a nearly 61% increase in revenue to $7.28 billion during the quarter. Excluding the Olympics and Super Bowl – which provided significant boosts to advertising sales – revenue for the unit was up about 13%.

Live sports remains the highest rated programming on traditional TV and streaming, and beckon the most advertising dollars. The Super Bowl, in particular, breaks records annually when it comes to its pricey commercial spots. NBC received an average $8 million per 30-second ad, CNBC reported. 

Domestic advertising for the media unit was up 135% to $3.45 billion for the quarter. Excluding the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, it was up 4.7% to $1.54 billion. 

NBC’s sports roster also helped lift streaming service Peacock during the quarter. Peacock subscribers increased 12% year over year to 46 million. Peacock nearly doubled revenue to $2.1 billion compared to the same period last year. The streamer recorded a quarterly loss of $432 million compared to a loss of $215 million in the prior year period. 

Adjusted EBITDA for the media segment decreased to a loss of $426 billion due to higher operating expenses related to the costs associated with the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl, as well as the cost of the NBA rights. 

NBCUniversal is part of the overall content and experiences segment, which also includes the film studio and theme parks – each of which saw sales climb year-over-year. 

Revenue for the film studio was up 21% to $3.43 billion, while Universal theme parks revenue increased 24% to $2.33 billion. The theme parks were boosted by the opening of Epic Universe last May. 



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High street drug dealer sells cannabis to undercover reporter

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High street drug dealer sells cannabis to undercover reporter



Across the UK, shopfronts are being exploited by criminal gangs pushing illegal drugs, experts say.



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