Recent weeks have brought fresh developments across health care and finance. Health insurers saw their shares surge after the Trump administration finalized higher Medicare Advantage payment rates for 2027. Newly published studies highlighted broader potential benefits from popular GLP-1 diabetes and weight-loss drugs, and Goldman Sachs kicked off bank earnings season with strong first-quarter results.
Here’s a brief breakdown of what’s trending in health and finance:
CMS Finalizes 2.48% Medicare Advantage Rate Increase for 2027, Boosting Insurer Stocks
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set an average increase of 2.48%, far above the 0.09% initially proposed in January, reported CMS Newsroom. The adjustment adds over $13 billion in payments to private plans serving seniors.
UnitedHealth Group shares jumped as much as 10% in trading following the announcement, while CVS Health rose nearly 7% and Humana gained as much as 11%, per Reuters. The three companies are among the largest Medicare Advantage providers. The final rates reflect technical updates, policy changes, and growth in risk scores, with CMS delaying a proposed overhaul of the risk adjustment model to give plans more time to adapt, Bloomberg reported.
The Medicare Advantage program, which allows private insurers to offer plans with extra benefits, now covers more than half of all Medicare beneficiaries. The higher payments come amid ongoing debates about program costs and overpayments relative to traditional Medicare. Analysts had expected around a 1% increase, and the final figure exceeded many forecasts.
New Studies Link GLP-1 Drugs to Mental Health Benefits and Weight Loss to Lower Cancer Risk
New research points to potential wider benefits from popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. A large Swedish cohort study published in The Lancet Psychiatry examined electronic health records from 95,490 people diagnosed with depression or anxiety who were taking diabetes medications.
Researchers found that semaglutide was associated with a 42% lower risk of worsening mental illness compared to periods without the drug, including lower risks of worsening depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. Liraglutide showed an 18% lower risk overall and benefits for depression.
The study also linked GLP-1 use as a group to reduced self-harm risk. The results add to growing interest in the broader effects of these drugs beyond weight loss and blood sugar control.
Another recent study from Cleveland Clinic researchers, published in the journal Obesity, linked modest real-world weight loss to reduced cancer risk. The retrospective analysis of more than 143,000 patients found that each 1% reduction in body mass index was associated with lower odds of obesity-related cancers at three and five years. A 5% weight loss was associated with a roughly 5% reduction in obesity-related cancer risk at those intervals. The study examined BMI changes over three, five, and 10 years and their association with cancer incidence.
Global Study Links Plastic Chemical DEHP to 1.97 Million Preterm Births
A separate global analysis published March 30 in eClinicalMedicine estimated that exposure to the plastic chemical di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) contributed to nearly 1.97 million preterm births worldwide in 2018, or about 8% of all preterm deliveries that year. Researchers linked the exposure to roughly 74,000 newborn deaths, along with millions of years of life lost and lived with disability. The highest burdens appeared in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Phthalates, used to make plastics more flexible, appear in products ranging from cosmetics to food packaging.
Goldman Sachs Posts Strong Q1 Results, Kicking Off Bank Earnings Season
On the finance side, Goldman Sachs delivered strong first-quarter results Monday to open bank earnings season. The firm posted net revenues of $17.23 billion and net earnings of $5.63 billion for the period ended March 31, 2026, according to its earnings release.
Diluted earnings per common share reached $17.55, beating analyst expectations, while the annualized return on average common shareholders’ equity hit 19.8%. Equities trading delivered a record performance with $5.33 billion in net revenues, up 27% from a year earlier, driven by strength in prime brokerage and cash equities. Investment banking fees rose 48% year over year, per Goldman Sachs.
Chairman and CEO David Solomon said, “Goldman Sachs delivered very strong performance for our shareholders this quarter, even as market conditions became more volatile.” Despite the earnings beat, shares traded lower on Monday amid mixed results in fixed income, currencies, and commodities.
