The pharmaceutical industry seemingly came out on top when President Donald Trump announced import tariffs on April 2. And while those are currently on a 90-day pause for every country except China, giving a break to industries like auto and steel, it seems the shoe might be on the other foot for pharma now.

Under the original plan, those industries faced at least 10% tariffs for goods imported to the US, kicking off a stock market drop. But pharma had been excluded, and major players’ stocks responded positively.

Companies like Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly saw small bumps (1.4% and 1.6%, respectively from April 1 to 2) as the rest of the market suffered. Pharma was exempted because the industry’s supply chain is spread out and complicated, and also because the medication it makes can be lifesaving.

“I was encouraged that they were exempted from tariffs, just given the essential nature of pharmaceuticals and also the complexity of the pharmaceutical supply chain,” Evan Seigerman, biopharma analyst at investment bank BMO Capital Markets, told Healthcare Brew. “You can’t just easily move manufacturing from one jurisdiction to another.”

But when announcing the pause on April 9, Trump also said the grace period for pharma could end “very shortly,” which caused the pharma market to dip. By around noon on April 10, J&J’s stock was down 13% and Lilly’s dropped 5%. 

Read what analysts are saying about potential pharma tariffs here.—CM

The federal government is going to pay Medicare Advantage (MA) plans a lot more in 2026.

In payment policy updates released on Monday evening, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said MA plans will receive average payment increases of 5.06%—or more than $25 billion—from 2025 to 2026. This is 2.83 percentage points higher than CMS had predicted in its January advance notice of these changes, and more than double the 2.33% increase it had estimated from 2024 to 2025.

“This was the administration’s first chance to pump the brakes on MA, and there was some uncertainty going into the release. The rate notice indicates a desire to drive on—and maybe accelerate,” Luke Hansen, chief medical officer at Arcadia, a healthcare data platform for payers and providers, told Healthcare Brew.

For 2025, the Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission predicted the federal government will pay MA plans $538 billion. (In 2024, it paid $494 billion, per the commission.)

Here’s more on why the rate has gone up so much.—CC

Welcome to Recall Roundup, where we keep you updated on the FDA’s medical device recalls from the last month.

Recalls range from making tweaks to pulling a device from the market altogether. First, the manufacturer takes action, then the FDA categorizes them from Class III (least dangerous) to Class I (most dangerous).

The FDA posts a list of the most serious recalls on its website, along with early alerts for things that may be labeled Class I recalls later on.

The FDA shared one Class II recall, 10 Class I recalls, and one early alert in March.

Atherectomy catheter system issue. There have been 30 serious injuries, four deaths, and 115 cases “requiring additional intervention” reportedly linked to Rotarex atherectomy catheter systems from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s subsidiary Bard Peripheral Vascular. The company said the device can still be used but the helix component may fracture or break with certain patient anatomies. It’s still investigating what else could cause helix breakage, but has updated use instructions, online training, and warnings for now. The FDA first issued a Feb. 6 early alert then upgraded this to a Class I recall on March 5.

See the full list of recalls and early alerts here.—CC