Good morning from the Financial Times.
Today is Wednesday, January 28th, and this is your FT News Briefing.
U.S.
health insurance stocks are feeling under the weather, and there's a new trade deal on the block.
Plus, Nordic countries are hoping the Greenland debacle will make NATO focus on Arctic security.
I'm Sonya Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day.
Shares of American health insurance groups plunged yesterday.
The Trump administration proposed no increase to Medicare payments to those companies next year.
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for Americans 65 and older.
Shares of United Health and Humana dropped around 20%.
Patrick Temple West covers health care for the FT.
He is here to make sense of these moves for us.
Hi, Patrick.
Hello, Sonia.
Can you just put this in context for us?
What is the administration's proposal?
Late Monday, CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
put out this announcement about its proposed rate change for 2027.
The government does it every year.
What was really surprising is CMS said no increase,