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House passes Trump’s agenda bill: 6 things to know  A good summary of the Bill’s health provisions.

GOP budget bill would slash Medicare funding by $490B: CBO: According to a May 20 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation is projected to add $2.3 trillion to the national debt, triggering automatic budget cuts under federal law.
The CBO estimates that an average annual increase of $230 billion in the deficit will occur each year under the legislation, resulting in a need to reduce spending by that amount annually. The first round of sequestration could take place in 2026.
Medicare spending is limited to a 4% reduction each year, which would amount to $45 billion in cuts for fiscal year 2026. Although Medicare is capped at these 4% reductions, the rest of the federal budget would face even larger cuts. Some programs, such as Social Security and low-income assistance programs, are exempt from sequestration, leaving other federal programs to shoulder the remaining cuts. 

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CMS plans ‘aggressive’ Medicare Advantage audits: MS will audit every Medicare Advantage plan for potential overpayments annually, in what the agency called an “aggressive” plan to step up oversight. According to a May 21 news release, the agency plans to audit each of the more than 500 MA plans each year. Currently, the agency audits around 60 plans each year. 

About pharma

Moderna 'voluntarily' pulls FDA application for combo flu/COVID-19 vaccine: Moderna said Wednesday that it has voluntarily withdrawn an application with the FDA seeking approval of its combination influenza/COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1083 for adults aged 50 years and older. While the submission had a target review date in November, the company recently pushed back the mRNA-based jab's timeline after the FDA said that it required Phase III flu efficacy data.

Judge approves Rite Aid assets sale: On May 21, a federal judge approved Rite Aid’s bankruptcy plan to close stores and sell most of its pharmacy assets to other national chains, according to court documents reviewed by Becker’s. 
CVS, Walgreens, and grocery store chains Albertsons, Kroger, Giant Eagle and others have entered into separate transactions to buy Rite Aid’s assets, including prescription services and 810 of its 1,240 pharmacy locations.  

GoodRx to directly contract with independent pharmacies: In June, GoodRx will provide a cost-plus model offering to independent community pharmacies through direct contracts, the company said May 22. 
Dubbed GoodRx Community Link, it will allow locally owned and operated pharmacies to contract with its integrated savings program. The program compares a medication’s copay with GoodRx’s discount price to offer the lowest available price.

2025 Prescription Drug Expenditure Projections for Health System Leaders: The overall prescription drug spending in the United States in 2025 is predicted to rise between 9% and 11% higher than 2024 spending, which totaled $806 billion, according to a recently published paper on national trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections for 2025 in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.
Drug spending at clinics in 2025, the paper predicts, will likely be higher than spending at hospitals, with an 11.0% to 13.0% increase. Lead author Eric Tichy, Pharm.D., M.B.A., vice chair of pharmacy formulary at Mayo Clinic Health System, explained there has been an effort to move more care into the outpatient setting. Additionally, innovation is allowing more drugs to be approved that can be administered in the ambulatory setting.

About the public’s health

Nutritional Content of Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereals Marketed to Children: Analysis of newly launched children’s RTE cereals from 2010 to 2023 revealed concerning nutritional shifts: notable increases in fat, sodium, and sugar alongside decreases in protein and fiber. Children’s cereals contain high levels of added sugar, with a single serving exceeding 45% of the American Heart Association’s daily recommended limit for children. These trends suggest a potential prioritization of taste over nutritional quality in product development, contributing to childhood obesity and long-term cardiovascular health risks.

U.S. Global Health Country-Level Funding TrackerA very interesting chart of where the U.S. spends its global health dollars (by country) and on what programs.


Exclusive: Opioid use disorder costs almost $700K per case: State of play:
Opioid use disorder — defined as frequent opioid use and unsuccessful efforts to quit — is estimated to affect more than 6 million people in the United States.

  • The cumulative economic burden on patients, including years of life lost and reduced quality of life, exceeded $3 trillion in 2024, Avalere estimated.

  • Private businesses absorbed more than $467 billion in costs from lost productivity and health insurance costs while the federal government bore about $118 billion in Medicare and other federal insurance costs, lost taxes and criminal justice expenses.

  • It cost state and local governments more than $94 billion, with about $42 billion of that going toward criminal justice costs.

  • The Trump administration in March released its own analysis that estimated illicit opioids cost the U.S. about $2.7 trillion in 2023.  

About healthcare IT

In lawsuit over teen’s death, judge rejects arguments that AI chatbots have free speech rights: A federal judge on Wednesday rejected arguments made by an artificial intelligence company that its chatbots are protected by the First Amendment — at least for now. The developers behind Character.AI are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company’s chatbots pushed a teenage boy to kill himself.
The judge’s order will allow the wrongful death lawsuit to proceed, in what legal experts say is among the latest constitutional tests of artificial intelligence.

About healthcare personnel

61% of nurses plan job change within 1 year: Report: Within the next 12 months, 61% of more than 12,000 nurses surveyed by AMN Healthcare said they plan to leave their current employer, switch departments, retire, return to school, or work part-time, per diem or in a virtual role. 
High levels of burnout, stress and dissatisfaction continue to foment workforce instability. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s biennial 2024 National Workforce Study, which surveyed more than 800,000 U.S. nurses, found that 40% of RNs plan to exit the field by 2029. 

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In a significant change, House GOP tax cut bill would start Medicaid work requirements next year: The latest draft of the House tax cut bill calls for starting Medicaid work requirements next year, up from 2029, according to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
Roy is among the members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus who fought for starting the requirements sooner. He’s also a member of the House Rules Committee, which started debating the budget reconciliation bill at 1 a.m. At publication time, committee members were still working through the 537 amendments that were submitted. The Rules Committee is the last stop before a House vote, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) aims to pass the bill before the end of the week. 
Ans in a related story:
‘Don’t ‘f— with Medicaid,’ Trump tells GOP lawmakers: Several Republican lawmakers had pushed for deeper cuts to Medicaid, which has become a key sticking point in negotiations as fiscal conservatives seek cuts to help offset the bill’s tax provisions, according to the report. The bill also faces pushback from centrist Republicans in high-tax states like New York and California, who are advocating for changes to the $30,000 cap on state and local tax deductions.
“I think it was a meeting of love,” President Trump said, according to the report. “And there were a couple of things we talked about specifically where some people felt a little bit one way or the other. Not a big deal.” 

About the public’s health

Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn't warning the public like it was months ago: Many of the CDC's newsletters have stopped being distributed, workers at the CDC say. Health alerts about disease outbreaks, previously sent to health professionals subscribed to the CDC's Health Alert Network, haven't been dispatched since March. The agency's main social media channels have come under new ownership of the Department of Health and Human Services, emails reviewed by NPR show, and most have gone more than a month without posting their own new content. 

Poll: 83% of Americans say benefits of MMR vaccines outweigh risks: A new Annenberg Poll shows that 87% of Americans say the benefit of childhood measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination outweighs the risk, and 67% say they know that MMR vaccines don't cause autism.

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Massive Medicaid cuts would ripple through nonprofit sector, too Great summary of the topic, including the effect on Easter Seals.

Veterans' VA Referrals to Private Medical Care Will No Longer Require Additional Doctor Review: The Department of Veterans Affairs has changed its process for veterans to get medical care from non-VA providers, removing a requirement that a referral to community care be reviewed by another VA doctor.
The VA announced Monday that it is enacting a provision of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act that will help ease veterans' access to medical services from private providers. 

About pharma

HHS sets ‘pricing targets’ to lower US drug costs: HHS is taking “immediate steps” to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order, Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients — a key initiative aimed at reducing healthcare costs…
Under the executive order, HHS has until June 11 to develop and communicate drug pricing reduction goals with pharmaceutical manufacturers. If meaningful progress is not made, the department is instructed to begin the rulemaking process to enforce most-favored-nation pricing. However, the order does not outline a clear legal mechanism for mandating lower drug prices, and it remains uncertain how the directive would intersect with ongoing Medicare drug price negotiation efforts under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Pfizer pays $1.25B upfront for rights to PD-1/VEGF bispecific from China's 3SBio: Top Story: Pfizer signed a licensing deal potentially worth over $6 billion with 3SBio, securing ex-China rights to the latter’s PD-1/VEGF-targeting bispecific antibody SSGJ-707 in oncology indications. The agreement — which includes an upfront payment of $1.25 billion — marks Pfizer's second recent move into the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody space.

About the public’s health

Kennedy’s placebo requirement for vaccine testing could cost lives:Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his hearing before Congress last week doubled down on his plans to revamp the vaccine approval process. The health and human services secretary claimed that no vaccines other than the coronavirus shots had been tested against a placebo, which he vowed to “remedy.” An HHS spokesperson previously characterized conducting placebo-controlled trials as “a radical departure from past practices.”
These statements are flat-out wrong. Many vaccines are, in fact, tested against placebos. Those that aren’t always have a specific ethical and scientific rationale. Changing existing practice won’t make immunizations safer, but it will delay access and impede disease prevention.
Other related articles:
An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination and
FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say

Nebraska to ban soda and energy drinks from SNAP under first USDA waiver: Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps.
The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries.
“There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. “SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver.”
Six other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia — have also submitted requests for waivers banning certain foods and drinks or, in some cases, expanding access to hot foods for participants, according to the USDA.

World Health Assembly adopts historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics: The WHO Pandemic Agreement sets out the principles, approaches and tools for better international coordination across a range of areas, in order to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This includes through the equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. 

About healthcare personnel

Private funder HHMI pauses postdoc fellowship : The Hanna Gray fellowship, created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, supports postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds in their transition to heading their own labs. During normal times, the opportunity was transformative, but in an era of cuts to research funding and uncertainty at universities, some saw it as a lifeline to an academic career…
HHMI, the largest private funder of biomedical research, announced it would no longer be considering applications for the upcoming cycle. It’s the latest retrenchment by HHMI, which had become a leader in efforts to make the science workforce more diverse, amid the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. 

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America’s sickness economy An excellent review with useful charts.

Survey Highlights Progress, Persistent Barriers on Value-Based Care Journey: NAACOS, the National Association of ACOs, and Innovaccer, a company that has developed an interoperability platform for value-based care (VBC), have released a survey of healthcare professionals about their progress on value-based care transformation.
Here are some bullet-point highlights: 
• 30% of organizations reported that 25% or more of their revenue is tied to VBC contracts.
• More than 60% of organizations have increased their participation in VBC programs.
• Nearly 20% of organizations report that over half of their revenue comes from fully capitated or downside risk contracts.
• Barriers to adoption cited by respondents include financial risk, provider resistance, lack of data interoperability and the cost of technology to facilitate VBC.
• Those surveyed cited greater financial support, improved data sharing capabilities with payers and clearer regulatory guidelines as factors that would greatly support VBC adoption.

Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ for Primo Customers I wrote about this suit before but this article is a nice summary of the issue.

As Congress Debates Cutting Medicaid, a Major Study Shows It Saves Lives: Poor adults who gained Medicaid coverage after the Affordable Care Act expanded access were 21 percent less likely to die during a given year than those not enrolled, the research shows. By analyzing federal records on 37 million Americans, two economists found that deaths fell not only among older enrollees but also among those in their 20s and 30s — a group often assumed to have few medical needs, and who would have been far less likely to qualify for Medicaid before the expansion.
The findings were published this month in a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper…

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Study suggests upcoding practices are fairly common across outpatient care: The report, compiled by researchers at Trilliant Health, found that the share of visits that were coded at higher intensities grew in emergency care, urgent care and physician office visits between 2018 and 2023. For example, the number of emergency department visits coded as 99284, or level four of five total, grew from 32.5% to 39.6% in the study window. 

About pharma

GLP-1s may cut risk of obesity-related cancers: 3 study notes: A new study has found GLP-1s may reduce the risk of developing obesity-related cancers by 41% compared to bariatric surgery — a benefit researchers believe could be tied to the drugs’ ability to reduce inflammation.  

White House, Cost Plus Drugs’ new drug manufacturing alliance: 5 notes: The White House has launched a new program focused on leveraging technology and private sector partnerships to find new ways to quickly produce key pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drugs at the point-of-care. 
The initiative, called Equip-A-Pharma, involves collaborations with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs and three other healthcare partners. 

Regeneron to buy 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said Monday it had entered into an agreement to buy the consumer genetics firm 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million. The deal is subject to bankruptcy court and regulatory approvals.
The Tarrytown, N.Y.-based biotech said it would continue 23andMe’s consumer business and use the data the company has collected for drug development.

CVS, Walgreens bid for Rite Aid pharmacy assets: CVS Health Corp. is trying to buy stores and patient data from Rite Aid Corp., the beleaguered pharmacy chain that is going out of business after filing for bankruptcy a second time earlier this month….
Rite Aid has also received multiple bids on some of its pharmacy assets, such as patient data and inventory, from Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Albertsons Cos., Kroger Co., Giant Eagle Inc. and others, Rite Aid Chief Executive Officer Matthew Schroeder told employees…

HHS must preapprove pharma's proposed 340B rebate models, judge rules: Several big pharmas attempting to introduce a rebate model under the 340B programme, rather than offering an upfront discount on medicines, were hit with a setback Friday after a US district judge rejected lawsuits from several drugmakers. 
Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson had each filed suit last year after the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) rejected proposals from the drugmakers that would change how they deliver reduced-cost drugs to hospitals and clinics that serve uninsured and low-income patients…Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled on Friday that HHS has the authority to approve or reject the proposed rebate models, blocking the pharmas from moving forward with their 340B plans until they receive an explicit OK from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. 
Per a notice filed earlier this month in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, HHS said it will be "in a position to provide guidance" about the proposed rebate models by the end of May.

About healthcare IT

Top 20 global cities for EHR interoperability FYI.
Also, according to the report conducted in March and April 2025:
• 88% of healthcare organizations outside the U.S. now prioritize regional software providers due to improved localization and faster compliance with local regulations.
• User satisfaction rates for regional EHR solutions reached an average of 91%, compared to a
declining rate of 68% for U.S.-based systems.
• 79% of international healthcare leaders report political and digital sovereignty considerations
influencing vendor selections, reflecting heightened awareness and sensitivity towards national data control and security.
• Over 84% of surveyed respondents identified regional vendors as providing superior customization and adaptability to specific local clinical workflows.
• Implementation timelines for regional vendors are on average 40% shorter than those of major U.S.-based EHR providers, enhancing their attractiveness in dynamic healthcare environments.
• Cost transparency and predictable pricing structures from regional vendors achieved an approval rate of 82%, contrasting sharply with 47% satisfaction for major U.S.-based competitors.

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63 health systems ranked by annual revenue  FYI 

About the public’s health

The Domestic Consequences of Defunding Global Health A really good summary of the issue.
In a related article: WHO: 70% of Countries Already Face Health Disruptions Amid Aid Cuts 

About healthcare IT

276 Million Patient Records Compromised — What You Need To Know: A May 5 HIPPA Journal report has confirmed that in 2024 healthcare attacks resulted in a staggering “276 million breached records.” Now, a May 13 Check Point report has warned that the hackers behind a newly-identified and healthcare-focused attack are looking to steal even more sensitive employee and consumer data.  

About health technology

FDA endorses first-of-its-kind blood test for Alzheimer’s disease: The test, called Lumipulse, measures two proteins found in the blood’s plasma to determine whether a patient has amyloid plaques in the brain. Up until now, physicians have mostly used costly, more invasive tests that involve puncturing the lumbar — known as a spinal tap — and brain scans that expose patients to radiation to confirm the presence of amyloid. The Lumipulse test takes a simple blood draw. 

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UnitedHealth Group Is Under Criminal Investigation for Possible Medicare Fraud: While the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations against UnitedHealth is unclear, the people said the federal investigation is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices.

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Hospital expenses per inpatient day across 50 states FYI

About the public’s health

FDA to remove ingestible fluoride prescriptions for children from the market: 7 notes: The FDA plans to begin removing ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market later this year.
 Comment: Excessive fluoride can cause all the harms JFK, Jr claims; but, most water supplies have levels that are beneficial. Further, infants who are breast fed need supplements. Science loses again.

RFK Jr. says people should not take medical advice from him, defends HHS cuts during congressional hearings Yes, but they DO listen when he issues harmful and incorrect medical statements.

How Chronic Disease Became the Biggest Scourge in American Health A great comparison (in charts) of US healthcare versus other countries.

About healthcare IT

88% of breached patient records since 2010 tied to hacking: Study: From October 2009 to October 2024, ransomware and hacking have increasingly driven healthcare data breaches, a May 14 study published in JAMA Network Open found. 
The study examined ransomware attacks and other hacking incidents across all healthcare organizations covered by HIPAA from October 2009 through October 2024. It analyzed breaches affecting 500 or more patient records that were reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights.

About health technology

Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment: The baby, now 9 ½ months old, became the first patient of any age to have a custom gene-editing treatment, according to his doctors. He received an infusion made just for him and designed to fix his precise mutation.
The investigators who led the effort to save KJ are presenting their work on Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cell & Gene Therapy, and are also publishing it in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

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CBO: GOP Medicaid plan would make 7.6 million people uninsured: The Medicaid portion of the House GOP’s massive domestic policy bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial (CBO) Congressional Budget Office estimate. 

CMS proposes including Part B drugs in Medicare price negotiations: 5 key updates: CMS has proposed including select Medicare Part B drugs in the third round of its drug price negotiation program, according to draft guidance released May 12. 
The agency said the proposal is designed to enhance transparency, focus on high-expenditure drugs and ensure that efforts to establish fair pricing do not stifle pharmaceutical innovation.
Comment: Recall drug negotiations have been about Part D drugs.

Expect More Downside Risk in Medicare's Payment Models, CMS Official Says: Physicians should expect to see more Medicare alternative payment models that involve downside risk, Abe Sutton, JD, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), said Tuesday.
"We've found at the innovation center that when we have 'upside-only' payment models, there's not necessarily an incentive ... for participants to change how they engage in care delivery," Sutton said… 
Also on Tuesday, Sutton outlined a new approachopens in a new tab or window that CMMI is taking to its work, focused on three "pillars":
Promote evidence-based prevention
Empower people to achieve their health goals.
Drive choice and competition.

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Recognizing Outstanding Care: Healthgrades Announces 2025 Top Hospitals for
Patient Experience : FYI

About pharma

AbbVie paying $355M, potentially billions more, in deal for new RNA tech:AbbVie is entering a collaboration and license option deal with ADARx Pharmaceuticals to develop a new type of RNA technology for disease areas like neuroscience, immunology and oncology.
The deal could net San Diego-based ADARx several billion dollars in payments, if successful.
Late clinical-stage biotech ADARx is working on small interfering RNA, or siRNA, therapeutics, a class of molecules capable of regulating gene expression and protein production.

About the public’s health

EPA will weaken rule curbing forever chemicals in drinking water: The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it plans to rescind and reconsider limits on four “forever chemicals” under a landmark drinking water standard implemented last year by President Joe Biden.

US Children Living With a Parent With Substance Use Disorder: Nearly 19 million children were estimated to be living in a household with at least 1 parent with SUD, accounting for one-quarter of all US children in 2023. Children in such households are more likely to develop adverse health outcomes than their peers without exposure to parental SUD.

Increased sedentary behavior is associated with neurodegeneration and worse cognition in older adults over a 7-year period despite high levels of physical activity: Highlights

  • Greater sedentary behavior is related to neurodegeneration and worse cognition.

  • Associations differed by APOE-ε4 carrier status in cross-sectional models.

  • Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. 

 

About healthcare IT

A decade of AI rules on ice?: The proposed bill prohibits state and local governments from enforcing “any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.”  

About healthcare personnel

The World Is Wooing U.S. Researchers Shunned by Trump: For examples:
—Last week, at the urging of more than a dozen members, the European Union announced it would spend an additional 500 million euros, or $556 million, over the next two years to “make Europe a magnet for researchers.”
—Of 1,600 people who responded to a March poll in the journal Nature — many of them Ph.D. or postdoctoral students in the United States — three out of four said they were considering leaving the country because of the Trump administration’s policies. 

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House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care: A good short summary.

What Are the Projected 2025 Health Plan Cost Trends?: Key health plan cost trend survey findings
In addition to the double-digit projected prescription drug trend noted above, key survey findings about the coming year’s trend projections include:

  • Survey respondents project the per-person cost trend for PPO/POS plans to be 7.9 percent.

  • Projected specialty drug trend is 13.3 percent. Drivers of projected specialty drug trend are primarily due to the utilization of new high-cost specialty drugs, replacing lower-cost therapies. Trend attributable to utilization is forecast to be 7.8 percent, accounting for almost 60 percent of the specialty drug gross cost trend increase before rebates.

  • Unit cost, including factors like price inflation, is still the primary driver for inpatient hospital trends.

  • Plan sponsor focus has shifted dramatically to cost- and quality-management strategies related to prescription drugs and weight loss-treatments specifically, which now account for four of the top five cost-management strategies.

  • Trend projections for dental provider organizations are 4.5 percent.

  • Projected vision trend is 3.0 percent for reasonable and customary plans.

  • While the projected medical trend for Medicare-eligible retirees with Medicare Advantage PPO plans is 4.9 percent, the projected Medicare Part D trend is 8.9 percent.  

About pharma

Trump signs executive order seeking to lower US drug costs by challenging prices in other countries: President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Monday morning that promises to crack down on “unreasonable or discriminatory” practices by foreign countries that result in Americans paying far higher costs for prescription drugs.
Also, drugmakers must start offering US patients the lowest price paid for a drug in a peer country, known as the “Most Favored Nation” price, or face consequences, the president said. He directed the Department of Health and Human Services to come up with price targets within 30 days.

About the public’s health

FDA Approves First At-Home Cervical Cancer Test: On Friday, a San Francisco-based startup received FDA approval for the first-ever at-home cervical cancer test.
The company, named Teal Health, was founded in 2020 and has raised $23 million. The startup has developed an at-home cervical cancer screening kit, which seeks to give patients an alternative to the in-office pap smear. 

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Judge Asks DOJ To Define DEI In Health Grant Case: A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. Department of Justice lawyers to provide the Trump administration's definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion, saying he needs to know so he can consider whether that is a valid basis for pausing federal health research…

Why a Planned Reorganization of the FDA Creates Major Challenges: An insightful piece by two former FDA heads.

About health insurance/insurers

Toward Integrating Care for Dually Eligible Beneficiaries: FYI. A thoughtful analysis and suggestions for those receiving healthcare through Medicare and Medicaid.

About hospitals and healthcare systems

The week in health system M&A: 2 deals close, another called off: FYI

About pharma

Appeals court rejects AstraZeneca's challenge to Medicare drug price talks: AstraZeneca's bid to derail Medicare's power to negotiate lower drug prices on certain prescription drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has failed in a US appeals court.In a ruling Thursday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the US government, affirming a lower court's 2024 dismissal of AstraZeneca's lawsuit. That court found AstraZeneca hasn't shown it was directly harmed by the negotiation programme and failed to prove the law violated its constitutional rights.

About the public’s health

Rising food prices in US getting in way of healthy eating, survey of Americans finds: American adults say sticker shock at the grocery store is making it harder for them to have a healthy diet, according to a nationally representative survey of adults by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that conducts data-driven research.
Ninety percent of adults in the United States say the price of healthy food has risen over the past few years, and over two-thirds (69%) say higher food prices are making it difficult to eat a healthy diet. 

Effectiveness and Safety of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine for US Adults Aged 60 Years or Older: Findings  In this case-control study of 787 822 patients tested for RSV, vaccine effectiveness was approximately 75% among adults aged 60 years or older against RSV-associated acute respiratory infection, urgent care or emergency visits, or hospitalization; effectiveness was less but still substantial among immunocompromised patients. An estimated excess of 11.2 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome followed administration per 1 000 000 doses of RSV vaccine.
Meaning  These findings suggest that RSV vaccination of older patients is effective even for most immunocompromised patients, but diagnoses of Guillain-Barré syndrome are increased after vaccination.

About healthcare IT

FaceAge, a deep learning system to estimate biological age from face photographs to improve prognostication: a model development and validation study : Our results suggest that a deep learning model can estimate biological age from face photographs and thereby enhance survival prediction in patients with cancer. Further research, including validation in larger cohorts, is needed to verify these findings in patients with cancer and to establish whether the findings extend to patients with other diseases. Subject to further testing and validation, approaches such as FaceAge could be used to translate a patient’s visual appearance into objective, quantitative, and clinically valuable measures. 

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TIME Reveals the 2025 TIME100 Health List of the World’s Most Influential People in Health: FYI

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Characterization of Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health: Targeted grant terminations have affected more than $1.8 billion in NIH funding. Terminations were spread across nearly all NIH institutes and centers, although cuts disproportionately impacted the NIMHD (30% of all funding).
The proportion of terminated grant funding was higher than the proportion of grants terminated across most institutes and centers, suggesting that larger-than-average grants were more likely to be terminated. Although most terminated grants were classified as independent research projects, 20% were formal training, fellowship, or career development awards. Study findings also demonstrate that grant terminations have affected both public and private recipient institutions across the US.  

About pharma

Teva to cut nearly 3000 jobs as shift from pure-play generics picks up pace: Teva plans to cut 8% of its workforce as part of efforts to trim $700 million in costs and achieve its target of reaching a 30% operating profit margin by 2027. The move means that the company's workforce of just over 36,000 will be slashed by around 2900 positions. 

About the public’s health

Immunogenicity and Safety of Influenza and COVID-19 Multicomponent Vaccine in Adults ≥50 Years:  In this phase 3 study, mRNA-1083 elicited noninferior immune responses against standard care immunization: licensed standard-dose or high-dose seasonal influenza vaccine (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Victoria, B/Yamagata) coadministered with licensed SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron XBB.1.5) vaccine. The multicomponent vaccine mRNA-1083 had an acceptable tolerability and safety profile.   

About healthcare personnel

Physician Flash Report: Key Takeaways
• Two out of five providers in physician practices are advanced practice providers (APPs). The gap between APPs and physicians continues to close and is driven primarily by surgical and primary care.
• Subsidies for surgical specialties continue to grow. Physician practices must carefully consider site of service, which impacts revenue and margin.
• Provider compensation is growing slowly. Physician practices should consider retention strategies to keep talent in today’s highly competitive marketplace for physicians and clinicians. 

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Health Care (From U.S.News Best State Rankings): FYI

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Hospital Price Transparency in Action: An Analysis of Radiology Procedure Price Variation in Children's Hospitals Between 2023 and 2024: Findings show a statistically significant decrease in price variation, with the coefficient of variation (CV) for negotiated rates declining by 19.2% but overall prices continuing to rise, with payer specific negotiated rates increasing by an average 6.7%. Price transparency policies may contribute to reduced price dispersion; however, the average price did increase.

Monthly Healthcare Industry Financial Benchmarks: Highlights from the March 2025 data include: 

  • Operating margins for U.S. health systems narrowed slightly to 0.9% in March, after holding steady at 1% for both January and February, while hospital operating margins rose year-over-year (YOY). 

  • Non-labor expenses continued to rise faster than other expense categories, due in part to double-digit increases in both drug and supply expenses versus the same month last year. 

  • Patient demand was up nationwide across most metrics in March, following decreases in February, as growth in outpatient visits outpaced inpatient admissions.  

  • Gross outpatient revenues led overall hospital revenue increases, jumping 10.0% YOY as hospitals and health systems continue to see care shift from inpatient to outpatient settings.  

  • Per-physician expenses rose to $1.2 million in the first quarter, representing an increase of 3% compared to Q4 2024 and 10.3% versus Q1 2024. 

Northwell, Nuvance's 28-hospital merger crosses the finish line: As expected, Northwell Health and Nuvance Health have consummated their 28-hospital merger.
The resulting nonprofit juggernaut delivers care to more than 13 million people in New York and Connecticut by way of a $22.6 billion operating budget. It employs more than 104,000 people, and alongside the hospitals runs over 1,050 ambulatory care sites, 73 urgent care locations and three medical research and education organizations.  

About pharma

The 25 priciest drug classes for hospitals FYI. By far, the largest class is Antineoplastic targeted agents: $7.3 billion.

About the public’s health

FDA label updates aim to make it easier to choose healthy foods: FDA updates to criteria for using the term “healthy” on manufactured and packaged foods are aimed at helping consumers quickly and easily identify what they need to eat for a healthful diet, experts said during an FDA webinar…
The FDA released the final rule updating the definition of the nutrient content claim “healthy” for manufactured and packaged foods in December 2024.   

About healthcare IT

Mercer launches tool that allows employers to predict healthcare costs linked to climate events: Climate-related health challenges are driving up employer spending, and a new tool built by Mercer aims to help firms anticipate the potential costs.
The Climate Health Cost Forecaster was developed in partnership with the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health. It seeks to arm employers with the data necessary to estimate the long-term health costs tied to weather events like extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding and hurricanes.
The tool is designed to offer companies a local perspective on the vulnerabilities that could impact their workforces. It leans on a combination of Mercer's proprietary models for healthcare costs and key weather and epidemiological research, according to an announcement. 

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In other news:

5 Places to Turn for Accurate Health Information In view of the federal government’s cutbacks on information, this article is a good source of other sources you can use.

About pharma

Trump signs order to boost domestic drug manufacturing as pharma tariffs loom: The order directs the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the amount of time it takes to approve manufacturing plants in the U.S. by eliminating unnecessary requirements, streamlining reviews and working with domestic drugmakers to “provide early support before facilities come online,” according to a White House fact sheet.
It also directs the agency to raise inspection fees for foreign manufacturing plants, improve the enforcement of active-ingredient source reporting by overseas producers and consider publicly listing facilities that don’t comply.

About healthcare IT

Parental Technology Use in a Child’s Presence and Health and Development in the Early Years: This systematic review and meta-analysis found that parental technology use in their child’s presence was significantly associated with poorer cognition and prosocial behavior, lower attachment, higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems, and higher levels of screen time. 

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Postdischarge contact within 7 d does not reduce use of acute care at 30 d: In adults, PDC interventions delivered by nonclinician providers within 7 days of hospital discharge do not reduce use of acute care at 30 days.
Comment: Many health plans use the metric of contact within 7 days of discharge to calculate quality bonuses.

Trump’s 2026 budget plan cuts healthcare funds: 6 notes FYI- a good update.

About Covid-19

UVA research finds distinct changes in immune systems of COVID-19 survivors: New groundbreaking research from the University of Virginia's School of Medicine has revealed that the immune systems of COVID-19 survivors, specifically those with breathing issues, have distinct changes.
According to a release from the university, officials say these findings shed light on the complexity of Long COVID and may pave the way for more personalized and effective treatments. 

About health insurance/insurers

IRS unveils new HSA limits for 2026. Here’s what investors need to know FYI

Medicaid cuts, mortality, and health-care expenditure in the USA: Based on projected coverage losses, we estimate that approximately 623 000 additional individuals aged 25–64 years (95% CI 91 000 to 1·07 million) will face catastrophic health-care costs annually. 

Payers ranked by Q1 profits FYI

Estimating the Budgetary Impact of Reforms to the Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Program: Reforms to the Medicare Advantage QBP could save the federal government $2.6 billion to $14.1 billion in 2026. The impact of reforms varies considerably over contract characteristics due to differences in quality and the geographic location of contracts. These estimates are consistent with other research about QBP spending.

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Hospital Capital Expenditures Associated With Prices And Hospital Expansion Or Withering, 2010–19:  This study investigated the market dynamics linking hospital capital expenditures during the period 2010–19 to changes in volume, market share, and prices. We found that hospitals investing more in capital gained market share and raised prices, whereas hospitals investing relatively less in capital lost market share and increased prices less. Taken together, these forces perpetuate a cycle of expanding and withering hospitals. Study findings suggest important limits to antitrust as a mechanism to address high and rising prices, and the findings could inform policies to forestall or eliminate the financial decline of withering hospitals, thereby preserving access and promoting competition.

Hospitals Acquired By Private Equity Firms: Increased Postoperative Mortality For Common Inpatient Surgeries: We found that PE acquisition was associated with a 2.7-percentage-point increase in thirty-day postoperative mortality compared with control hospitals, driven primarily by an increase in failure to rescue (3.9 percentage points), with no observed change in the rate of complications. Subset analysis revealed that the increase in mortality was particularly pronounced for unplanned (emergent) surgeries, whereas no significant changes were observed for planned (elective) surgeries. Our findings suggest that PE acquisition may adversely affect the management of emergent surgical cases, raising critical considerations for policy makers and health care stakeholders regarding the influence of PE ownership on patient safety.

About pharma

FDA probes compounding pharmacies over quality concerns: The FDA plans to gather information from 250 compounding outsourcing pharmacies amid safety and quality concerns. 
In a May 1 notice, the agency said it will survey outsourcing facilities about challenges and opportunities related to market and business viability, compliance, quality production and interactions with the FDA.  

About healthcare personnel

Europe unveils $565 million package to retain scientists, and attract new ones: The European Commission on Monday unveiled a roughly $565 million package to retain and attract scientists, as other countries try to leverage the Trump administration’s dismantling of research programs in the U.S. to build up their own enterprises. 
The funding program, amounting to 500 million euros, is designed to make “Europe a magnet for researchers,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, said at an event at Paris’ Sorbonne University called “Choose Europe for Science.” Appearing along with French President Emmanuel Macron, von der Leyen said the funding, which will last through 2027, would support researchers from Europe and around the world. 

Pathways To Primary Care: Charting Trajectories From Medical School Graduation Through Specialty Training: Among 353,590 physicians who graduated during the period 2001–15, 11.8 percent pursued initial training in family medicine, 33.5 percent training in internal medicine, and 10.5 percent training in pediatrics. Primary care yield, defined as the percentage of physicians who complete their initial postgraduate training in a primary care specialty and conclude their training in any primary care specialty, was 97.0 percent for family medicine, 35.5 percent for internal medicine, and 54.4 percent for pediatrics. After internal medicine and pediatrics residencies, large percentages of physicians left primary care to train in subspecialties and other fields. Further research must document how many physicians enter careers in primary care practice.

About healthcare finance

Deerfield raises $600M healthcare fund to invest in therapeutics, AI:Deerfield Management closed its third Healthcare Innovations Fund on Monday, raising $600 million to invest in therapeutics and care delivery technologies, as well as machine learning and AI. 
The latest close comes about five years after Deerfield's last raise in 2020, when it clinched $840 million to fund healthtech innovations and novel treatments. 

Today's News and Commentary

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Trump’s budget proposes steep cuts to NIH, health funding: The 2026 proposal is seeking to cut $33.3 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, representing a 26.2 percent reduction compared to the fiscal 2025 budget.
This includes a $3.6 billion reduction in discretionary funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an $18 billion reduction for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a $674 million reduction for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Program Management and a $240 million reduction for Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program.
The only health program that gains discretionary funding in the proposal is HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again(MAHA) Commission, for which the budget provides $500 million. 

About health insurance/insurers

CMS sets up real-time medical fraud center with DOGE; Federal contractor rolls out commercial tool: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the Fraud Detection Operation Center (FDOC) to fight waste, fraud and abuse, the agency announced this week.
Comment: This task had been done by the Inspector General; it is not new or innnovative.

DOJ sues major insurers, brokers over alleged Medicare Advantage kickbacks:The Department of Justice has filed a sweeping lawsuit against Humana, Aetna, and Anthem, along with Medicare Advantage brokers eHealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote, alleging a multi-year scheme involving unlawful kickbacks and discriminatory practices against disabled MA enrollees.
According to the May 1 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the insurers paid hundreds of millions of dollars from 2016 through at least 2021 to the brokers in exchange for preferential treatment, including steering enrollees toward their MA plans and away from competitors, regardless of the quality of the plans. The DOJ filed the lawsuit based on a whistleblower complaint initially filed by a former eHealth employee under the False Claims Act. 

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Understanding the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program FYI

About pharma

Lilly star weight-loss drug Zepbound faces coverage challenge from CVS Health: CVS Health said the drugs Wegovy and Saxenda from rival drugmaker Novo Nordisk will become the preferred options on its standard formulary, or list of covered drugs, as of July 1. Zepbound will be excluded. 

GLP-1s can help employers lower medical costs in 2 years, new study finds:
KEY POINTS

  • Aon researchers found that within two years, improved health outcomes for patients who were taking GLP-1 drugs lowers the growth rate of medical care costs.

  • Aon looked at medical claims data for 139,000 U.S.-based workers with employer health coverage who took GLP-1 medications between 2022 and 2024.

  • Since 2023, GLP-1s have driven up employer spending on drugs at a faster pace than high-priced specialty drugs used to treat cancer and autoimmune conditions, according to an Evernorth study.

About the public’s health

Diabetes deaths fall to lowest levels in years, in early CDC figures:There were 103,294 deaths from diabetes in 2021, up more than 17% from 87,647 deaths in 2019 before the pandemic. Provisional data reported so far for 2024 have tallied 94,294 diabetes deaths last year. 

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About health insurance/insurers

Aetna to exit individual market: Aetna will exit the individual ACA exchange market in 2026, citing continued underperformance. 
CVS Health reported its first quarter earnings May 1. On a call with investors, CEO David Joyner said the company determined there is “not a near or long-term pathway for Aetna to materially improve its position in the market.”  

How National Medicaid Work Requirements Would Lead to Large-Scale Job Losses, Harm State Economies, and Strain Budgets: Key Findings and Conclusions: Between 4.6 million and 5.2 million adults could lose Medicaid in 2026 if work requirements are imposed, cutting federal funding to states by $33 billion to $46 billion in the first year and $362 billion to $504 billion over a decade. States overall could see a $43 billion to $59 billion reduction in economic activity in 2026; a loss of 322,000 to 449,000 jobs; and a $3.2 billion to $4.4 billion reduction in state and local tax revenues. The DC matching rate reduction would cut $712 million in federal funding in 2026 and lead to 7,300 total jobs lost in DC and neighboring states.

About hospitals and healthcare systems

Spring 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Searchable by hospital and state. 

About pharma

25 drugs ranked by 2024 healthcare expenditure  FYI

Novartis bolsters renal disease pipeline with $1.7B deal for Regulus: Novartis moved to expand its renal disease portfolio via an agreement to acquire Regulus Therapeutics for up to $1.7 billion, gaining the latter's microRNA therapeutic farabursen. The deal — announced Wednesday — includes $7 per share in cash upfront, or around $800 million, as well as a similarly priced contingent value right (CVR) of about $900 million linked to a regulatory milestone.

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 About health insurance/insurers

Humana posts $1.2B profit in Q1: Humana recorded a net income of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up from a net income of $741 million during the same period last year, according to its April 30 financial report. 
Total revenue for the three months ended March 31 was $32.1 billion, up from $29.6 billion during the same quarter last year. 
Humana reported total operating expenses of $30.1 billion in the first quarter, up from $28.4 billion. 
The payer’s medical loss ratio was 87.4% in the first quarter of 2025. The company expects a medical loss ratio between 90.1% and 90.5% for the full year.

Omnicare Hit With $136M Jury Verdict For Bilking Feds: A New York federal jury on Tuesday returned a verdict finding that CVS Health Corp. subsidiary Omnicare illegally billed the federal government to the tune of $135.6 million, one of the largest jury verdicts in a False Claims Act case… 

About pharma

U.S. Attorney Announces $202 Million Settlement With Gilead Sciences For Using Speaker Programs To Pay Kickbacks To Doctors To Induce Them To Prescribe Gilead’s Drugs FYI

Mark Cuban’s drug company leans further into specialty market: Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. has secured another partnership targeting the specialty pharmaceutical market, according to an April 28 news release shared with Becker’s. 
EverPharm, a specialty unit-dose medication company, is joining its portfolio with Cost Plus Drugs’ pricing model, which is the drug’s manufacturing cost plus a 15% markup and a $10 shipping and labor fee. On April 16, Cost Plus Drugs launched a similar partnership with Morris & Dickson, a full-line and specialty pharmaceutical distributor. 

About healthcare IT

Healthcare data breaches, by the numbers: Here are five things to know from Verizon Business’ 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, released April 23:
1. Healthcare had 1,542 data breaches from late 2023 to late 2024, an increase from the year prior.
2. System intrusion was the top kind of breach.
3. Of the threat actors, 67% were external while 30% were internal.
4. Financial interest was the No. 1 motive (90%) of hackers.
5. The top data compromised were medical (45%) and personal (40%). 

About health technology

Generalizability of FDA-Approved AI-Enabled Medical Devices for Clinical Use: In this cross-sectional study, clinical performance studies at the time of approval were reported for approximately half of AI-enabled medical devices, yet the information was often insufficient for a comprehensive assessment of their clinical generalizability, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring and regular re-evaluation to identify and address unexpected performance changes during broader use. 

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About health insurance/insurers

U.S. Supreme Court rules against Advocate Christ in fight over billions in Medicare payments: In the 7-2 decision on Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Kennedy announced Tuesday, the high court determined the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not need to count all beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, when tallying how many low-income patients a hospital treats. As a result, health systems will get paid less than they sought.
CMS only counts Medicare enrollees who got SSI cash payments during the same month they received hospital care — not anyone merely eligible for or enrolled in SSI — when calculating disproportionate share hospital payments for facilities that treat large shares of low-income patients.
Advocate Christ Medical Center in southwest suburban Oak Lawn and more than 200 other hospitals filed the lawsuit in 2017. 

Mental health network misled policyholders about provider options, lawsuit claims:  Elevance Health is facing a second lawsuit alleging it misrepresented providers as in-network, creating what are known as "ghost networks." The plaintiffs in this lawsuit, who are state employees covered under New York state health benefits, claim that Elevance Health's subsidiary, Carelon Behavioral Health, misled them, causing financial harm. The lawsuit seeks class-action status. 

About hospitals and healthcare systems

The cost of hospital closures in 21 numbers: See the article for the numbers. For example: An NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences report from March 2023 found of the 53 rural hospitals that closed, 66% were located in the South and 21% were in Appalachia. The spillover from these closures resulted in a $1.4 million average annual cost increase at for-profit hospitals, $2.1 million at government hospitals and $7.3 million for nonprofit hospitals.  

About pharma

Novo Nordisk strikes telehealth deals for obesity drug, following Eli Lilly: Novo Nordisk is expanding its efforts to sell its obesity drug Wegovy directly to patients, striking agreements with telehealth companies including Hims & Hers, Ro, and LifeMD.
Novo last month launched a new direct-to-consumer website called NovoCare Pharmacy that sells Wegovy, which normally carries a list price of about $1,350 a month, at $499 a month to patients who are paying on their own without insurance. With the new deals, patients can order this lower-priced Wegovy directly on the telehealth companies’ sites and get the treatment delivered to their homes. 

1st pediatric patient receives FDA-approved gene therapy: At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, an 11-year-old girl with severe beta thalassamia, became the first pediatric patient to receive Zyntelgo, the first FDA-approved gene therapy for transfusion-dependent beta thalassamia. 
Since receiving the therapy, the patient, Rahameen Nabeel, no longer requires blood transfusions and has seen dramatic improvements in her health and daily life, according to an April 28 news release from the hospital. 

Germany’s Merck to buy US biotech SpringWorks for $3.9bn: German pharmaceutical group Merck has agreed to buy US biotech SpringWorks Therapeutics for an equity value of $3.9bn, expanding its portfolio of cancer treatments and investing in the US despite policy uncertainties.

About the public’s health

Phthalate exposure from plastics and cardiovascular disease: global estimates of attributable mortality and years life lost: New evidence has emerged that plastic polymers and their chemical additives, particularly di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Phthalates are commonly used in the production of plastic materials and have been linked to increased oxidative stress, metabolic dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease…
 In 2018, an estimated 356,238 deaths globally were attributed to DEHP exposure, representing 13.497% of all cardiovascular deaths among individuals aged 55–64. Of these, 349,113 were attributed to the use of plastics. Geographic disparities were evident, with South Asia and the Middle East suffering the greatest percentage of cardiovascular deaths attributable to DEHP exposure (16.807%). The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific accounted for the largest shares of DEHP-attributable CVD deaths (73.163%). Globally, DEHP resulted in 10.473 million YLL. 

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About health insurance/insurers

Long-Term Spending of Accountable Care Organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program: In this difference-in-differences study of more than 8 million patients, ACO formation was associated with a mean differential reduction of $142 (1.2%) in annual per-patient spending over 3 years and $294 (2.4%) over 6 years. Physician-group and small ACOs generated relatively large reductions. Spending changes resulted in $4.1 billion to $8.1 billion in savings to Medicare between 2012 and 2019.
See, also: Reflecting on 2 Decades of Medicare ACO Experience

About hospitals and healthcare systems

From -18.5% to 28.8%: 28 health systems ranked by operating margins FYI

Sutter Health to pay $228M to settle antitrust lawsuit: Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has agreed to pay $228.5 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit that the health system used its market power to charge supracompetitive rates to major insurers, which resulted in higher premiums for members.
There is no admission of liability and the settlement is subject to court approval, according to an April 25 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.    

About pharma

Exclusive: US pharma tariffs would raise US drug costs by $51 billion annually, report finds: A 25% U.S. tariff on pharmaceutical imports would increase U.S. drug costs by nearly $51 billion annually, boosting U.S. prices by as much as 12.9% if passed on, a report commissioned by the industry's U.S. trade group and reviewed by Reuters shows.
The analysis, conducted by Ernst & Young, found the United States imported $203 billion in pharmaceutical products in 2023, with 73% coming from Europe -- primarily Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. Total U.S. sales of finished pharmaceuticals that year were $393 billion.

About the public’s health

U.S. government researchers present ‘phenomenal’ new data on HPV vaccines: A clinical trial run by the National Cancer Institute seems to confirm that a single dose of the vaccine used to prevent infection with the human papilloma virus is just as effective as two — and, therefore, also helps to prevent cancer.

9 in 10 Americans have put off health checkups, life-saving screenings: Key findings from Aflac’s third annual “Wellness Matters Survey” reveal that most Americans (94%) put off getting a health checkup or screening that could help identify and treat serious illness early. Why? Fear of bad news, personal embarrassment, inconvenience, logistical barriers, and distrust or dislike of doctors — especially among younger adults — rank among the most common reasons, according to the survey. 

Today's News and Commentary

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In other news:

Gen Z increasingly listens to peers over doctors for health advice: In all age groups, but especially among adults younger than age 35, peer-driven health care decisions surged between 2024 and 2025.
—45% of adults age 18 to 34 said they've disregarded their health provider's guidance in favor of information from a friend or family member in the past year — a 13-point increase from the previous year.
—38% of young adults said they've ignored their provider in favor of advice from social media, a 12-point increase from the year before. 

In a reversal, the Trump administration restores funding for women's health study: The Trump administration is restoring financial support for a landmark study of women's health, an official said Thursday, reversing a defunding decision that shocked medical researchers.

About health insurance/insurers

Payers ranked by CEO-to-worker pay ratios FYI

Centene posts $1.3B profit in Q1: Centene posted $1.3 billion in net income in the first quarter, per its earnings report published April 25.
Total revenues in the first quarter were $46.6 billion, up 15.4% year over year.
The company reaffirmed its year-end adjusted EPS guidance of greater than $7.25.
The company’s medical loss ratio was 87.5% in the first quarter and 87.1% during the same period last year. 

Insurers not required to cover medical marijuana, federal judge rules: A federal judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit that aimed to require insurers in New Mexico to cover medical cannabis as a behavioral health treatment. 
The complaint was originally filed in June 2022. On April 23, U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, ruling that New Mexico state law does not mandate insurance coverage for medical marijuana and that federal law would overrule any such requirement. 

About pharma

Ozempic copies restricted after US judge denies injunction: A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected a bid by compounding pharmacies to keep making copies of Novo Nordisk's popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy while a legal challenge over drug shortages unfolds, court records showed.
The decision came in response to a February lawsuit from a compounding industry group against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision that there was no longer a shortage of the medicines' active ingredient, semaglutide. 

Fiscal Impact of Expanded Medicare Coverage for GLP-1 Receptor Agonists to Treat Obesity: In this economic evaluation of 30 million cumulative Medicare beneficiaries identified as eligible for new GLP-1RAs for obesity treatment over the next 10 years, Medicare’s total projected costs for drug coverage of the GLP-1RAs were $65.9 billion. Health care savings of $18.2 billion were estimated to result in $47.7 billion in net increased spending.

U.S. Emergency Department Visits Attributed by Clinicians to Semaglutide Adverse Events, 2022–2023: With more than 5 million patients dispensed semaglutide in 2023, the estimated 20 226 ED visits in 2023 suggests a rate of fewer than 4 ED visits for adverse events per 1000 patients dispensed semaglutide. Most ED visits were due to adverse effects previously observed during randomized controlled trials of semaglutide, including gastrointestinal adverse effects and hypoglycemia when combined with other diabetes agents.
Comment: Note the study’s dates. With increased use of this class of medications, the overall number of ED visits is probably much larger today.

About the public’s health

[U.S.] Aid Funding Cuts Disrupt Child Vaccinations Almost as Much as Pandemic, Says UN: "Setbacks (are) at a similar level to what we saw during COVID-19. We cannot afford to lose ground in the fight against preventable disease," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director.

USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry: The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to prevent food poisoning from contaminated meat.
The department on Thursday said it was withdrawing a rule proposed in August after three years of development. Officials with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service cited feedback from more than 7,000 public comments and said they would “evaluate whether it should update” current salmonella regulations.

Trump's surgeon general nominee, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, faces scrutiny over credentials: President Trump's nominee to be the U.S. surgeon general, the Fox News contributor and family medicine physician Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has described herself as a double board-certified physician with a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine — credentials the president touted in his announcement.
But those claims about her certification and schooling appear to be misleading.  

State and Sociodemographic Trends in US Cigarette Smoking With Future Projections: The findings of these repeated cross-sectional surveys suggest that the difference in cigarette smoking prevalence between historically high vs low prevalence states will shrink by 2035, primarily from much faster declines among young adults in the traditionally highest prevalence states. Slower prevalence declines among older adults are likely to slow the decline in health consequences in these states.

Geographic Variation of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Uterine Cancer Survival: In this cohort study of 162 500 patients with uterine cancer, uterine cancer–specific survival was better among Asian patients, worse among Black patients, and not different among Hispanic patients compared with White patients. Location-stratified analyses comparing Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients with White patients with uterine cancer showed disparate survival within less and more diverse US locations; however, associations varied by race and ethnicity.

Association between non-skimmed milk consumption and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in US adults: insights from NHANES data: Our findings suggest a significant association between frequent non-skimmed milk consumption and risk of MAFLD, particularly in highly educated individuals. These results highlight the importance of dietary modifications, specifically reducing non-skimmed milk intake, as a potential preventive strategy for MAFLD, especially in high-risk populations.
Comment: RFK Jr. is pushing to add non-skimmed milk to Head Start programs and school lunches.

About healthcare IT

EHR interoperability by country: Where the US ranks: FYI (Spoiler alert: the US is at the bottom.)