About health insurance
Private Medicare Plans to Get Big Payment Boost From Trump Administration: Health insurer stocks soared on Tuesday because the Trump administration said it would substantially increase payment rates for Medicare insurers next year, generating more than $25 billion in additional revenue for the industry and doubling the boost proposed in January….
The rate increase of 5.06%, compared with 2.23% in the earlier proposal from the Biden administration, overshot even optimistic expectations from many Wall Street analysts.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
National Hospital Flash Report [April 8]:
Key Takeaways
1. Volumes remain strong, including in emergency departments.
Performance in February 2025 remains stable.
2. Outpatient revenue has slowed as inpatient revenue grows.
This indicates that rapid outpatient growth in the last few years may have reached its peak.
3. Expenses continue to rise. Non-labor expenses have been the primary driver thus far in 2025.
About pharma
Therapeutic Benefit of Top-Selling Oncology Drugs in Medicare: This cohort study found that four-fifths of top-selling US cancer drugs provide high added therapeutic benefits according to HTA agencies in France and Germany, and the most effective cancer treatments also earned a majority of revenues. However, cancer drugs offering low or no added benefits accounted for $6.7 billion in postrebate Medicare spending in 2022 and cost more per beneficiary than high added benefit drugs, suggesting opportunities for better aligning clinical benefits and prices of several top-selling cancer drugs. Factors contributing to the widespread use of low-value medications include incentives for pharmacy benefit managers to steer patients to higher-cost drugs, prescribers’ lack of awareness of drug costs, and direct-to-consumer advertising.
Walgreens posts $5.6B operating loss in Q2 : Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a $5.6 billion operating loss in its fiscal second quarter, an improvement from the $13.2 billion loss in the same period last year as the troubled retailer continues to prepare for a private equity buyout.
Operating losses included a $3 billion impairment charge tied to its Village MD business, according to an April 8 company news release.
About the public’s health
RFK Jr. tells CDC to change its guidance on fluoride in drinking water: …Kennedy has assailed the practice of community water fluoridation, alleging that it can harm brain development and bones. In an email on Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services said it “is reconvening the community preventative services task force to study and make a new recommendation on fluoride.” The task force will then issue a new recommendation, the agency added.
Comment: FACT: High doses of fluoride can harm brain development; but the amount used in municipal water systems prevent cavities.
Unique pain research office eliminated in HHS purge: The reduction in force enacted last week by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated all but one full-time position, out of roughly a dozen, within the National Institutes of Health Office of Pain Policy and Planning, a unit devoted to coordinating pain-related research across the federal government.
Comment: And yet, the government wants to fight addiction.
About health technology
New Blood Test Detects Alzheimer’s and Tracks Its Progression With 92% Accuracy: A newly developed blood test for Alzheimer’s disease not only helps confirm the presence of the condition but also provides information about how far the disease has progressed, according to research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden.
While we dismantle our government:
UK invests over $760M in medical research, will fast-track clinical trials: The UK government, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, announced a £600 million ($764 million) investment to build a centralised medical data repository to speed up the development of new therapeutics.
The new Health Data Research Service will create a single access point for scientists to view National Health Service (NHS) datasets, a move that's expected to slash "red tape for researchers."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also unveiled a measure to fast-track clinical trials in the UK. The policy aims to help researchers get clinical trials set up within 150 days — down from the 250-day lengths recorded in 2022. That time-saving goal is expected to be reached in March 2026 by eliminating bureaucracy and standardising contracts.