From Washington, DC,

• STAT News reports,
  • “National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya on Monday asserted that the agency remains committed to research that advances the health of minorities — despite the Trump administration’s sharp focus on rolling back programs dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • “Bhattacharya said that President Trump’s executive orders, which state that DEI programs are illegal and discriminatory and direct federal agencies to terminate any of their own such programs, are “misunderstood.”
  • “I don’t think that [the orders are] aimed at stopping fundamental research that advances the health and wellbeing of minority populations. I wouldn’t have accepted this job if that was the case,” he said. “I think that the health and wellbeing of minority populations, as well as every American, are a central focus of the NIH and will continue to be under my watch.”
    
• The NIH’s understanding matches the FEHBlog’s reading of those DEI program executive orders, which are directed at workforces, not healthcare.

• The Wall Street Journal adds,
  • “For months, investors have feared that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement would derail biomedical innovation. His ousting of Peter Marks—a senior official at the Food and Drug Administration and key proponent of faster drug approvals—sent biotech stocks tumbling last month and stoked concerns that the agency was being politicized and turned against science.
  • “A more nuanced narrative is now taking shape. 
  • “While heightened vaccine scrutiny and sweeping FDA staff cuts remain serious threats, recent signals have been more upbeat. In an interview late last week, newly appointed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary—a former Johns Hopkins surgeon—delivered a relatively bullish message for the biotech sector. Speaking with Megyn Kelly, Makary said he would speed up approvals for rare-disease treatments, cut reliance on animal testing by incorporating computational models and shorten the industry’s typical 10-year drug- development timeline.
  • “He also vowed to reduce pharmaceutical companies’ influence over the FDA approval process and end what he called the agency’s “cozy” relationship with the industry. Importantly, he emphasized a commitment to protecting innovation and maintaining a science-based approach to regulation.”

• Per an HHS news release,
  • “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a series of new measures to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply—a significant milestone in the administration’s broader initiative to Make America Healthy Again.
  • “The FDA is taking the following actions:
    • “Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives.
    • “Initiating the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings—Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B—within the coming months.
    • “Working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes—FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2—from the food supply by the end of next year.
    • “Authorizing four new natural color additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others.
    • “Partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct comprehensive research on how food additives impact children’s health and development.
    • “Requesting food companies to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously required.”

• The U.S. Public Health Service Task Force posted the following draft grade B recommendation that applies to “Pregnant and postpartum women who are at increased risk of perinatal depression.”
  • “The USPSTF recommends that clinicians provide or refer those at increased risk of perinatal depression to counseling interventions during pregnancy and the postpartum period.”
  • The recommendation notes “When final, this recommendation will update the 2019 recommendation statement on interventions to prevent perinatal depression. The current draft recommendation is consistent with the 2019 recommendation; both are B recommendations”
  • The public comment period ends on May 19, 2025.

From the public health and medical research front,

• The New York Times reports,
  • “The spread of measles in the Southwest now constitutes the largest single outbreak since the United States declared the disease eliminated in 2000, federal scientists told state officials in a meeting on Monday.
  • “The New York Times obtained a recording of the meeting. Until now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not publicly described the outbreak in such stark terms.
  • “More measles cases were reported mostly in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City and New York State in 2019. But health officials regard those as separate outbreaks, because they were fueled by multiple introductions of the virus by international travelers.
  • “C.D.C. officials now view the spread of measles in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico as a single outbreak, Dr. Dan Filardo, who leads the agency’s task force for the measles response, told state health officials at the meeting.”

• Medscape makes five long COVID predictions for 2025 and beyond.

• The American Hospital Association News tells us,
  • “A study published April 17 by BMC Infectious Diseases found increased incidents of Acinetobacter baumanniiand carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections between 2018 to 2022. A. baumannii is a pathogen considered to be a major cause of health care-associated infections. The study found that A. baumannii cases per 100 hospitalization encounters grew from 1.15 in 2018 to 1.25 in 2021, before dropping to 1.11 in 2022. The CRAB incidence rate grew from 0.39 cases per 100 hospitalization encounters in 2018 to 0.53 cases in 2022. 
  • “Researchers said the pathogen’s ability to survive in hospitals and in patients not showing any symptoms for extended periods of time contributed to increased outbreaks.” 

• MedPage Today points out,
  • “Cytisinicline increased biochemically confirmed abstinence [from smoking tobacco] nearly threefold versus placebo when taken for 6 weeks and more than fourfold when taken for 12 weeks.
  • “The drug was well tolerated with no treatment-related serious adverse events.
  • “The trial is expected to support filing with the FDA for a new drug indication as a tobacco-product cessation aid.”

• Beckers Hospital Review notes,
  • “A recent study found that changing the default prescription length for statins to 90 days significantly increased the number of long-term prescriptions written, potentially improving patient adherence. 
  • “The intervention, which was implemented at the University of Pennsylvania’s health system in Philadelphia, set 90-day prescriptions as the default option in the electronic health record for statins. By the end of the study, the health system saw the proportion of 90-day prescriptions rise from 71% to 91%, according to an April 22 news release from Penn Medicine. 
  • “The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on April 7, found that the change designed as a “nudge” to guide doctors toward better prescribing behavior had helped to reduce the need for patients to visit the pharmacy multiple times a year. 
  • “The findings suggest that default settings in EHRs can be a tool in increasing medication adherence without additional effort from clinicians, the release said.” 

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Healthcare Dive reports,
  • “Elevance posted mixed results for the first quarter but reaffirmed its 2025 earnings outlook, solidifying guidance it published early to pacify investors after UnitedHealth posted dismal results last week, leading to a selloff of health insurer stocks.
  • “UnitedHealth’s results were driven by unexpectedly high medical spending on Medicare Advantage members, a trend that Elevance on Tuesday said it had observed but wasn’t any more drastic than expected.
  • “Overall, Elevance beat Wall Street expectations in the quarter with revenue of $48.9 billion, up almost 15% year over year, in part due to the higher premiums it’s charging customers this year in a bid to resuscitate insurance margins. The insurer posted profit of $2.2 billion, down 3% year over year. Elevance’s stock was up slightly in morning trading following the results.”

• Per MedCity News,
  • “With rising operational costs, major shifts in Medicaid, and other financial pressures bearing down on the healthcare system, forecasting revenue and allocating resources effectively has never been as important for health plans as it is today. And anticipating the future has probably never been so challenging.
  • “Health plans have been gradually deploying artificial intelligence programs and sophisticated analytics for years to make programs more effective while reducing costs and mitigating financial risk.
  • “But with today’s challenges, the gradual approach has become a luxury. According to McKinsey, health plans should pick up the pace.”

• Modern Healthcare adds,
  • “Payers, providers and health technology companies may soon be asking accrediting organizations to sign off on their use of artificial intelligence.
  • “AI is being used across the industry but a lack of regulation at the state and federal levels is prompting industry stakeholders to create their own guidelines for safe and effective AI use. The next step might well see the issue addressed in accreditation programs.
  • “While the AI accreditation process could take years to develop, there is confidence that it will become commonplace. On top of the potential impact of AI on patient outcomes, there is a cost to develop and adopt products. This cost factor is driving the need for more transparency on model efficacy, said Dr. Lee Schwamm, chief digital health officer at New Haven, Connecticut-based Yale New Haven.”

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche ROG -0.31%decrease; red down pointing triangle
    plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, the latest major spending commitment by a big drugmaker as the industry faces President Trump’s tariff threats.” * * *
  • “The investment by Roche will fund new research hubs and new and expanded manufacturing facilities in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California, the company said Tuesday. The company said that investment would create 1,000 jobs at Roche and more than 11,000 elsewhere including nearly 6,500 construction jobs.
  • “The company currently has 15 R&D centers and 13 manufacturing sites in the U.S., employing more than 25,000 people.
  • “Roche said it would export more medicines from the U.S. than it imports once its new and expanded manufacturing site are in operation. The group’s diagnostics division currently already holds a surplus from the U.S., it said.”

• MedCity News relates,
  • “Aeroflow Health, a health tech company, last week announced a new diabetes management program, which aims to improve adherence, outcomes and care coordination for health plan members.
  • “Asheville, North Carolina-based Aeroflow Health was founded in 2001 and offers an array of medical devices covered by insurance. The company has four lines: Aeroflow Breastpumps, Aeroflow Diabetes, Aeroflow Sleep and Aeroflow Urology. In addition to medical devices, it provides education and consultations. The company has partnerships with more than 1,000 insurance plans and serves more than 1.4 million patients annually.
  • “Through the new diabetes program, patients gain access to educational content on how to manage their condition, including medication adherence, lifestyle modifications and glucose monitoring strategies. They can also use a new AI-powered digital health tool that syncs with continuous glucose monitoring data. This allows patients to receive personalized insights on their health, AI-driven coaching and communication with their provider.”