From Washington, DC,

• Federal News Network helpfully answers “common questions: about House Oversight Committee’s budget reconciliation cuts to federal and postal employee retirement benefits.

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “President Trump said he would nominate Casey Means, a California doctor and wellness influencer, to be the next surgeon general.
  • “Means has become more prominent with the rise of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. She and her brother, Kennedy adviser Calley Means, wrote a book, “Good Energy,” that became popular with Trump campaign staffers and later with Kennedy.
  • “Trump’s previous pick for the role, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, was scheduled to face a Senate confirmation hearing later this week. Trump said she would work with Kennedy at HHS in a different role.”
    
• Beckers Health IT adds,
  • “The FDA has appointed Jeremy Walsh as its first chief artificial intelligence officer, marking a step in tech modernization at the agency. 
  • “Mr. Walsh, who announced the career move in a May 2 LinkedIn post, will also oversee information technology in the role. 
  • “He joins the FDA after 14 years at government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton as a chief technologist, according to a May 6 report from Politico. In that role, Mr. Walsh developed cloud infrastructure and data analytics systems for agencies like the FDA, CDC, NIH, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military health services. 
  • “The appointment follows an April 3 directive from the Office of Management and Budget that stated each federal agency must appoint a chief AI officer within 60 days.”

• Per BioPharma Dive,
  • “A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet May 22 to discuss updating the formula of COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the fall and winter season, according to a draft notice posted Wednesday.
  • “The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will provide recommendations on selecting the specific coronavirus variant COVID vaccine manufacturers should target with booster shots. Their advice isn’t binding, but the FDA tends to follow it.”

From the public health and medical research front,

• Beckers Hospital Review tells us that “U.S. News & World Report released its annual Best States rankings May 6, and Hawaii took the top spot for healthcare.”

• The Los Angeles County, California, Department of Public Health “has declared a community-wide outbreak of hepatitis A following a sustained increase in clinical cases and elevated virus levels detected in local wastewater. Public Health confirmed 165 hepatitis A cases in LA County since 2024, which is three times the number of cases reported in 2023. Although unhoused individuals are at higher risk for contracting hepatitis A infection because they often have limited access to handwashing and toileting facilities, of the 29 hepatitis A cases confirmed to date in 2025, most have been among people without travel or housing risk factors. This increase in hepatitis A infections among people without risk factors has corresponded with recent increases in hepatitis A wastewater concentrations. While the risk to the general public remains low, community-wide protection actions are needed to ensure that transmission of hepatitis A is reduced.”
  • The County recommended vaccination against the disease for
    • “Any LA County resident who did not previously receive a hepatitis A vaccination and is seeking protection
    • “People experiencing homelessness
    • “People who use drugs (including non-injection).”

• The National Cancer Institute lets us know that “A device that measures the “stickiness” of cancer cells in tumor samples may help predict the likelihood of a patient’s cancer metastasizing. Researchers believe the device could eventually help doctors make more informed treatment choices.”

• Per Fierce Pharma,
  • Johnson & Johnson has generated evidence that the pace of oncology innovation is overwhelming physicians. A recent survey commissioned by the company found oncologists are struggling to keep up with new treatments and guidelines, pointing to a need for additional support to ensure patients get the most appropriate therapy.
  • Working with the Harris Poll, J&J surveyed 500 oncologists, urologists and advanced practice providers (APPs) across academic and community settings in the U.S. Three out of four oncologists said they find the pace of new drug development overwhelming. Around 70% of oncologists admitted they struggle to navigate the complexities of cancer treatment guidelines.
  • The survey suggests that continuing medical education helps, with 92% of oncologists agreeing it is crucial for providing cutting-edge treatments, but that more support is often needed. Extra support could help close the gap between the availability of new drugs and their successful implementation in clinical practice.

• MedPage Today informs us,
  • “Fremanezumab (Ajovy) reduced depression symptoms and monthly migraine attacks in people with episodic or chronic migraine and major depressive disorder, the phase IV UNITE trial showed.
  • “The mean change from baseline in monthly migraine days during a 12-week double-blind period was -5.1 days (95% CI -6.09 to -4.13) with fremanezumab and -2.9 days (95% CI -3.89 to -1.96) with placebo (P<0.001), reported Richard Lipton, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and co-authors.”

• Per Health Day,
  • “Patients with diverticulitis often try to control the digestive condition by cutting nuts, seeds and popcorn out of their daily diet.
  • “But that’s not necessary, a new study has found.
  • “Nuts and seeds do not increase the risk of diverticulitis, according to findings published May 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
  • “Our findings refute the widely held belief that dietary intake of particulate matter [like nuts or seeds] should be avoided to prevent diverticulitis,” wrote the team led by senior researcher Dr. Anne Peery, a gastroenterologist with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • “However, people can lower their risk of diverticulitis by adopting one of four common health-focused diets, researchers found.
  • “We assessed diet quality and found that multiple healthy diet patterns were associated with a reduced risk for incident diverticulitis in women,” researchers wrote.”

• Per Medscape,
  • “Lingering fatigue and depression are more common among women than men cancer survivors and often lead to a decrease in recreational physical activities in all patients, new data showed.
  • “However, moderate physical activity was linked to an almost 50% lower risk for cancer-related fatigue, and both moderate and vigorous physical activity were associated with a two- to fivefold reduced risk for depression among cancer survivors, according to the analysis presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025.
  • “The findings “highlight the importance of providing special attention and tailored interventions such as exercise programs, support groups, and mind-body behavioral techniques for vulnerable groups to help effectively manage fatigue and improve participation in recreational activities as they are an essential aspect of quality of life,” Simo Du, MD, a resident at NYC Health + Hospitals and Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, said in a news release.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Healthcare Finance reports,
  • “Hospitals across the U.S. are seeing both higher revenues and higher expenses, and operating margins have begun to contract slightly, according to March data published by Strata. 
  • “After holding steady at 1% in both January and February, operating margins for U.S. health systems narrowed slightly to 0.9% in March. Non-labor expenses rose faster than other expenses, due in part to double-digit increases in both drug and supply expenses versus the same month last year.
  • “Nationally, patient demand was up, with outpatient visits outpacing inpatient admissions. This compares with decreases in patient demand in February.
  • “Gross outpatient revenues led overall hospital revenue increases, jumping 10% year-over-year as hospitals and health systems continued 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% from Q4 2024 and 10.3% from Q1 2024, data showed.”

• Beckers Hospital Review adds, “Hospital margins had a slight increase in March despite significant patient volume declines, according to Kaufman Hall’s “National Hospital Flash Report” released May 7.”
  
• Modern Healthcare relates,
  • “Cleveland Clinic and Regent Surgical are working together to build ambulatory surgery centers.
  • “The nonprofit health system and the ASC developer announced a joint venture Wednesday. Cleveland Clinic is the majority owner of the venture, which will feature the Cleveland, Ohio-based system’s brand, according to a news release. The system did not say how many facilities will be built or when they will open.”

• Healthcare Dive points out,
  • “Northwell Health has completed its merger with Danbury, Connecticut-based Nuvance Health, the system said in a Wednesday press release.
  • “The deal officially closed May 1, after the systems received the final greenlight from Connecticut regulators last month.
  • “The merger creates a nearly $23 billion system, with 28 hospitals, 1,050 ambulatory care sites, 73 urgent care centers and more than 104,000 employees, according to the news release.
  • “Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling will remain at the helm of Northwell and lead the combined system, according to a company spokesperson. Meanwhile, Nuvance President and CEO John Murphy will oversee Nuvance operations, reporting to Dowling.”
• and
  • “One year has passed since Steward Health Care filed for bankruptcy, launching the largest healthcare provider restructuring in decades, including a monthslong effort to sell its 31 hospitals.
  • “Five Steward hospitals have permanently closed since its bankruptcy, while two more temporarily paused services. Many of the remaining facilities have landed back in the hands of private equity and investor owners, according to a new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.
  • “The outlook for the hospitals is grim, after those that were “lucky enough not to close” were “simply punted from one investor-owned company to another, with little oversight or conditions from regulators to protect patients and community access to critical healthcare services,” the report says.”

• Per MedCity News,
  • “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been a tough area for drug research, but Eli Lilly has been spreading its bets in this neurodegenerative disease by striking deals with other companies. The pharmaceutical giant is adding to its stable of ALS drug candidates with a licensing agreement that brings a novel antibody on track to begin testing in humans.
  • “According to deal terms announced Tuesday, Lilly is licensing Alchemab’s ATLX-1282, an antibody that the companies say brings a first-in-class approach to ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Specific financial details were not disclosed, but Lilly is committing up to $415 million to its partner, which includes an upfront payment and milestone payments.”