From Washington, DC,

• Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will be in session on Capitol Hill this week for Committee business and floor voting.

• These two Congressional hearings scheduled for March 18, 2026, caught the FEHBlog’s eye.
  • House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health
  • 10:15 AM Local Time | 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
  • Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape
  • Meeting Details, and
  • House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health
  • 2:00 PM Local Time | 1100 Longworth House Office Bldg, Washington, D.C.
  • Improving Kidney Health Through Better Prevention and Innovative Treatment
  • Meeting Details

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• MedPage Today reports,
  • “CDC scientists estimate there have been at least 27 million illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 22,000 deaths from flu so far this season. At the same point last year, the estimates were at least 40 million illnesses, 520,000 hospitalizations, but about the same number of deaths.
  • “Flu infections surged in late December and were especially intense in some parts of the country. New York City health officials called it the most intense season in 20 years.
  • “At least 101 children have died so far this season, down from the unusually bad season in 2024-2025 that set a record for the most child flu deathsopens in a new tab or window this century with more than 200. For those whose vaccination status is known this season, about 85% were not fully vaccinated against the flu.
  • “The flu vaccine may not protect everyone from getting sick, but it can prevent people from becoming severely ill and dying. That’s why getting a flu shot remains worthwhile, Schaffner said.
  • “Relatively low flu vaccination rates did not help this season, but experts also blamed a new flu strain that was not well matched to the vaccine for causing most infections.
  • “The new strain, A H3N2 subclade K, seemed to spread more easily — though it did not necessarily cause more severe illness.”
• and
  • “Nearly 4% of people in the US initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) between July 2016 and October 2024 were later reclassified as having type 1 diabetes (T1D), a new analysis of data from the TriNetX database showed. 
  • “We still have this problem of identifying people with type 1 diabetes,” said endocrinologist Jeremy H. Pettus, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), who presented the study findings at the 19th International Conference on Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) 2026.
  • “We really have to think about this and move towards” using autoantibodies more often, he added. 
  • “Individuals who had been initially misdiagnosed tended to be younger than those who retained the T2D diagnosis, but there was no difference when stratified by BMI, Pettus reported. The reclassified group also had higher healthcare utilization.” 
    
• Cardiovascular Business tells us,
  • “A new study of U.S. healthcare data found that more than 1 in 3 working-age adults with cardiovascular disease are spending more than 10% of their income on healthcare expenses. In addition, 1 in 10 are facing catastrophic healthcare expenditures. 
  • “The data was published JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology.
  • According to the study’s authors, their analysis calls attention to the impact of the rapidly rising costs of cardiac care and the need for policy changes reducing financial barriers.
  • “Given the confluence of rising costs and worsening cardiovascular health among working-age adults, reducing financial barriers to care must be central to national efforts to improve cardiovascular outcomes in this population,” wrote lead author Smaraki Dash, MD, MPH, with the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues.
  • “Dash et al. said policies needs to be changed to ensure patients can afford consistent access to preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular services and that they do not forego care. Despite substantial national spending, cardiovascular risk factor control and outcomes have worsened in adults ages 25-64 since 2010. Financial barriers are likely driving these trends, especially among privately insured adults, who face higher out-of-pocket costs than those with public insurance.”

• The Wall Street Journal relates,
  • “Pain lasts longer for women than it does for men—partly because of differences in testosterone levels, a recent study suggests.
  • “Research has long indicated that men generally recover faster from pain and are less likely than women to develop chronic pain. Now scientists have a better idea why. 
  • “When you get injured, your immune system sends certain white blood cells to calm pain-sensing neurons and inflammation. In men, those white blood cells are more likely to produce a pain-resolving molecule that can quickly quell the ache, according to a recent study in the journal Science Immunology.
  • “The testosterone hormone is probably what drives the increased production of that pain-resolving molecule, known as interleukin-10, the researchers found.
  • “It’s not because women are too emotional or too soft, and the pain is just in their head,” said Geoffroy Laumet, a neuroimmunologist at Michigan State University and study co-author.”
• and
  • “Legalization of recreational marijuana by many states has made it easier for teens to get access to highly potent and convenient forms of the drug, creating new hazards for teen health. 
  • “New research shows that using it as little as once a month or less as a teenager is linked to an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders and doing poorly in school.
  • “Of the more than 460,000 teens ages 13 to 17 who researchers asked about cannabis use, the ones who said they had used it in the prior year had a higher likelihood of developing depression and anxiety disorders, according to a study published last month in the journal JAMA Health Forum.
  • “We can’t find a level of cannabis use in a teenager that we don’t see a negative effect,” said Dr. Ryan Sultan, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who treats patients with cannabis use disorder.
  • “The new concerns about the impact of marijuana on kids’ health is one of the factors driving a crackdown on the use of the drug at schools.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Per a Quest Diagnostics news release,
  • “Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced that its board of directors has elected Timothy (Tim) Wentworth, a highly seasoned business leader, to serve as a director. Including Mr. Wentworth, the company’s board has eleven members.” * * *
  • “Mr. Wentworth, 65, was most recently chief executive officer (CEO) of Walgreens Boots Alliance, where he helped restructure the company for its sale to Sycamore Partners in mid-2025. Prior to that, he was founding CEO of Evernorth Health Services,the health services organization of The Cigna Group that partners with health plans, employers and government organizations to deliver pharmacy, care, and benefit solutions.”
    
• Modern Healthcare reports,
  • Healthcare revenue rose faster than all other services categories in 2025, as increased prices for care and growing demand from an aging population affect the industry. 
  • Revenue tied to the delivery of healthcare services increased 8.6% year-over-year, compared with a 6.1% combined increase for all other categories in the services sector, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of Census Bureau data. Other industries in the services category include finance, transportation, real estate, entertainment and education.
  • “Despite the gain, the sector’s momentum is slowing. Healthcare revenue rose 10.1% in 2024 and 11.2% in 2023, according to the analysis.
  • “Estimates are based on the Census Bureau’s quarterly surveys for revenue and expenses at companies in select industries. The fourth-quarter survey released Thursday draws data from about 19,500 firms across all industries.” 
    
• Medcity News points out,
  • “The Aging Crisis Is Here, and Technology Is No Longer Optional.
  • “We need to pivot from a deficiency to an abundance model – from over-focusing on what an individual cannot do, to making the most of the physical and mental resources at hand to maximize independence, dignity, and quality of life. This includes rethinking physical environments and thoughtfully embedding technology to support capability rather than limitation as we adapt to a new reality.”

• HR Dive adds,
  • “20%
    • “The percentage of employees who said they view AI as a co-worker, per survey results published by Slingshot and parent company Infragistics.
  • “26%
    • “The share of workers who said they are experimenting with AI to improve their work, according to an analysis published by Gartner.”