Simplicity is a virtue.

From Washington, DC,

• Govexec reports,
  • “As the Trump administration prioritizes combating fraud in federal programs, the House this week passed almost a dozen bills, several of which are bipartisan, intended to strengthen agencies’ ability to detect and stop fraudulent payments. 
  • “The Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act (H.R. 8312) would establish an inspector general office within the Treasury Department dedicated solely to countering grift in programs that provide funding to non-federal entities.” * * *
  • “The House passed the measure in a 240-181 vote with the support of 28 Democrats.” * * * 
  • “Lawmakers also passed, without any recorded opposition, bills that would increase, from $10,000 to $20,000, the minimum monetary reward for federal employees whose disclosure of fraud, waste or mismanagement leads to cost savings (H.R. 428) and require certain government workers to receive training on preventing fraudulent and improper payments (H.R. 8428).” 

• Per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services news releases,
  • “A new proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would establish a permanent framework for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (“Negotiation Program”), creating a more transparent and sustainable process for lowering drug costs for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. The proposed rule would also create greater long-term certainty for drug manufacturers that participate in negotiations. It includes policies for negotiating and renegotiating high-cost, single-source drugs beginning with initial price applicability year 2029, while continuing to support innovation and strengthen the program.
  • “This proposed rule lowers drug prices for seniors and ensures continued savings,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “We are moving from annual updates to a permanent, predictable framework. This approach puts patients first, strengthens Medicare, and protects the innovation pipeline that delivers future cures.” * * *
  • “To view the proposed rule on the Federal Register, visit: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/current. 
  • “To view a fact sheet on the proposed rule, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mdpnp-nprm-fact-sheet.pdf. 
  • “To view Initial Price Applicability Year 2029 Key Milestones and Timeline, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mdpnp-nprm-milestones.pdf“
• and
  • “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking steps to improve healthcare quality and patient safety through enhanced oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AO). Today’s final rule, Strengthening Oversight of AO and Preventing AO Conflicts of Interest, ensures that the organizations responsible for the oversight of more than 9,000 healthcare providers and suppliers use Medicare standards, and creates greater consistency  between State Survey Agencies (SAs) and AOs in their respective survey processes. These changes will reduce provider burden, strengthen survey policies, and increase transparency.
  • “The work accrediting organizations do is vital, but it also raises an age-old question: who watches the watchmen? The answer is, we do,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “With this new rule, CMS is advancing its commitment to upholding rigorous standards for accrediting organizations and ensuring the health and safety of American patients.”
  • “To view the final rule on the Federal Register, visit: https://www.federalregister.gov/  
  • “To view the Fact Sheet, visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/strengthening-cms-oversight-accrediting-organizations“

• NCQA, writing in LinkedIn, tells us,
  • “Healthcare organizations across the country are committed to improving health equity—but many struggle with a fundamental question: how do you measure progress in a meaningful, actionable way?
  • “A new resource, Cracking the Code: A Health Equity Analytics Implementation Playbook for Healthcare Organizations, helps answer that question. The playbook offers a structured, practical approach for using advanced analytics to identify disparities, measure improvement and guide action.” * * *
  • This playbook is part of a broader effort to close gaps in care through measurement and incentives. Join us for a webinar, Beyond Measurement: Turning Health Equity Insights Into Action, hosted by The Commonwealth Fund and the California Health Care Foundation on June 30 at 3:30 pm (ET), to learn more about this work and other health equity accountability initiatives.

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• MedTech Dive reports,
  • “Penumbra said Thursday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its Thunderbolt computer assisted vacuum thrombectomy device to perform clot removal in stroke patients.
  • “The device is a first-of-its-kind treatment for acute ischemic stroke, introducing modulated aspiration technology to enable faster and more complete clot removal in neurovascular thrombectomy, Penumbra said.
  • “FDA authorization of the device is a positive for Boston Scientific, which agreed to acquire Penumbra for about $14.5 billion in January to expand in the mechanical thrombectomy and neurovascular markets.”

• Per FDA news releases
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing the first over-the-counter (OTC) continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for children, Dexcom Inc.’s Stelo Glucose Biosensor System, an integrated CGM (iCGM) indicated for people two years of age and older who do not use insulin. The FDA previously cleared the Stelo Glucose Biosensor System OTC for individuals 18 years and older in March 2024.
  • “Children deserve access to the best tools available to manage their health,” said Center for Devices and Radiological Health Director Michelle Tarver, M.D., Ph.D. “Today’s clearance reflects the FDA’s commitment to fostering innovation for pediatric patients and supporting the safe and effective use of medical devices where children live, learn, and play.”
• and, for pet lovers in Texas and other States bordering on Mexico,
  • “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for generic Nitenpyram Tablets (nitenpyram) for the treatment of New World screwworm (NWS) infestations (myiasis) in dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens that weigh at least two pounds and are at least four weeks old. This is the first generic animal drug authorized for use against NWS. * * *
  • “NWS flies lay eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of mammals and the larvae hatch within hours and burrow into the animal’s flesh. Nitenpyram works quickly, killing most NWS larvae within hours of the first dose. Pet owners should administer a second dose six hours after the first. Because the effects are short-acting, Nitenpyram Tablets do not prevent NWS myiasis or protect against reinfestation.
  • “Following treatment with Nitenpyram Tablets, a veterinary professional may need to physically remove any remaining live or dead larvae. This task is best performed by someone with training in veterinary medicine to minimize the risk of infection or further tissue damage. Pet owners should consult a veterinarian about appropriate wound care and how to minimize the risk of reinfestation.
  • “Nitenpyram Tablets are available over the counter and come in two tablet sizes: 11.4 and 57 mg. Dosage is based on a dog’s or cat’s weight. Do not administer to pets less than two pounds.”

From the judicial front,

• Benefits Pro informs us,
  • “Aetna has accused a surgeon, his wife and affiliated clinics of pumping up bills by having patients start at in-network hospitals, then sending the patients to out-of-network affiliates for many services from February 2022 through April 2026.
  • “Once the patients were at the out-of-network affiliates, the affiliates billed Aetna at high out-of-network rates, according to a complaint Aetna filed June 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
  • “The affiliates made the high rates stick by using the No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution system to approve the claims, Aetna told the court.”

• Beckers Payer Issues summarizes “what to know about MultiPlan’s litigation saga.”

• Healthcare Dive reports,
  • “UnitedHealth has reached a tentative settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in the agency’s lawsuit against the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers for allegedly inflating the cost of insulin. 
  • “The FTC is pausing the case against UnitedHealth’s PBM Optum Rx and its group purchasing organization Emisar. The agency will consider a proposed consent agreement that would “resolve the claims against the Optum Respondents in their entirety” if approved by FTC leadership, according to an order released Friday. 
  • “The potential deal comes nearly three months after CVS Health reached a proposed settlement with the agency. Cigna’s Express Scripts settled its case with the FTC early this year.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today,
  • “As of June 12, 2026, the amount of acute respiratory illness causing people to seek health care is very low.
  • “RSV activity is low in most areas of the country. Emergency department visits and hospitalizations for RSV are highest among infants and children younger than 4 years old.
  • “COVID-19 activity is low in most areas of the country.
  • “Seasonal influenza activity is low.
  • “Parainfluenza (PIV), a respiratory virus that can cause illnesses such as croup, is elevated nationally. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and rhinovirus/enterovirus (RV/EV), which often cause cold-like respiratory illness, are also elevated nationally but declining. Whooping cough is still circulating.”

• The University of Minnesota’s CIDRAP reports,
  • “With 43 newly confirmed infections, US measles cases reached 2,073 today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update, as Virginia has become the nation’s newest hot spot.
  • “All but 10 of the US infections this year are locally acquired, with the rest related to travel outside the country. The total for all of last year was 2,288 confirmed cases.
  • “The agency reported no new measles outbreaks, so that total stands at 30. The nation saw 48 outbreaks for the entire year in 2025.’ * * *
  • “The largest rise in cases has been in Virginia, with 110 listed on the CDC measles map, 20 more than last week. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) yesterday confirmed 111 cases, 34 of which are new. Officials say 88 of the infections are linked to an outbreak in the state. Seven cases are linked to international travel, with the rest locally acquired.
  • “According to a VDH news release today, at least 88 of Virginia’s cases, or 79%, are in Buckingham County, and all have occurred in the past month.”

• MedPage Today relates,
  • “A 2010 paper that linked hepatitis B vaccines in infant boys to an increased risk of autism diagnosis was retracted and another study by the same authors is under investigation.
  • The study, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part Aopens in a new tab or window, claimed that boys vaccinated as neonates had a three times higher odds of an autism diagnosis compared with boys vaccinated after their first month of life or not at all.
  • “The paper was included in a safety reviewopens in a new tab or window of hepatitis B birth vaccination alongside work from David Geieropens in a new tab or window and presented to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at their meeting on December 4opens in a new tab or window, the day before the committee voted to dropopens in a new tab or windowthe agency’s long-standing recommendation that every newborn receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
  • “A 2008 paper in Toxicology and Environmental Chemistryopens in a new tab or window from the same authors — Carolyn Gallagher, PhD, of Stony Brook University in New York, and Melody Goodman, PhD, currently the dean for the School of Global Public Health at New York University — is also under investigation, according to Taylor & Francis, the British company that publishes both journals.”

• Cardiovascular Business informs us,
  • “Small changes in the heart over time may signal an increased risk of certain cancers, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.[1]
  • “The study’s authors reviewed data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), focusing on more than 4,500 patients between the ages of 45 and 84 with available cardiac MRI results. Patients were followed for an average of 18 years.
  • “Overall, researchers found that certain cardiac MRI measurements already tracked to monitor cardiovascular health are also associated with cancer risk. For example, patients with increased heart muscle mass were more likely to go on to develop breast cancer. In addition, reduced left atrial function was linked to a greater risk of going on to develop colorectal cancer.
  • “This study suggests that structural and functional changes in the heart may occur alongside – or even before – biological processes linked to cancer development,” lead author Xinjiang Cai, MD, PhD, a UCLA Health cardiologist and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in a statement. “It adds to mounting evidence that these two diseases share underlying biological pathways and are intertwined.”
  • Click here for the full study.

• Per Health Day,
  • “Getting enough vitamin C may be linked to better brain health as we age.
  • “Researchers in Japan studied more than 2,000 adults over the age of 64, comparing vitamin C levels in their blood plasma to MRI scans of their brains.
  • “They found that participants with lower vitamin C levels tended to have lower gray matter volume. They also had weaker connectivity within the brain’s default mode network — a collection of regions involved in functions such as attention and autobiographical memory.
  • “After accounting for factors that can influence brain health, including age, physical activity and education level, those links remained.
  • “This finding generates the exciting hypothesis that a diet rich in vitamin C might play a supportive role in maintaining brain health and mitigating age-related cognitive decline in older adults,” said study coauthor Tomohiro Shintaku of the Graduate School of Medicine at Hirosaki University in Japan.”
• and
  • “Melanoma disproportionately affects seniors and men, according to a research letter published in the June issue of the Journal of Geriatric Oncology.
  • “Megha Srivastav, from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues analyzed skin cancer incidence (2018 to 2021) and underlying causes of mortality due to skin cancer (2018 to 2023) among adults aged 65 years and older in Florida, using deidentified death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database.” * * *
  • “Taken together, our findings suggest that skin cancer in Florida is driven not only by ultraviolet exposure, but also by behavioral patterns, biological factors, and persistent gaps in prevention and early detection — particularly among older men,” senior author Lea Sacca, Ph.D., also from Florida Atlantic University, said in a statement.”
    
• Genetic Engineering and BioTechnology News notes,
  • “Although gene therapy has shown promise for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the limitations of viral vectors have proven challenging to clinical advancement. Now, a new treatment platform delivered skeletal-muscle-targeted full-length DMD mRNA systemically in a murine model of DMD, successfully restoring the production of dystrophin, and dramatically improve muscle strength, endurance, and function in vivo.
  • “The approach uses allogenically engineered targeting extracellular vesicles (DMD t-EVs)— which offer distinct benefits over current viral-based gene therapies, including reduced side effects and the ability to transfer the entire DMD gene. The researchers engineered the EVs with special tags that directly target skeletal muscles after being injected into the bloodstream. The work also demonstrated the safety and biocompatibility of DMD t-EVs in non-human primates, supporting their translational potential.
  • “Our new platform overcomes the limitations of current viral-based gene therapies, allowing for the delivery of full-length mRNA, restoring wild-type translation of dystrophin and significantly improving muscle function,” said Betty Kim, MD, PhD, in the department of neurosurgery at UT MD Anderson. “We are highly encouraged by these results, which provide a blueprint for mRNA-loaded EVs as a next-generation therapeutic strategy.”
  • “The study, published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, is entitled, “Skeletal-muscle-targeted non-viral delivery of full-length DMD mRNA for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.”

• Per BioPharma Dive,
  • “Johnson & Johnson said its autoimmune drug Imaavy, touted as a top seller for the company, succeeded in a Phase 2/3 trial against a rare disease linked to anemia. The pharmaceutical giant said Thursday its drug, which is already used to treat myasthenia gravis, produced durable hemoglobin levels in people with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia when compared to placebo after 24 weeks. The study enrolled 115 adults who received either Imaavy at two different doses or placebos. The data will be presented at the annual European Hematology Association meeting and support a drug label expansion to treat people with this disease, which has no approved treatment options, J&J said.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Kaufman Hall tells us,
  • “Use of urgent care centers and retail health clinics varies by age, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics. Patients age 65 or older tended to use retail health clinics more than urgent care centers. The opposite was true for pediatric populations who visited urgent care centers almost three times as much as retail health clinics. Where patients live played only a moderate role in their preference, suggesting the importance of both options across urban and rural settings.”
    
• Fierce Pharma lets us know,
  • “The share of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill among total Wegovy scripts appears to have reached a plateau, hovering around one-third over the past few weeks. The latest number for the week ended on June 5 was 33%, compared with 30%, 32% and 31% in the prior weeks, according to Citi. 
  • “Meanwhile, the obesity market share split between Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound has been relatively stable at around 40% to 42%, as the Indianapolis pharma’s oral Foundayo makes up only a small portion of the market even though its own scripts continue to build.
  • “Wegovy’s total scripts were up 9.8% on a weekly basis, reaching nearly 484,500. Within this haul, Wegovy pill contributed roughly 159,000, the oral version’s highest since its launch. The drug’s previous highest was 146,000 before dipping to 134,000 in our last update.
  • “Zepbound’s scripts also grew week over week by 9.3%, nearing 667,400 for the week. During the same period, IQVIA tracked slightly shy of 20,000 scripts from Foundayo in its ninth week on the market, compared with nearly 17,000 the prior week.”  

• Fierce Healthcare reports,
  • “A group of partners has launched a turn-key program to help pharmacies embrace remote patient monitoring (RPM) and get reimbursed.
  • “The partnership is between telehealth infrastructure provider OpenLoop, RPM platform Tenovi and RxHealing, which provides operational support to pharmacies doing RPM. The program’s goal is to empower pharmacies, particularly independent ones in rural areas, to oversee and support chronic care patients between scheduled office visits. 
  • “There is no cost to pharmacies to stand up the program, executives said. The program will initially bill Medicare Part B, with commercial expansion planned.
  • “It’s a pretty seamless, out-of-the-box thing,” Jon Lensing, co-founder and CEO of OpenLoop, told Fierce Healthcare. “The work that [pharmacies are] getting reimbursed for now, they have historically done anyway, so for them there’s really no extra workload or lift.”