Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

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

• The House Energy Commerce Committee health subcommittee holds a hearing on February 11 with Pharma and PBM executives.

• Fierce Healthcare adds,
  • “In the $1.2 trillion budget package signed Tuesday, a little-known healthcare provision was reauthorized that will allow millions of people on Medicare to access diabetes prevention education online. 
  • “As part of the budget package, Congress passed the PREVENT DIABETES Act, which extends the ability for digital health companies (virtual suppliers) to participate in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) through the end of 2029. 
  • “Medicare Part B patients who are at risk for Type 2 diabetes can participate in the program for free, if they meet certain clinical thresholds for weight, blood pressure or blood glucose. The program lasts for a year and consists of 22 sessions on lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes. 
  • “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual providers like Omada Health, 9am Health and Amwell have entered the business on temporary authority, much like other Medicare telehealth services.” 

• Under the budget package, the Homeland Security appropriations bill remains under a continuing resolution which expires on February 13.

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• Healthcare Dive reports,
  • “Hims & Hers has abandoned plans to sell a compounded version of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss pill following backlash from U.S. regulators and the threat of a federal investigation. 
  • “In a short statement posted on the social media platform X Saturday, Hims said that, after “constructive conversations with stakeholders across the industry,” it “decided to stop offering access” to the treatment. “We remain committed to the millions of Americans who depend on us for access to safe, affordable, and personalized care.” 
  • “The sudden turn quickly ends, for now, plans by the telehealth company to launch a copycat form of Novo’s “Wegovy” pill. Hims had announced those plans on Thursday and, in doing so, quickly drew legal threats from Novo as well as swift action from the Food and Drug Administration.” 

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• Clinical Advisor reports,
  • “Measles is now extending beyond families with young children, with outbreaks reported on college campuses and communities across the country.
  • “At least 12 people have tested positive for measles at Ave Maria University in Florida, near Naples, since January 29, according to local officials. Three people were taken to the hospital.
  • “A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also tested positive after traveling overseas.
  • “Earlier this year, Clemson University in South Carolina confirmed a measles case linked to someone with ties to the school.
  • “It takes only 3 cases of measles for health officials to declare an outbreak.
  • “So far in 2026, at least 17 states have reported infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

• CNN tells us,
  • “We often discuss depression and dementia separately, although scientists have long observed a connection between the two: People with depression appear to have a higher likelihood of developing dementia later in life.
  • “A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry adds an important twistin untangling that relationship and looks beyond depression as a single diagnosis. By focusing on specific symptoms, the research raises a more precise and potentially more useful question: Could certain symptoms in midlife signal greater vulnerability to dementia decades later? And if so, what should people and clinicians do with that information now?”
  • The CNN reporter interviews CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen about the study.

• Medscape informs us,
  • “As GLP-1s continue to surge in demand, older patients in your practice may inquire about these medications for their weight-loss efforts. Although they are known to improve conditions such as high cholesterol and obesity and help with the management of type 2 diabetes, certain precautions should be considered for patients older than 65 years.
  • “Older adults often do their own research on wellness trends. If they ask about GLP-1 medications, knowing clinical and science-based facts can keep them informed and safe. Some experts say these medications and this patient population should be carefully considered.
  • “[In the article,] Yuval Pinto, MD, DABOM, assistant professor of medicine and part of the Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, laid out some of the risks.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “Two years ago, a GLP-1 prescription could cost an uninsured patient more than $1,000 a month. Today, Novo Nordisk’s NOVO.B Wegovy pill starts at just $149 through cash-pay programs. 
  • “In the world of Big Pharma, this is unheard of. 
  • “Typically, drug prices climb or plateau until generics arrive years later. That trend should be even stickier in a duopoly. Yet the obesity market has turned traditional pharma economics upside down. As Leerink analyst David Risinger notes, there isn’t a comparable precedent for this level of price erosion in the industry’s history.” * * *
  • The question both companies [Novo and Lilly] are now racing to answer is just how elastic consumer demand is in the obesity market. Lower prices are clearly unlocking growth in demand, especially in the cash-pay market. As Novo Nordisk Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen argued in an interview this week, this isn’t a price war, so much as a search for the price points that open the floodgates of access.
    
• The New York Times lets us know “How to Tell if You Will Save Money Using TrumpRx.”
  • “People may be able to pay less for prescriptions with their insurance rather than via the new government website. The Trump drugstore is meant to help people buy medications using their own money.”

• Beckers Payer Issues notes,
  • “Elevance Health bid on 11 national accounts in competing Blue Cross Blue Shield markets last year and won nine of them, the company said on its 2025 earnings call with investors, offering the first look at how a landmark antitrust settlement is reshaping competition within the Blues ecosystem.
  • “This is the first year that we’ve had the opportunity for employers in competing geographies against us who could actually quote with our organization if they wanted,” Morgan Kendrick, Elevance’s president of commercial and specialty health benefits, said Jan. 28.
  • “The provision, known as the “second blue bid,” stems from a $2.67 billion settlement that resolved allegations dating back to 2012 that BCBS companies conspired to divide up markets and avoid competing with one another, thereby driving up costs for consumers. Among other changes, the settlement struck down a rule that required large employers to work with the BCBS insurer covering the geography where the employer is headquartered.
  • “Now, for certain large national accounts, employers can solicit bids from any BCBS plan in the country, not just the one licensed in their service area. Elevance’s 9-for-11 record is the first concrete data point on how the settlement is reshaping competition among Blues plans, but industry observers say the effects could stretch beyond one selling season.
  • “Ari Gottlieb, a consultant to insurers and owner of A2 Strategy, told Becker’s the provision will primarily benefit BCBS plans with the existing scale and technology to compete nationally.”