Happy Presidents’s Day!

• Congress is on recess this week unless a bipartisan settlement over the issues causing the Department of Homeland Security shutdown is reached midweek.

• On Friday February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court may announce opinions, which are posted on the homepage after announcement from the Bench.

• STAT News reports,
  • “The Medicare Advantage program continues to bring in more older adults and people with disabilities, but not nearly at the same rates from just a few years ago.
  • “Almost 35.5 million people were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of Feb. 1, up roughly 3% from 34.4 million at the same time in 2025, according to new federal data analyzed by STAT. The growth during Medicare’s annual enrollment window, which runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, stagnated — with enrollment increasing just 1%.
  • “By comparison, annual enrollment growth in Medicare Advantage ranged between 7% and 10% between 2017 and 2024, according to historical data analysis by STAT.”
    
• Federal News Network interviews Jonathan Smith, the new President of the American Postal Workers Union. “Smith started his leadership role last November. He’s been a member of APWU since 1988, and previously served as president of APWU’s largest local, the New York Metro Area Postal Union.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• Insurance News Net reports,
  • “According to MetLife research, less than half of America’s workforce is holistically healthy, as employees battle rising costs and employers balance investing in benefits with broader cost-cutting measures. These early findings from MetLife’s 2026 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) underscore the challenge of sustaining workforce well-being and engagement in an environment in which employees and employers are financially strained, the report said.
  • “MetLife’s EBTS defines holistic health as a combination of physical, mental, financial and social health.
  • “Highlights of the study include:
    • “83% of employees said that rising living expenses and medical costs are their top stressors and 77% said that economic uncertainty is a major concern.
    • “On average, employees miss 6.1 days of work because of health-related issues and 50% of key employees often avoid seeking medical care because of out-of-pocket costs.
    • “Employers cited “controlling health care costs” as the #1 benefits objective. This surpasses productivity, loyalty, and attracts new talent for the first time since 2022.
    • “60% of employers increased their investment in benefits and 62% expanded their non-medical offerings.
    • ‘As overall workforce well-being has stalled, with just 44% of employees report feeling holistic healthy and engagement, loyalty and productivity remain flat.”

• NBC News relates,
  • “The recent death of the 48-year-old actor James Van Der Beek is again highlighting how colorectal cancer is increasingly killing younger people.”
  • “Overall, cancer death rates in people younger than 50 have dropped by 44% since 1990. But after increasing for decades, colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50. Colorectal cancer starts either in the colon or rectum. 
  • “Overall, cancer death rates in people younger than 50 have dropped by 44% since 1990. But after increasing for decades, colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50. Colorectal cancer starts either in the colon or rectum. 
  • “Federal cancer screening guidelines and the American Cancer Society recommend that people who have an average risk for colorectal cancer should begin screening at age 45 with a colonoscopy every 10 years, or a stool test every one to three years. Insurance companies use the guidelines to determine whether the screening is covered.” * * *
  • “It’s clear that colorectal cancer rates are rising among young people, but the cause is still poorly understood.
  • “Research suggests that rising rates of obesity and declining physical activity, changes in the gut microbiome and diets high in ultraprocessed foods, which have become more common since the 1980s, are largely to blame. Some early research has also suggested that antibiotic use and having certain bacteria in the gut could also play a role. 
  • Dr. Andrew Chan, a gastroenterologist and chief of the clinical and translational epidemiology unit at Mass General Brigham in Boston “said that while screening is important, people should also focus on improving their diet and getting enough exercise, two lifestyle factors that have been shown to significantly reduce a person’s risk of colorectal cancer. 
  • “Those types of interventions will hopefully have benefits that extend beyond screening,” he said. “Screening is important, but I don’t want us to ignore those other factors.”
    
• The American Medical Association lets us know “what doctors wish patients knew about stress management.”
  • “Whether it is using a stress ball or practicing yoga, stress relief is key. Brian Chaney, MD, of Baptist Health, offers tips for relief from stress.”

• Per MedPage Today,
  • “Lifelong intellectual activity, such as reading or museum visits, was tied to lower Alzheimer’s dementia risk in older adults.
  • “Adults with the highest level of cognitive enrichment developed mild cognitive impairment about 7 years later than others.
  • “Results persisted even after adjusting for Alzheimer’s pathology, suggesting strong cognitive resilience.”
• and
  • “Adherence to one of five healthy diets was tied to lower mortality risk and added up to 3 years to lifespan.
  • “Associations remained robust regardless of genetic predisposition for longevity.
  • “Diet focused on reducing diabetes risk showed the strongest link with lower death risk.”

• Cardiovascular Business tells us,
  • “Childhood obesity is associated with a significant risk of vascular damage, according to a new study of children between the ages of six and 11 years old. Researchers hope these findings make it clear just how important it is to prevent childhood obesity and encourage young children—with help from their families—to make healthy eating choices.
  • ‘The new analysis, published in the International Journal of Obesity, focused on 113 children who were categorized as either having a healthy weight or being overweight/obese. Each child was assessed using peripheral arterial tonometry. Overall, overweight and obese children performed worse on the reactive hyperemia index, a measurement of endothelial function. These children also had higher TNF-alpha gene expression and elevated levels of endothelial microparticles, which are both signs of vascular inflammation. Such inflammation has a long-term impact on the body, causing immune cells to age prematurely and doing permanent damage.
  • “The results of the study reinforce the seriousness of childhood obesity, showing that it needs to be reversed early on. We also warn about the need for public policies to reduce obesity in childhood, especially in socioeconomically vulnerable populations,” senior author Maria do Carmo Pinho Franco, a professor at the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil, said in a statement.”

From the U.S. healthcare business and artificial intelligence front,

• Modern Healthcare reports,
  • “Humana completed its acquisition of the primary care clinic operator MaxHealth from private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners.
  • “The deal adds 54 primary care clinics, four specialty sites and 24 affiliated facilities to Humana’s CenterWell healthcare services arm.
  • “The companies did not disclose financial details of the acquisition, and Humana declined to comment.
  • “Related: Humana is said to be near $1B deal for MaxHealth
  • “Tampa, Florida-headquartered MaxHealth counts more than 120,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients as customers, according to a Friday news release.”

• Cardiovasular Business informs us,
  • “Boston Scientific has agreed to acquire Penumbra, a California-based medtech company focused on vascular technologies, for approximately $14.5 billion. This is a cash and stock transaction that values Penumbra at $374 per share.
  • “Penumbra is known for its mechanical thrombectomy devices, including those used to perform peripheral vascular disease treatments, and a variety of offerings in the neurovascular space. The company, founded in 2004, currently has more than 4,500 employees and expects its 2025 revenue to total approximately $1.4 billion. That figure represents growth of more than 17% compared to the previous year. 
  • “Penumbra is a well-established company with an experienced, high-performing team and this acquisition offers Boston Scientific an opportunity to enter new, fast-growing segments within the vascular space,” Mike Mahoney, chairman and CEO of Boston Scientific, said in a prepared statement. “I’m thrilled to combine the talents and shared values of our teams—including welcoming Penumbra’s chairman and chief executive officer, Adam Elsesser, to our board of directors upon close. The addition of Penumbra can expand access for these novel technologies to more patients and customers around the world, further enhancing our revenue and margins over time with proven offerings that have a history of growth and innovation.”
    
• The Wall Street Journal discusses the signficance of the movement towards direct to consumer sales of GLP-1 drugs.
  • “Ro, a competitor to Hims, points to a different path. Rather than leaning on legally murky, high-margin compounded drugs, Ro acts as a telehealth gateway for branded medications. Ro also sold compounded GLP-1s during the shortages, but both Eli Lillyand Novo Nordisk now sell their drugs on the platform. As CEO Zach Reitano explains: “Too many problems in our healthcare system exist because the patient does not control the flow of money at the point of purchase,” he says. “When they do, the system rewires itself.”

• Beckers Hospital Review ranks physicians assistants’ pay by State.
  • “Compensation for physician assistants varies widely by state, with California reporting the highest mean PA income in 2024 at $151,351, according to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants’ 2024 Statistical Profile of Board Certified PAs by State.
  • “Nationally, the mean PA income was $129,291.
  • ‘The data, released Feb. 12, reflect responses from PAs who were board certified as of Dec. 31, 2024. Income figures are based on PAs’ state of residence and reflect total income from all PA positions combined for the most recent calendar year reported by respondents. Midpoints of income ranges were used to calculate mean and median values.”

• MedCity News observes,
  • “Health informatics leaders at NYU Langone Health think fully autonomous clinical AI is coming in the next five years or so, with algorithms soon able to manage routine tasks like blood pressure medication titration and diabetic retinopathy screening without human oversight. They argue automation is not just about efficiency, but also a practical and necessary solution to workforce shortages and system inefficiencies.”