From Washington, DC,

• The Wall Street Journal reports.
  • “The Congressional Budget Office last week put out an “are you sitting down?” report that projected the U.S. government will spend $1 trillion on interest payments for its debt this year. One. Trillion. Dollars. To finance its gigantic and growing debt. And it will only get worse from there.
  • “It also projected that the U.S. government will spend $1.853 trillion more than it brings in through revenue this year (that’s the budget deficit) and have an even wider gap in 2027. Talks of slashing spending and making difficult choices last year have given way to election-year spending-increase promises in 2026. Perhaps complicating matters more, DOGE never really caught on in 2025, and Republicans seem reluctant to repeat that experiment any time soon.
  • “Budget angst tends to come in waves, but the debt never stops growing. I wrote about the $13.7 trillion debt here in 2010. That was $25 trillion ago.”
• and
  • “The [Homeland Security Department] shutdown enters Day 4, with little chance of an end in sight after Congress failed to reach a deal on immigration-enforcement policies.”

• Federal News Network reminds us about the bipartisan federal employment bills brewing in Congress.

• Last Friday, the HHS Office for Civil Rights posted model HIPAA notices of privacy practices that were update for the Part 2 changes.

• Navia Benefits lets us know,
  • “Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have traditionally been viewed as a tax-advantaged way to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. But today’s data tells a much bigger story: they can function as a powerful financial wellness tool.
  • “HSAs are increasingly operating like powerful long-term investment vehicles rather than just spending accounts. Yet misconceptions persist across the workforce, and employee education continues to lag. With rising healthcare costs and growing financial pressures, it is a good time to elevate the HSA conversation.
  • [Navia’s article] examines the triple tax advantages, workforce perception trends, and evidence-based insights to guide employers in maximizing HSA participation and value.

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• Per a Senate news release,
  • :U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a landmark report detailing legislative and regulatory reforms to modernize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These proposals aim to maintain American biomedical dominance and ensure patients have timely access to the latest lifesaving treatments. The HELP Committee’s recommendations are directly in line with President Trump’s mission to improve the health of American children and families.

• Fierce Pharma tells us,
  • “Harmony Biosciences is rounding out the U.S. patient pool eligible for its sleep disorder pill Wakix after notching a pediatric nod from the FDA that positions the drug as a treatment for cataplexy in people ages 6 and older with narcolepsy.
  • “The new addition to Wakix’s label makes it the only non-scheduled treatment for both adult and pediatric narcolepsy patients in the U.S. with or without cataplexy. That non-scheduled classification represents an “important distinction that supports its clinical utility,” Harmony’s CEO, Jeffrey Dayno, M.D., commented in a press release. Cataplexy is a common symptom of narcolepsy that involves a sudden weakening of muscles, often when triggered by a strong emotion.”
• and
  • “Two months after Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant Faspro picked up its first FDA approval, the subcutaneous lung cancer drug has scored a label expansion to be given monthly.
  • “On Tuesday, J&J touted a “simplified” monthly dosing regimen for the drug’s combination with lazertinib for the first-line treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Previously, the combo was approvedas an every-two-week regimen.
  • “For weeks 1 through 4, patients must still receive weekly doses of Rybrevant Faspro. Beginning week 5, the doses can shift to monthly administration.”

From the judicial front,

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “Bayer BAYN is making a new multibillion-dollar push to resolve a years long legal nightmare over Roundup weedkiller.
  • “The German pharmaceutical and agriculture conglomerate on Tuesday said it proposed to settle a nationwide class-action lawsuit to resolve claims that its flagship herbicide causes cancer. The settlement plan includes setting aside more than $7 billion to fund payments over 21 years. 
  • “Law firms representing tens of thousands of plaintiffs filed a motion Tuesday seeking approval of the settlement. The proposal requires court approval in Missouri, where the bulk of Roundup cases are outstanding.” 

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• Patient Care reports,
  • “New data from the 2026 Primary Care Scorecard highlight measurable associations between regular primary care access and improved outcomes for patients with chronic disease.
  • “In the interview, Morgan McDonald, MD, National Director for Population Health at the Milbank Memorial Fund and practicing primary care internist and pediatrician, outlined key findings relevant to frontline clinicians.
  • “Among adults with chronic disease, having a usual source of care was associated with:
    • 20% lower hospitalization rates
    • 54% lower total cost of care
  • “For children with chronic disease, reductions in emergency department visits and hospitalizations for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions—such as pneumonia and otitis media—were “cut roughly in half.”
  • “The report also reinforces primary care’s role in prevention. Nearly all adults with a usual source of care received preventive services for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and common cancers, compared with approximately two-thirds of adults without a regular source of care. Similar trends were observed in pediatric populations, including higher receipt of counseling related to nutrition, exercise, injury prevention, and obesity prevention.”

• Infectious Disease Advisor tells us,
  • “Low rates of diagnostic testing for respiratory syncytial virus in adult outpatient settings may result in an underestimated disease burden, potentially impeding the effective use of novel vaccines and therapeutic interventions.” 
    
• MedPage Today informs us,
  • “Health systems where most pregnant patients have a high or moderate risk for preeclampsia may benefit from universal dispensation of aspirin, results from a large cohort study suggested.
  • “The rate of preeclampsia with severe features at a Texas health system was a relative 29% lower after it implemented universal aspirin dispensation in prenatal care compared with the period when aspirin was not recommended, regardless of risk factors (5.2% vs 7.1%; OR 0.71, 0.66-0.78, P<0.001), Elaine Duryea, MD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, reported here.”

• Medscape points out the top ten triggers for pancreatic cancer which is “an often silent disease.”

• STAT News reports,
  • “Compass Pathways on Tuesday disclosed results from two Phase 3 studies that support a potential approval of its psilocybin treatment for severe depression, but more detailed data are needed to determine how beneficial the drug would be for patients.
  • “In both trials, patients who received the company’s psychedelic medicine saw greater improvements on a measure of depression than the control group, Compass said in a press release. Its drug, called COMP360, could be the first psilocybin product on the market and the second psychedelic approved after Johnson & Johnson’s Spravato, a ketamine derivative.
  • “Taken together, the data “probably meets the bar for approval. It doesn’t shout out to you that this is miraculous,” said Jerry Rosenbaum, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, who was not involved with the study.”
• and
  • Ocular Therapeutix said Tuesday that its experimental treatment, called Axpaxli, maintained vision with less frequent injections compared to a standard treatment for patients with a common cause of age-related blindness — achieving the primary goal of a late-stage clinical trial. 
  • “However, the difference in the durability of treatment between Axpaxli and the active control in the study was narrower than investors expected — a finding that may spark debate about Axpaxli’s commercial potential in wet age-related macular degeneration, where effective drugs are already approved.”
    
• Fierce Pharma adds,
  • “Continuing the reinvention of its cancer drug Gazyva as a treatment for immune-mediated diseases of the kidney—which resulted in a lupus nephritis nod last fall—Roche is touting new data that could tee up the antibody for a world-first approval.
  • “In an early look at results from the late-stage Majesty study in adults with primary membranous nephropathy, Gazyva (obinutuzumab) helped significantly more patients achieve complete remission at the two-year mark compared with the immunosuppressant tacrolimus, Roche said in a Feb. 16 press release. 
  • “Gazyva’s performance enabled the trial to hit its primary endpoint, and key secondary endpoints further pointed to statistically significant and clinically meaningful outcomes on overall remission at Week 104 and complete remission at Week 76 of the study, the company said.” 

• Genetic Engineering and BioTechnology News relates,
  • “Researchers headed by a team at the University of California, Irvine, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health have built what they suggest is the first cell type-specific gene regulatory network (GRN) map for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which shows how genes causally regulate one another across different types of brain cells affected by AD.
  • “The researchers developed a machine learning framework, SIGNET (Statistical Inference on Gene Regulatory Networks), which reveals cause-and-effect relationships rather than simple genetic correlations, and applied this to uncover key biological pathways that may drive memory loss and brain degeneration. Their results pointed to numerous influential “hub genes” that offer promising potential new targets for early detection and therapeutic intervention. The investigators say their methodology is also applicable to other complex diseases, including cancer.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Fierce Healthcare reports,
  • “Ongoing headwinds caused by elevated utilization and medical costs continued to drag major health plans in the fourth quarter, completing the story of a complex 2025 for the industry.
  • “The most profitable company for the full-year was UnitedHealth Group, with $12.05 billion in earnings for 2025. The healthcare giant had a sizable lead on the next-highest payer in terms of profitability, which was Cigna at just below $6 billion.
  • “However, the company posted just $10 million in profit for Q4, the lowest tally among payers that turned a profit in the quarter. In Q4, the company saw a medical loss ratio of 92.4%, which settled to 89.1% for the full year.”

• Healthcare Dive relates,
  • “Nonprofit health system Ascension recorded a profit for the first half of its 2026 fiscal year, as the system focuses on expanding its ambulatory care network and growing its outpatient portfolio.
  • “Ascension earned $608 million in net income for the six-month period ended Dec. 31, 2025, more than double the $277 million notched in the prior-year period. 
  • “It’s another earnings statement to reach the black after Ascension sustained years of losses exacerbated by increased expenses and a cyberattack that hit the system in 2024.”

• Fierce Healthcare adds,
  • “CommonSpirit Health’s adjusted operating margin inched into the black during the three months ended Dec. 31 as the organization’s leadership touted “noticeable” quarter-to-quarter performance gains stemming from strong volumes and efficiency. 
  • “The 138-hospital Catholic nonprofit posted a $78 million operating loss (-0.8% operating margin) for the second quarter of its 2026 fiscal year; however, after normalizing for delayed income received through California’s provider fee program, the system reached a narrow operating income of $2 million (0.0% operating margin). 
  • “CommonSpirit also reported $456 million excess revenues over expenses after normalizing. A year prior and after adjustment, the organization had an operating income of $135 million (1.3% operating margin) and a $356 million bottom line, which it noted was bolstered by around $352 million of Federal Emergency Management Agency grant revenue.”

• Per Beckers Hospital Review,
  • “Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare’s nonprofit public charity, Prime Healthcare Foundation, acquired Lewiston-based Central Maine Healthcare on Feb. 16.
  • “The foundation received Maine’s approval to acquire Central Maine Healthcare in late November after sharing plans to acquire it in January 2025. 
  • “The transaction comprises Lewiston-based Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton (Maine) Hospital, Rumford Hospital, Rumford (Maine) Community Home, Auburn, Maine-based Bolster Heights Residential Care, Lewiston-based Maine College of Health Professions, Lewiston-based CMH Cancer Care Center, and more than 40 physician practices, according to a Feb. 16 news release.
  • “The Prime Healthcare Foundation comprises 21 hospitals across the U.S. following the acquisition, with more than $4 billion provided in charity care.” 
• and
  • “Marshfield Medical Center-Wisconsin Rapids Campus will open to patients March 1.
  • “The campus includes the soon-to-open hospital and Marshfield Clinic Wisconsin Rapids Center, according to a Feb. 16 health system news release.
  • “The hospital will include inpatient beds, an emergency department, exam and procedure rooms, radiological services that include general x-ray, computed tomography and ultrasound, and on-site laboratory testing.”
• and
  • “Telehealth company eMed has partnered with CVS Caremark to offer a GLP-1 benefit model that lets employers subsidize weight loss medications without covering the full cost, Axios reported Feb. 16. 
  • “The arrangement allows eligible employees to purchase GLP-1s online through eMed and receive weight management services including side effect management, weekly check-ins and blood testing. Employers can decide how much of the cost to subsidize, the report said.” 

• Per Healthcare Dive,
  • “Amwell is projecting lower revenue in 2026 after the health technology firm divested assets, executives said during an earnings call Thursday. 
  • “The firm expects revenue from $195 million to $205 million this year. In comparison, the telehealth vendor and health tech firm brought in revenue of $249.3 million in 2025.
  • “The top line for 2026 is smaller, but it’s “primarily high-quality, high-upside, sticky revenue,” CEO Ido Schoenberg said on the call.”

• Per MedTech Dive,
  • “Danaher said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire patient monitoring company Masimo for $9.9 billion to bolster its diagnostics franchise.
  • “Masimo will become a standalone business unit and brand within Danaher’s diagnostics portfolio, operating autonomously while strengthening Danaher’s offering in acute care settings, the companies said.
  • “Masimo’s advanced sensor technology and AI-enabled monitoring bring powerful new capabilities to our diagnostics portfolio,” Julie Sawyer Montgomery, Danaher’s executive vice president for diagnostics, said in a statement.
  • “The $180-per-share cash deal has been unanimously approved by both Masimo’s and Danaher’s boards, according to Masimo.”