From Washington, DC,

• STAT News reports,
  • “The four health system CEOs summoned before [the House Ways and Means Committee] Tuesday likely breathed sighs of relief early in the hearing, when it became clear they had friends in the audience. 
  • “Instead, committee members largely blamed the other party’s health care policies for driving U.S. health care prices to levels inaccessible to many Americans.” * * *
  • “A topic that came up frequently was hospitals’ practice of charging facility fees at their outpatient clinics, rendering the same services much more expensive when provided there compared with independent physician clinics. 
  • “Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Tex.) said that both Republican and Democratic presidents have included site-neutral payment reform, which would equalize Medicare reimbursement to hospital-owned and physician-owned outpatient clinics, in their budgets, “but we don’t do jack squat about it.” He asked the CEOs to raise their hands if they supported site-neutral payment reform. None did. 
  • “Smith echoed that sentiment, noting that Congress, including his committee, has tried to implement site-neutral payments. “But every time we try to advance these so-called site-neutral policies, big hospitals fight us tooth and nail,” he said.”

• AHIP notes,
  • “Hospital costs account for more than 40 cents of every premium dollar – more than any other category – and many hospital systems continue to raise their prices at rates that dwarf inflation while also sticking patients with high bills with layers of opaque fees. Instead of blaming others, the hospital industry should stop their anticompetitive consolidation, opaque billing practices and unaffordable price hikes that continue to drive Americans’ premium costs higher.” —Chris Bond, AHIP Spokesperson” * * *
  • “Health plans are doing everything in their power to shield Americans from the high and rising costs of medical care and are committed to working constructively with policymakers to advance common-sense, bipartisan reforms. Policymakers have a clear opportunity to act, including:
    • “Protecting consumers with site-neutral payment reforms to level the playing field on prices, reduce patient cost-sharing, and lower premiums — saving more than $170 billion over 10 years.
    • “Promoting greater competition among hospitals by blocking anticompetitive hospital mergers.
    • “Requiring price transparency so patients and employers can see what they’re actually paying for.”

• The American Hospital Association News adds,
  • “The AHA submitted a statement for the record to the House Ways and Means Committee for its April 28 hearingwith health system CEOs.
  • “In the statement, the AHA outlined steps to improve health care affordability while warning against policies that could limit patient access to care.
  • “We understand the importance of making sure high-quality care is affordable and accessible,” AHA stated. “As such, hospitals have long been leaders in advancing meaningful solutions to complex health care challenges, including the issue of affordability. That spirit continues today as hospitals across the country work to reduce the cost of care by improving efficiency, embracing innovative technologies and redesigning how services are delivered. Many are investing in preventive care and care coordination programs that help patients manage chronic conditions, avoid unnecessary hospital visits and stay healthier at home. These efforts not only improve patient outcomes but also lower overall costs for patients, families and the health care system.”

• Fierce Healthcare reports,
  • “The National Academy of Medicine recently kicked off its second Change Maker Accelerators program, aimed at aiding healthcare organizations in implementing and measuring well-being efforts.
  • “The NAM’s voluntary yearlong program builds on its 2022 National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being framework. Organizations must apply, and participation is free. 
  • “The program is part of NAM’s broader Change Maker campaign, which works to advance the national plan’s priority areas. About 520 organizations have become members since the campaign launched in October 2023.”

• KFF Health News explores how the $50 billion Federal Rural Health Fund will be distributed.

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeks to accelerate clinical trials of new medicines by using artificial intelligence to streamline the laborious process of collecting and submitting study data.
  • “Typically, medical centers involved in clinical trials pull study data from electronic-health records and enter them manually into a data-capture system. Then, the drug company developing the medicine reviews the data and submits them to the FDA.
  • “The FDA this summer plans to pilot an approach that would upend this practice, which hasn’t changed much in decades. Through the program, AI would extract data directly from electronic records so they can be submitted in real-time to both the FDA and the pharmaceutical company. 
  • “If successful and adopted widely, the new approach could speed drug development and help the U.S. compete with other nations making a strong push into biotechnology, officials said.”

• Fierce Pharma relates,
  • “After breaking through the blockbuster sales threshold in 2025, AstraZeneca’s three-in-one inhaler Breztri Aerosphere has passed another crucial milestone as it chips in on the British drugmaker’s goal to reach $80 billion in revenues by 2030. 
  • “On Tuesday, the FDA approved Breztri in its second indication, clearing the triple combination therapy of budesonide, glycopyrrolate and formoterol fumarate as a maintenance treatment for asthma in adults and kids ages 12 and older. Breztri was first greenlit in the U.S. in 2020 as a maintenance treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 
  • “The new nod will unlock a substantial market for Breztri, which is one of several respiratory products driving significant sales ambitions at AstraZeneca. Last year, the drug surpassed the billion-dollar sales threshold for the first time, with revenues growing (PDF) 22% at constant currencies to nearly $1.2 billion.”
• and
  • “Earlier this year, when the FDA asked Amgen to pull its rare disease drug Tavneos from the market, the California drugmaker denied the request. Now, the U.S. regulator is applying more pressure.
  • “The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) has proposed to withdraw the approval of Amgen’s oral medicine, saying new information indicates the data was “manipulated” to facilitate its green light.
  • “CDER said in a letter (PDF), which also called out Amgen’s subsidiary ChemoCentryx, that Tavneos is not effective and that its application for approval to treat ANCA-associated vasculitis included untrue statements. In addition, CDER noted that it is “increasingly concerned about the safety of Tavneos,” pointing to cases of serious drug-induced liver injury (DILI).
  • “The FDA said that Amgen’s options are to pull the drug from the market or request a hearing.
  • “The company is evaluating its next steps, an Amgen spokesperson said in an email.
  • “We remain confident in Tavneos as a safe and effective medicine, supported by years of clinical data and real-world evidence,” the spokesperson wrote. “Our perspective on the benefit-risk profile of Tavneos differs from the Agency’s.”

From the judicial front,

• Bloomberg Law reports,
  • “A New Jersey federal judge accepted Purdue Pharma LP’s multibillion-dollar criminal plea deal with the US government on charges related to its dissemination of addictive opioid products, a critical step for the OxyContin maker’s $7.4 billion bankruptcy plan.
  • “Judge Madeline Cox Arleo of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey on Tuesday apologized to opioid addiction victims and their family members as she accepted Purdue’s 2020 guilty plea for misleading federal regulators about its efforts to prevent drug diversion and paying illegal kickbacks to prescribing doctors.
  • “It is the best choice that I have and I am satisfied it is the best choice at this juncture,” she said. “I wish there was more I was empowered to do.”
  • “The agreement with the Department of Justice allows Purdue to consummate its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, largely structured around a deal with the company’s Sackler family owners to pay at least $6.5 billion to compensate personal injury victims and fund opioid abatement efforts by local governments across the country.
  • “The sentencing hearing was put on hold for several years as Purdue’s bankruptcy was prolonged by appeals over provisions releasing the Sacklers from legal liabilities related to the company’s production and sale of addictive opioids.
  • “A revised version of the plan, approved by a New York bankruptcy judge in November, gives creditors the ability to opt out of releasing claims against Sackler family members in exchange for a smaller settlement distribution.”

• Healthcare Dive relates,
  • “The frequency of medical liability lawsuits filed against doctors is falling over time but they are still common, according to a research report released this week from the American Medical Association.
  • “Risk of lawsuits is higher among certain specialities and increases the longer doctors practice medicine, the AMA reported.
  • “In a separate AMA report, medical liability insurance is also getting more expensive for some doctors, with premiums growing at consistent rates not seen in two decades. The risk of being sued “not only challenges physicians but it increases practice expenses, reinforces defensive medical practices, and drives up health care costs for patients and families,” Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, AMA president, said in a statement.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• The Washington Post tells us five things that OB/GYNs want you to know about perimenopause.
  • “Estrogen and progesterone are the main drivers”
  • “It can last for months or years”
  • “Symptoms are wide-ranging, but a few are very common”
  • “There’s no specific test to diagnose it”
  • “The right treatment can be life-changing”

• MedPage Today reports,
  • “About a quarter of survey respondents who met USPSTF eligibility criteria were up to date with lung cancer screening in 2024 — an increase in prevalence of 6 percentage points since 2022.
  • “Lung cancer screening rates were low compared with those for other cancers, including colorectal, cervical, and breast cancers.
  • “Up-to-date prevalence was uneven depending on age, race and ethnicity, and insurance status.”

• Healio relates,
  • “Extensively drug-resistant Shigella is on the rise in the United States, according to data published by the CDC.
  • “Shigella is a bacterium that can be sexually transmitted and causes infectious diarrhea. The new study published in MMWR found that among nearly 17,000 Shigella isolates submitted to a CDC surveillance network, the proportion of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) isolates rose from 0% in 2011 to 8.5% in 2023. Around one-third of patients with XDR Shigella ended up hospitalized.” * * *
  • “Shigella causes an estimated 450,000 infections each year nationwide, making it a leading cause of diarrheal illness, according to the CDC. Common symptoms of the infection include diarrhea, fever, stomach pain and experiencing a feeling to pass stool when bowels are empty. 
  • “Meanwhile, Jason E. Zucker, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center,  said most shigellosis cases will resolve on their own. He also said the rise of XDR Shigella “should prompt a broader conversation about sexual health, make sure the patient is up-to-date on STI screening, discuss [pre-exposure prophylaxis] if they’re not already on it and assess whether they’re connected to HIV prevention or care.”

• The latest post of NIH Research Matters covers the following topics:
  • AI tool predicts patients at risk of intimate partner violence
    • “A new artificial intelligence tool can predict patients who are likely to experience intimate partner violence years before they seek help. 
    • “The tool may eventually help health care providers identify patients at risk of intimate partner violence and provide early interventions.”
  • Weakened gut-brain connection may contribute to memory loss
    • “Researchers found that changes to gut bacteria in aging mice hindered communication from the gut to the brain and led to worse performance on memory tasks.
    • “If these results hold true in humans, they could inspire treatments to prevent, reduce, or even reverse age-related cognitive decline.”
  • Boosting the immune response to brain cancer
    • Stopping certain immune cells from using fructose for fuel enhanced the immune response to brain cancer in mice.
    • The results point to a way to make immunotherapies more effective for a form of cancer that is often resistant to their effects.

• Cardiovasular Business tells us,
  • “Treating patients with a sirolimus-eluting balloon (SEB) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a safe, effective alternative to traditional stenting, according to new data presented at the SCAI 2026 Scientific Sessions and CAIC-ACCI Summit in Montréal, Canada.
  • “Interventional cardiologists typically use a drug-eluting stent (DES) during PCI to keep the artery permanently open. Leaving these stents in a patient’s artery can lead to complications, however, and the Selution SLR SEB from Cordis was designed to help keep that artery open without a stent being left behind. The Selution SLR SEB is a drug-coated balloon that provides patients with a sustained release of sirolimus over time thanks to tiny “MicroReservoirs.” The Selution SLR SEB was previously the topic of two late-breaking studies at TCT 2025 in San Francisco. Both trials linked the device to potential benefits for patients undergoing PCI.” 

• MedTech Dive discusses,
  • Four studies to know from Heart Rythm Society’s 2026 conference.
  • Boston Scientific, Abbott and Medtronic shared new cardiac device data at the annual Heart Rhythm Society meeting, where market share shifts in pulsed field ablation were on analysts’ minds.

• BioPharma Dive lets us know,
  • “Boehringer Ingelheim said its dual-acting obesity shot succeeded in a Phase 3 trial, announcing Tuesday that the therapy, survodutide, helped enrollees who received it lose significantly more weight than those who got a placebo.
  • “Notably, the shot, which Boehringer licensed from Zealand Pharma, also showed signs of helping study participants reduce weight while preserving muscle. That purported benefit could address a weakness of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, both of which have been shown to lower lean body mass along with fat.  
  • “In notes to clients following the announcement, Wall Street analysts described survodutide’s weight loss effects as comparable to Wegovy but short of what’s been seen in testing of Zepbound. Multiple analysts are also awaiting more details on the drug’s side effects as well as data from a trial in the liver disease MASH before making further judgments about its commercial potential.”

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

• Beckers Payer Issues reports,
  • “Health Care Service Corp. recorded a net loss of more than $1.9 billion in 2025, a sharp reversal from the prior two years, according to regulatory filings.
  • “The Chicago-based organization, which operates the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, posted a net income of $659 million in 2024 and $1.4 billion in 2023.
  • “HCSC reported total revenue of $66.8 billion in 2025, up from $62.8 billion the prior year. Benefit expenses, however, rose to $63.1 billion from $57 billion, and the company’s net underwriting loss widened to $3.5 billion from $572 million in 2024. HCSC attributed membership and revenue growth to its purchase of the Cigna Group’s Medicare and CareAllies businesses for $3.3 billion last year.
  • “2025 was affected by headwinds consistent across the managed care industry associated with elevated utilization of healthcare services and higher acuity levels caused by more complex health needs across all of our lines of business,” an HCSC spokesperson told Becker’s.
  • “The company has 27.3 million members and managed $150.4 billion in medical spend in 2025.”
• and
  • “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama posted a net loss of $3.2 million in 2025.
  • “The insurer saw its profit fall to $18 million in 2024 after posting $368.6 million in net income in 2023, according to financial data filed with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
  • “BCBS Alabama reported total assets of $6.2 billion at the end 2025, with capital and surplus of $3.6 billion. Medicare was the company’s largest line of business by direct premiums written at $1.5 billion, followed by the Federal Employees Health Benefits program at $1.2 billion, Medicare supplement at $207.7 million, dental at $158.7 million, and vision at $15 million.”
• and
  • “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona recorded a net loss of $335.2 million in 2025, according to regulatory filings.
  • “The insurer posted a loss of $162.2 million in 2024 and $85.4 million in net income in 2023.
  • BCBS Arizona reported total assets of $2.68 billion as of year-end 2025, with capital and surplus of $1.03 billion. The Federal Employees Health Benefits program was the company’s largest line of business by direct premiums written at $1.02 billion, followed by dental at $193.6 million, Medicare supplement at $27.9 million, and Medicare at $5.1 million.”

• Healthcare Dive adds,
  • “Centene raised its 2026 profit guidance after successfully wrestling down medical costs in the first quarter.
  • “The St. Louis-based payer posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.37 in the quarter, well above analysts’ consensus expectations of about $2.20 to $2.30 as rate hikes offset membership losses.
  • “Companies generally argue that adjusted results are a better indicator of a company’s performance, as they exclude factors outside of a company’s control. But even when filtered through the U.S.’ default accounting standards, or unadjusted, Centene’s top and bottom-line results remained positive.
  • “In the first quarter, the insurer brought in net profit of $1.5 billion, up 18% year over year, on revenue of $49.9 billion, up 7% year over year.”

• BioPharma Dive relates,
  • “Pfizer has reached settlements with a trio of drug manufacturers that’ll extend the patent protection for one of its best-selling medicines.
  • “In a short statement Tuesday, Pfizer said it has cut deals with Dexcel Pharma, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Cipla. All three companies are seeking to launch generic versions of tafamidis, the active ingredient in a blockbuster rare disease medicine Pfizer sells as Vyndamax. Pfizer sued all for patent infringement, aiming to delay their arrival.  
  • “The agreements announced Monday ensure that tafamidis’ monopoly will hold until early next decade. Pfizer had anticipated that tafamidis’ exclusivity might expire in 2028 and prepared investors for a “significant decline” in U.S. revenues over the next few years. The settlement, though, extends tafamidis’ patent life through June 1, 2031, pending the outcome of other litigation. Drug sales in the U.S. should now “remain relatively stable” from 2028 through the middle of 2031, the company said.” 

• Fierce Healthcare points out,
  • “Solace Health, a patient advocacy platform, is expanding insurance coverage to most major health plans, including UnitedHealthcare and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. 
  • “Solace previously connected Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients to its services, which are now also available to many commercially insured patients. Other commercial plans that are now partners were not specified in a press release. Solace pairs each patient with a dedicated healthcare advocate who helps with care navigation.
  • “The healthcare system is complex and yet patients are often expected to coordinate their own care, interpret advice, manage records and resolve billing issues. One 2025 study found that over 60% of U.S. adults demonstrated inadequate health literacy. Solace aims to close this gap.”
• and
  • “While some healthcare companies are testing out agentic AI tools, CCS is betting big on the technology as it developed an enterprise-wide, multi-agent network across its chronic care operations.
  • “The company, a provider of chronic care management and home-delivered medical supplies, has rolled out an agentic AI solution, dubbed CeeCee, that’s designed to streamline the patient experience, improve medical supply workflows and boost operational efficiency, executives said.
  • “CeeCee can autonomously resolve routine patient interactions, speed up access to chronic care supplies and support personalized patient experiences.” 

• MedCity News adds,
  • “Issues with deployment and scaling are the real barriers holding back healthcare AI from delivering value, according to leaders at AI companies Nvidia and Hoppr.
  • “That’s why they’re shifting their focus away from building standalone models and zeroing in on the infrastructure needed for those models to actually be used in clinical practice. Hoppr has built an AI foundry that uses Nvidia’s computing and foundation models — an offering the partners say gives developers access to tools for launching medical imaging AI more easily at scale.
  • “The foundry aims to help providers develop, validate and then deploy their own AI models without having to start from scratch, said Hoppr CEO Khan Siddiqui.
  • We’re providing the platform where health systems, radiology practices and med device companies can now build their fine-tuned models very quickly and deploy them very quickly in their practice or in their product,” he explained.
  • “Hospitals no longer need huge amounts of data or infrastructure to create their own models because Hoppr and Nvidia pre-train their foundation models on massive datasets, he pointed out. In the past, providers needed to purchase massive datasets containing about 100,000 patient records to train AI models, but pre-trained foundation models allow hospitals to shape models using much smaller datasets, sometimes containing just hundreds of records, Siddiqui stated.
  • “The foundry’s goal is to make custom, localized AI development more feasible for providers, he declared.
  • “The focus is on increasing imaging AI models so that providers can embed specialized tools directly into radiology and diagnostic workflows rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions, Siddiqui noted.”