“Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.”
– Edsger W. Dijkstra

From Washington DC,

• Roll Call reports that the Republicans in Congress reelected Sen. John Thune (R SD) as their minority leader in the next Senate and elected Jim Jordan (R Ohio) as their minority leader in the next House of Representatives. The new Congress will gavel in on January 3, 2026.

• The Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it will be holding a full Committee hearing about “Prescribing Sunshine: How Competition & Transparency Lowers Prescription Drug Costs” next Tuesday November 17.

• The American Hospital Association relates,
  • “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allocated 200 Medicare-funded residency slots to 99 teaching hospitals. The slots are the fifth allocation from 1,000 new residency positions authorized under Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. No more than 200 full-time slots can be awarded per year.” 
    
• FedWeek tells us,
  • “The Postal Service has said it cut 19 million work hours in fiscal 2026 as it continued consolidating its processing and transportation networks, but compensation and benefits costs still rose by $456M over 2025.
  • “Overall the USPS reported a $6.5 billion loss on the year – while that was down from $9 billion in fiscal 2025, much of the change was due to a non-cash accounting change in workers comp rather than lower labor costs, while suspended payments toward pensions freed up cash. (The USPS inspector general reported in October that the Postal Service faces a $104 billion retirement funding shortfall.)
  • “Key findings for fiscal 2026: 
    • “Revenue up, volume down. Shipping and packages revenue increased 5.1 percent on 5.3 percent lower volume, while marketing mail revenue rose 5.3% and first class mail rose 1.2%, both on lower volumes. USPS cited growth in Ground Advantage shipping and price increases.
    • “Workers comp expenses fell $2.4 billion, reflecting a non-cash actuarial revaluation of existing cases and changes in discount rates.
    • “Total operating expenses fell by $404 million, but other operating expenses rose $894 million, retiree health benefits $726 million, compensation and benefits $456 million and transportation $225 million. Retirement expenses fell $277 million.”

• The Wall Street Journal informs us,
  • “The Trump administration last year came up with a plan to combat high drug prices—making European governments pay more. 
  • “The result so far: still-high drug prices in the U.S. and fewer new drugs in Europe. 
  • “There has been a 27% drop in new drug releases across European countries over the last 17 months, compared with the same period before President Trump announced the plan, according to new data from market-research firm GlobalData. Meanwhile, drug approvals in Europe have held steady over that time period.
  • “You have companies saying, ‘Well maybe I won’t enter the market there because it’s just going to be used against me in the United States,’” said Ipsita Smolinski, director of health-policy research firm Capitol Street.”

From the U.S. Office of Personnel Management front,

• Federal News Network reports,
  • “Following a couple years of uncertainty, the Office of Personnel Management has opted to continue the Combined Federal Campaign for the 2026 donation cycle.
  • “The CFC has been an annual donation campaign for more than 60 years, allowing federal employees to contribute to thousands of charities worldwide via payroll deductions. But citing high overhead costs and dwindling participation, OPM was recently considering shuttering the program altogether.
  • “After making several changes meant to reduce administrative costs, OPM Director Scott Kupor confirmed this week that the CFC will continue for the 2026 campaign. Federal employees can make donations between Dec. 1, 2026, and Feb. 19, 2027.
  • “Historically, the program deprived hardworking and generous donors of their intended charitable contributions by wasting close to $0.50 of every dollar donated on administrative overhead,” Kupor said in a statement to Federal News Network. “For 2026, OPM has dramatically reduced this cost while it continues to consider whether the program remains viable for subsequent years.”

• FedWeek relates,
  • “The number of federal employees teleworking in fiscal 2025 fell from 40 percent to just 12 percent, with a drop in the number of teleworkers falling 73 percent (1,017,230 to 273,497) following President Trumps “Return to In-Person Work” memo issued on his first day in office, according to new OPM report to Congress.
  • “The report covers just the final pay period of fiscal 2025, not the entire year, but OPM director Scott Kupor said in the introduction that the sample is enough to reflect change in agency practices that took place after the EO. “This is a fundamental reset of how the Federal workforce shows up every day to serve the public,” said Kupor, adding that telework remains a legitimate tool but should be the exception not the norm.”

• FedSmith tells us,
  • “Streak Snapped: OPM Retirement Backlog Rises for the First Time Since February
    • “The OPM retirement backlog rose 20% in October 2026, but a closer look at the data shows why that is not as ominous as it sounds.”

From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration front,

• Fierce Pharma reports,
  • “Merck KGaA just secured an FDA approval for its new once-daily oral colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) inhibitor, adding to a growing list of regulatory checkmarks around the globe. 
  • “The agency has approved pimicotinib, under the commercial moniker Pimjetmi, to treat symptomatic tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), a rare and non-cancerous, locally aggressive tumor that grows in or around the lining of the joints. Pimjetmi is specifically indicated in adults for whom surgical resection of the tumor would cause functional imitation or severe morbidity. 
  • “The FDA decision hinged on Merck KGaA’s phase 3 Maneuver trial and follows similar approvals from regulators in China, Canada and Switzerland.” 

• MedTech Dive relates,
  • “The Food and Drug Administration granted de novo authorization to Virtuoso Surgical’s robotic system for endoscopic surgery to remove bladder tumors, the company said Tuesday.
  • “In Virtuoso’s procedure, lesions are removed in one piece in an approach called en bloc resection to obtain tissue for diagnosis of bladder cancer. Two miniaturized robotic arms at the tip of a standard-sized endoscope operate through the urethra, without incisions.
  • “The robot, which received breakthrough device designation in September 2025, is the first device in a new FDA classification for electromechanical surgical systems used in endoluminal procedures, where instruments pass through an endoscope into the body.”

No Surprises Act News

• The American Hospital Association News reports,
  • “The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury announced today that Physio Solutions, LLC, a recently certified independent dispute resolution entity, is now available to adjudicate disputes submitted for the federal IDR process. The organization was added in September, bringing the total to 17 entities. IDR arbitrators help make payment determinations in disputes between providers and health insurance issuers under the No Surprises Act.” 

From the judicial front,

• Modern Healthcare reports,
  • “Carelon Behavioral Health will pay more than $10 million to settle state claims that it kept inaccurate provider directories and wrongly denied coverage for substance-use treatment, leaving New Yorkers without care. 
  • “The state attorney general’s office on Tuesday announced two settlement agreements with Carelon, a Boston-based subsidiary of insurer Elevance Health, to resolve investigations into its business practices. The investigations found that Carelon maintained so-called “ghost networks” — provider directories that failed to list clinicians accepting in-network patients — and unlawfully rejected patients’ claims for addiction services. As a result, patients experienced delays in receiving care and paid out-of-pocket costs, the attorney general’s office said.” * * *
  • “Carelon did not admit or deny wrongdoing in the settlements.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• The New York Times reports,
  • “Measles is once again endemic — a constant and predictable presence — in the United States, 26 years after it was declared eliminated in the country, an analysis of genetic data from outbreaks of the disease has found.
  • “Data from the outbreaks will be the focus of deliberations by an international panel of scientific experts convening on Tuesday to decide whether the United States should lose its official designation as a nation that has eliminated measles. An announcement of the decision is expected on Nov. 17.”

• Harvard Health Online relates,
  • “To prevent a heart attack, stroke, and cognitive decline, aim for a blood pressure reading below 130/80 mm Hg — and ideally less than 120/80 mm Hg. That’s according to the current blood pressure guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology.
  • “Nearly half of adults in the United States have blood pressure readings of 130/80 mm Hg (the threshold for stage 1 hypertension) or higher (see “Blood pressure categories”). Lifestyle changes can help reduce blood pressure, but if you don’t reach your goal after three to six months, it’s time to start medication, says Dr. Randall Zusman, director of the Division of Hypertension at the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center.
  • “People with stage 1 hypertension are twice as likely as people with normal blood pressure to have a heart attack or stroke,” says Dr. Zusman. As the 2025 guideline now points out, high blood pressure is also strongly linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia, he adds.” * * *
  • “The guidelines also feature detailed advice about blood pressure treatment, which includes four classes of drugs deemed first-line options: ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), calcium-channel blockers, and diuretics.”
    
• Health Day tells us,
  • “Radon gas is already known to cause cancer, but a new study suggests it may also affect heart health.
  • “Older women appear to have a higher risk of heart failure if they live in areas with higher indoor radon levels, researchers reported Nov. 5 in JAMA Network Open.
  • “Women past menopause are more likely to both develop heart failure and die from the condition if exposed long-term to high radon levels, researchers found.
  • “If confirmed, these findings suggest that ridding your home of radon could have heart health benefits “analogous to the once-unrecognized benefits of smoking cessation, long before cigarette and environmental tobacco smoke were identified as risk factors for non-pulmonary disease,” senior researcher Dr. Eric Whitsel said in a news release.” 

• Healio informs us,
  • “Adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and overweight or obesity who used the oral GLP-1 orforglipron for 1 year experienced improvements in sleep apnea severity, according to results from the ATTAIN-OSA trials.
  • “Orforglipron (Foundayo, Eli Lilly) also conferred improvement in various cardiometabolic parameters, including weight, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and blood pressure, researchers reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
  • “These data support the potential use of orforglipron as a promising oral treatment option for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity or overweight,” Vaishnavi Kundel, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine and program director of the sleep medicine fellowship at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said during a press conference.”

• The American Medical Association lets us know,
  • “Question: What is the association of GLP-1RA use and the development or progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared with other weight loss drugs for patients with overweight or obesity? 
  • “Findings: In this cohort study of 91,408 patients, GLP-1RA use was associated with a reduced risk of developing nonexudative AMD but showed no association with progression to exudative AMD. 
  • “Meaning: These findings suggest that GLP-1RAs may offer ocular benefits compared with other weight loss drugs, supporting further investigation in prospective, randomized studies.
  • ‘A JAMA Ophthalmology invited commentary published with the study lends perspective on the findings. “Will health care professionals prescribe these medications because they lead to a decreased risk of AMD? Or stop them because they may increase the risk of exudative AMD?” the commentary asks. While physicians “should keep these risks (or benefits) in mind, they seem ancillary to the overall health benefits of these medications.”

• Per Radiology Business,
  • “Experts are sharing some key lessons learned from a pilot program that integrated both breast and lung cancer screening, seeking to boost adherence for the latter.
  • “Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., with fewer than 16% of eligible adults undergoing lifesaving low-dose CT surveillance. Conversely, breast cancer screening (BCS) reaches nearly 80% of eligible women, with many individuals dying of lung cancer despite attending routine mammography, experts write in JACR. 
  • “St. Louis-based Washington University’s School of Medicine has aimed to address this challenge. It’s “Pink and Pearl” pilot program has done so by leveraging strong BCS attendance to identify lung cancer screening (LCS)-eligible women during their routine mammography visit. 
  • “Named for the breast (pink) and lung (pearl) cancer awareness ribbons, P&P uses established, trusted BCS visits as a ‘teachable moment’ for lung health discussions with women who may not otherwise be reached,” lead author Beryne Odeny, MD, MPH, PhD, an assistant professor of surgery at Washington University, and colleagues wrote Nov. 7. “Early studies demonstrate improved LCS uptake in eligible patients identified during BCS.” 

• Per Fierce Pharma,
  • “Johnson & Johnson is gearing up to expand the commercial reach of Caplyta after scoring a second phase 3 victory in bipolar mania.
  • “The second phase 3 trial evaluating Caplyta (lumateperone) for treating manic episodes in patients with bipolar I disorder met its primary endpoint, showing a statistically significant improvement in manic symptoms compared with placebo at week 3, J&J said Tuesday.
  • “Key secondary endpoints, such as overall illness severity at week 3, were also met. And the drug’s tolerability profile was consistent with prior studies, J&J said.”

• Per BioPharma Dive,
  • “Beam Therapeutics said Tuesday that a precision gene editing treatment it’s been working on succeeded in a pivotal trial, helping free people with sickle cell disease from the severe bouts of pain associated with their condition. 
  • “The results for ristoglogene autogetemcel, or “risto-cel,” represent the first positive late-stage readout for a drugmaking approach known as “base editing.” Beam says it plans to submit an approval application to the Food and Drug Administration by as soon as the end of the year.
  • “Sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder largely affecting people with African ancestry, is already the target of two marketed genetic therapies called Casgevy and Lyfgenia, both of which initially saw slow uptake. Those treatments, however, are built on different underlying technologies.”

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

• Per a Health Care Cost Institute post in LinkedIn,
  • “In Managed Healthcare Executive, Peter Wehrwein looks at our new Health Care Cost and Utilization Report. From 2019 to 2023, spending per person with employer coverage rose 18.8%, from $5,676 to $6,743. Prices went up 17.7% over that time, while use of services grew just 1.8%.
  • “Prescription drug spending grew fastest, but hospitals remain the biggest piece. Inpatient and outpatient hospital services made up 46% of spending. HCCI President and CEO Katie Martin told Wehrwein that’s one of the areas where employers should focus if they want to bring costs down.
  • “Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eCFGSYGr

• Beckers Payer Issues reports,
  • “The nation’s largest insurers spent the third quarter navigating membership losses in their Medicaid and ACA businesses, ongoing medical cost pressures and the continued focus on strengthening margins following a difficult 2025. Six of the seven organizations [discussed i in the article] raised their full-year earnings guidance..”
• and
  • “Fitch Ratings believes CVS Health’s planned separation will be credit neutral for Aetna Life Insurance Co., the credit rating agency reported Nov. 9.
  • “One company, which will go by CVS Health in the interim, will encompass Aetna, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, CVS Specialty, primary care centers Oak Street Health and health evaluations business Signify Health. The other company, CVS Pharmacy, will include CVS’ 9,000 retail pharmacies, mail pharmacy, MinuteClinic and technology services business Health100. 
  • “Aetna Life’s current insurer financial strength rating is ‘A’/Negative. Fitch does not expect the split to significantly dampen Aetna Life’s company profile. Despite CVS Health losing some diversification, the parent’s remaining businesses are staying “sufficiently diversified and generally consistent with large health insurance and pharmacy benefit management peers.”

• Fierce Healthcare relates,
  • “In this year’s third quarter, Kaiser Permanente grew its operating revenues by 9% and more than doubled its operating income compared to the year prior, the organization recently shared. 
  • “The country’s largest nonprofit health system and its subsidiaries logged $34.7 billion in operating revenues and $34.2 billion in operating expenses for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2026, according to a release outlining topline financial numbers. 
  • “Its operating income was $495 million (1.4% operating margin), as compared to the prior year’s $218 million (0.7% operating margin). That’s a bit tighter than the system reported in 2026’s earlier quarters, though the organization often notes that its margins tend to thin out as the year progresses due to health plan enrollment cycles and seasonal expense increases.”
• and
  • “The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is expanding its cancer care facilities through the addition of two new buildings—totaling a $3.4 billion investment.
  • “The new facilities, dubbed Inspiration Tower and Prism, will make up nearly two million square feet and allow for MD Anderson to care for nearly 250,000 patients annually, executives say. The expansion is funded by UT MD Anderson and its philanthropic support.
  • “Every detail of these buildings, from the technology to the treatment rooms, was designed around our patients who will receive their care in them and our employees who will work in them,” said Jeffrey Lee, M.D., UT MD Anderson president ad interim, in a statement. “The facilities will serve as a physical representation of hope for the patients and their families who will walk through the doors.”

• MedCity News discusses
  • “Digital Health’s GLP-1 Strategy: “You Didn’t Come for the Drug. You Came for Health”
    • “In a panel discussion, executives from Noom, Omada, Virta and Twin Health discussed how they are going beyond the pill in their GLP-1 strategy and responded to a question about whether they will exist two-to-three years from now.” 

• STAT News adds,
  • “Oura, the smart ring maker that just over a month ago delayed plans to go public over market uncertainty, announced on Tuesday that it will spend $625 million to acquire Counsel Health, a clinical artificial intelligence startup.
  • “Counsel Health is the maker of a chatbot that users can talk with about health concerns before being transferred to a clinician for treatment and diagnosis over telehealth. The company had previously disclosed $36 million in funding. 
  • “The large transaction reflects a growing desire to connect consumer wearable devices to clinical care as well as the conviction that AI chatbots will be an important part of health care.”
    
• Beckers Hospital News points out,
  • “Burlington, N.C.-based Labcorp has completed its acquisition of specialty laboratory Millennium Health for $375 million, according to a Labcorp news release. 
  • “The acquisition can be broken into two parts — $245 million payable in cash at closing and up to $130 million of consideration, contingent upon specified future events.
  • “Millennium Health helps clinicians more effectively monitor individuals living with chronic pain, substance use disorders, mental health conditions and other health needs by providing insight into patients’ recent use of prescription medications and/or illicit drugs.”

• Fierce Healthcare lets us know,
  • “Digital health and wellness company Hims & Hers tightened its full-year 2026 revenue outlook after missing Wall Street analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates.
  • “Andrew Dudum, co-founder, chairman and CEO, pointed investors toward the increasing scale of Hims & Hers’ pharmacy and lab infrastructure. That growth is driving efficiencies for the company, as is its artificial intelligence native experience, he said.
  • “That infrastructure positions us to launch treatments of increasing complexity, including testosterone replacement therapy this quarter and our Peptides Plus offering later this month,” Dudum said.
  • “Peptides have been a focus for the company as of late, with Dudum telling investors last quarterit plans to offer already-permitted peptides, like sermorelin and NAD+.”
• and
  • “Google launched Tuesday Gemini for healthcare, an agentic artificial intelligence platform aimed at connecting complex clinical, financial and administrative workflows used by healthcare providers and payers. 
  • “The platform was developed alongside clinical and health plan leaders and is built to support HIPAA compliance, the tech giant said.
  • “The fundamental challenge in healthcare isn’t a lack of information—it’s the immense friction of making that data actionable across a highly regulated ecosystem,” said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO, in a statement. “By working directly alongside our healthcare customers, we’ve built a platform that resolves chronic bottlenecks so that the industry can put its focus entirely back on human health.”
    
• Healthcare Dive offers
  • “7 healthcare experts on adopting AI tools
    • “When deciding whether to adopt AI tools, it’s crucial that healthcare organizations consider governance, clinician trust and overall costs, industry experts said at a Healthcare Dive virtual event.”

• Per the American Hospital Association News,
  • “A Gallup survey published Nov. 9 on patient comfort with artificial intelligence in care found that 56% of U.S. adults who visited a primary care provider in the past year are comfortable with AI making diagnosis or treatment decisions, as long as they can be changed or overridden by their provider. The survey found that 38% of patients are comfortable when AI assists and their provider makes the decision. Results showed that 9% of patients are comfortable with AI making treatment decisions without provider review.”
    
• Per Beckers Health IT,
  • “The American Medical Association has adopted policy saying AI cannot be granted physician licensure, professional titles or certification to practice medicine.
  • “The AMA House of Delegates approved the policy Nov. 9 at its Interim Meeting in Orlando, Fla. It calls for AI-enabled tools to be integrated into physician-led teams and used at the direction of the treating physician. AI used for for clinical functions such as diagnosis, prescribing and care management should have transparent, auditable evidence of safety and efficacy and be subject to regulation, documentation and liability requirements.
  • “The AMA will push for model legislation that separates authorization of a medical technology from professional licensure and bars misrepresenting nonhuman entities with titles reserved for physicians. It will also seek liability protections for physicians who decline to use an AI tool or follow its recommendation.
  • “Patients “deserve to know who is responsible for their care,” AMA President Willie Underwood III, MD, said in a Nov. 10 news release.”