Friday Report

From Washington, DC,
- Federal News Network tells us,
- “Agencies will not be able to fill or create any federal jobs for another three months, after President Donald Trump extended the current federal hiring freeze until July 15.
- “But even after the hiring freeze lifts later this summer, agencies will still be limited in how many new employees they can hire, and how many new positions they can create. The White House said it will cap agencies to one new hire for every four federal employees who leave the civil service.”
- Here’s a fact sheet on the hiring freeze extension.
- Fierce Healthcare adds,
- “President Donald Trump and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are moving forward with “Schedule F,” a policy to make it easier to remove workers from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Fierce Healthcare has confirmed.
- “Implementing Schedule F will deprive 50,000 federal employees of civil service protections by classifying them as “at-will” workers. Once a final rule is issued, another executive order will be released to directly move positions under the final rule’s authority.
- “The OPM’s proposed rule will give authority to the government to cut workers over performance that does not align with the administration’s priorities without procedural delays.”
- The proposed rule appeared in the Federal Register’s public inspection list today. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on April 23, 2025.
In Food and Drug Administration news,
- BioPharma Dive informs us,
- “The Food and Drug Administration will aim to limit the participation of industry experts in the advisory committees that the agency consults for some regulatory decisions, Martin Makary, the FDA’s new commissioner, announced Thursday.
- “Advisory committees, which the FDA typically convenes for additional input on high-profile reviews or thorny clinical and regulatory issues, regularly include an industry representative alongside a dozen or so independent experts.
- “These representatives don’t vote on questions put to the committee. They are meant to share the perspective of their industry broadly, rather than of the specific company that employs them. There are also usually patient or consumer representatives on the panels.
- “Now, when not explicitly required by statute, the FDA will restrict industry representatives from taking part as a committee member.”
- Per Fierce Pharma,
- “On its way to generating sales of $14 billion in just its seventh full year on the market, Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent has experienced few setbacks. One came in 2023, however, when the FDA rejected the immunosuppressant as a treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), asking for more data.
- “Eighteen months later—and backed by more conclusive results—the companies have convinced the U.S. regulator to sign off on Dupixent for the difficult-to-treat skin condition. With the nod, Dupixent becomes the first new medicine for CSU in more than a decade.
- “The approval clears Dupixent to be used by those age 12 and older who remain symptomatic despite using histamine-1 (H1) antihistamines. It’s a population of more than 300,000 among the roughly 3 million in the U.S. who have CSU, the companies said in a release.”
- Per Medscape,
- “The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing authorization to CT-132 (Click Therapeutics), an adjunctive, first-in-class prescription digital therapeutic for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults, its development company announced in a statement.
- “The mobile smartphone app uses biological, psychologic, and behavioral approaches to target pain processing and includes such tools as an eDiary tracker and short daily lessons. It is intended for use alongside other acute and preventive treatments for migraine.
- “The marketing authorization, which was reviewed through the FDA’s de novo pathway for medical devices, is based on results from two recent clinical trials: the phase 3 ReMMi-D trial and the ReMMiD-C bridging study. As reported by Medscape Medical News, the findings were presented at the recent American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2025 Annual Meeting.”
From the public health and medical research front,
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced today,
- “Seasonal influenza activity continues to decline. COVID-19 and RSV activity are declining nationally to low levels.
- “COVID-19
- “COVID-19 activity continues to decline nationally. Wastewater levels are at low levels, emergency department visits are at very low levels, and laboratory percent positivity is stable.
- “Additional information about current COVID-19 activity can be found at: CDC COVID Data Tracker: Home
- “Influenza
- “Seasonal influenza activity continues to decline.
- “Additional information about current influenza activity can be found at: Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report | CDC
- RSV
- “RSV activity continues to decline in most areas of the country.
- Vaccination
- “Vaccination coverage with influenza and COVID-19 vaccines is low among U.S. adults and children. Vaccination coverage with RSV vaccines remains low among U.S. adults.”
- The University of Minnesota CIDRAP adds,
- “The CDC confirmed 10 new pediatric flu deaths, bringing the season’s total to 198. This compares with 207 deaths last flu season. Nine of the new deaths were from influenza A and 1 from influenza B. Of the 8 influenza A cases for which scientists performed subtyping, 5 were caused by the H1N1 strain, and 3 were H3N2.”
- “The CDC confirmed 10 new pediatric flu deaths, bringing the season’s total to 198. This compares with 207 deaths last flu season. Nine of the new deaths were from influenza A and 1 from influenza B. Of the 8 influenza A cases for which scientists performed subtyping, 5 were caused by the H1N1 strain, and 3 were H3N2.”
- The American Hospital Association (AHA) News tells us,
- “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 18 announced there have been 800 reported cases of measles across the country this year. Twenty-four states have reported cases and there have been 10 outbreaks. Most cases (94%) have been outbreak-associated.
- “Texas, which has the largest outbreak of any state, April reported a total of 597 cases. Michigan also reported an outbreak yesterday — the state’s first since 2019 — with three cases. CDC data shows that 11% of all cases have been hospitalized. The vaccination status of 96% of all cases is classified as “unvaccinated or unknown.”
- The New York Times adds,
- “As the United States struggles to contain a resurgence of measles that has swept through swaths of the Southwest, neighboring countries are responding to their own outbreaks.
- “Canada has reported more than 730 cases this year, making this one of the worst measles outbreaks in the country since it declared the virus “eliminated” in 1998. Mexico has seen at least 360 measles cases and one death, most of them in the northern state of Chihuahua, according to Mexican health authorities.
- “Many of the communities grappling with measles have large Mennonite populations that public health officials have linked to outbreaks. The multinational resurgence has concerned epidemiologists, who fear that simultaneous outbreaks near the U.S. border will make it more difficult to contain the virus.
- “It’s just a line on the map that separates them — we share air, we share space,” said Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist at Virginia Tech.”
- Medscape lets us know,
- “Five classic risk factors for cardiovascular disease — high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and smoking — at age 50 can reduce life expectancy by more than 10 years. This is the conclusion of an international study led by German researchers and presented at the 2025 American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.
- “These five factors account for approximately 50% of the global burden of cardiovascular diseases. Our central question was how many additional years of life are possible if these factors are absent or modified in middle age,” said Christina Magnussen, MD, PhD, deputy director of the Department of Cardiology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, during her presentation in Chicago.
- “The findings, also published in The New England Journal of Medicine, show that lifestyle changes and risk management in middle age can make a significant difference. Lowering blood pressure and quitting smoking had the most significant impacts.”
- Diagnostic Imaging points out,
- “Emerging research suggests that prior mammography screening within five years of breast cancer diagnosis for seniors significantly reduces the risks of later-stage diagnosis and breast cancer-specific mortality.
- “For the study, recently published in JAMA Network Open, researchers reviewed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database for 13,028 women who had screening mammography-detected breast cancer. Over 77 percent of the cohort had at least one mammography screening in a five-year period prior to diagnosis and over 69 percent were in their 70s, according to the study. The researchers also noted that over 29 percent were diagnosed with later-stage (T2+ or N1+) disease.
- “Multivariable analysis revealed that women having at least one mammography screening in the five years prior to diagnosis had a 54 percent lower risk of a later-stage presentation at diagnosis. The study authors found that these women also had a 36 percent lower risk of breast cancer-specific death.”
- Per HealthDay,
- “People might think they can reduce their risk of cancer by occasionally swapping their cigarettes for a vape pen — but they would be wrong, a new study says.
- “So-called “dual users” — folks who both smoke and vape – are exposed to the same levels of nicotine and cancer-causing toxins as those who only smoke cigarettes, researchers reported in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.”
- Per the AHA News,
- “A study published April 17 by JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery found that up to 32% of dementia cases from 2011-2019 could be attributed to hearing loss confirmed through testing. Self-reported hearing loss was not associated with higher dementia risk.”
From the U.S. healthcare business front,
- CBS News reports,
- “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts says it will soon stop covering popular drugs for weight loss, like Ozempic and Wegovy.
- “The medications have skyrocketed in price and popularity, but they’re now being blamed for crippling budgets in the public and private sector. As one of the fastest growing classes of medications, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs were originally brought on the market to treat diabetes. But their secondary use as a way for users to suppress diets and slim down sent sales through the roof.
- “Blue Cross announced Thursday that starting on January 1, 2026, standard coverage plans will not cover GLP-1s for weight loss. The company will continue to cover patients who are using the drugs for diabetes treatment.
- “Studies suggest nearly 1 in 8 people have used GLP-1s as the drugs become more common. That’s given drug companies the reason to increase prices.”
- FEHB premiums continue to reverberate from OPM’s sudden decision in January 2023 to require all FEHB plans to cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity. Traditionally, OPM announces a mandate in the call letter for benefit proposals and allows the carrier to raise its premiums in advance of the mandate. OPM should stick with tradition and in any event curb its mandate habit. The FEHBlog wonders whether Lilly’s GLP-1 pill will reduce overall costs on obesity drugs.
- Modern Healthcare relates,
- Hospitals are zeroing in on alternative care models to improve the nursing work experience and patient outcomes while lowering costs.
- Eight in 10 nurse leaders are piloting new care models in their organizations, ranging from virtual nursing to home health, according to a recent study by healthcare solutions company Wolters Kluwer.
- Per an ICER news release,
- “This week, ICER released a Draft Evidence Report assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of tolebrutinib (Sanofi) for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS).
- “This preliminary draft marks the midpoint of ICER’s eight-month process of assessing this treatment, and the findings within this document should not be interpreted to be ICER’s final conclusions. The report will be open to public comment until May 13th. Click here for information on submitting a public comment.“
- Per Beckers Hospital Review,
- “Several large health systems reported operating losses in 2024, underscoring ongoing financial strain despite rising patient volumes and revenue growth. While inpatient revenue is climbing, expense pressures, cybersecurity disruptions and shifting care dynamics continue to weigh on margins — leaving even some of the nation’s largest systems in the red.
- “In February, average hospital operating margins fell to 2.5%, down from 3.4% in January, according to Kaufman Hall’s latest “National Hospital Flash Report.” Despite the dip, margins remained above 2024’s year-to-date average, suggesting that while performance has improved compared to recent years, financial stability remains fragile.
- “In the early months of 2025, volumes remain strong across the board,” Erik Swanson, managing director and data and analytics group leader at Kaufman Hall, said in an April 8 report. “Emergency visits are rising, which is leading to challenges with ED boarding for many organizations. Data also show that inpatient revenue is growing while outpatient revenue has slowed, which points to the rapid growth in outpatient care in the last few years reaching its peak.”
- The article describes the results for 11 health systems.