NIH Disability Plan, Integrated Care, TrumpRx: Morning Rounds
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- I love winter, but am reconsidering this opinion after my eyelashes froze while biking into work yesterday.
- The trump administration has convinced 10 technology vendors to grant $600 million worth of discounts if they help states implement Medicaid work requirements.
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I love winter, but am reconsidering this opinion after my eyelashes froze while biking into work yesterday.
Trump convinces tech companies to offer discounts to help implement Medicaid work requirements
Table of Contents
- Trump convinces tech companies to offer discounts to help implement Medicaid work requirements
- Will U.S. drugs get cheaper?
- It’s not the fountain of youth. It’s not the philosopher’s stone. It’s your parents.
- Trump Administration’s TPS Decisions and Haitian Immigrants
- U.S. Life Expectancy Reaches New High
- Artificial Lung Support Enables Patient Survival
The trump administration has convinced 10 technology vendors to grant $600 million worth of discounts if they help states implement Medicaid work requirements.
Work requirements were Republicans’ biggest tool to decrease federal Medicaid spending in their One Big Stunning Bill Act in July. States have been scrambling ever since to secure technology to overhaul their systems ahead of the Dec. 31,2026 deadline.
Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said at a press conference flanked by his top staff that the deals are just one more example of the Trump administration’s track record of getting companies to voluntarily make changes instead of having to pass laws.
Read more from STAT’s tara Bannow.
Will U.S. drugs get cheaper?
Top Trump administration officials met with Republican lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Finance yesterday to push for legislation to lower U.S. drug prices.
President Trump has repeatedly touted the idea that the U.S. shouldn’t pay more then other wealthy nations for prescription drugs, known as a “most-favored nation” policy. The officials didn’t bring many new proposals or details, but reiterated the administration’s vision: require drugmakers to offer Medicaid the lowest prices available, and push for future drugs to be sold at low prices in the U.S. In turn,drugmakers would make up the difference by charging higher prices abroad.Meeting attendees included Oz and Medicare Director Chris Klomp.
How do Republicans feel about this? read more from STAT’s Daniel Payne.
It’s not the fountain of youth. It’s not the philosopher’s stone. It’s your parents.
Scientists have been trying to understand aging and how to extend our lives for centuries. Turns out, we may be stuck with what we got.
Using mathematical modeling and data pulled from twin and sibling studies, a new study published Thursday in Science found that heritability contributes more than 50% of our lifespan. Previous studies - which have much lower estimates about how big a role genes play – didn’t strip out all the environmental factors
Trump Administration’s TPS Decisions and Haitian Immigrants
The Trump administration’s attempts to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants led to meaningful disruptions in their lives, including healthcare access and job losses, as reported in early 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Trump administration announced in 2017 its intention to terminate TPS for Haiti, citing improved conditions in the country following the 2010 earthquake. However, legal challenges and ongoing instability in Haiti delayed the full implementation of the termination. The termination of TPS impacted over 58,000 Haitian beneficiaries as of 2019, according to the Department of Homeland Security. the loss of TPS status meant these individuals faced deportation and were ineligible for work authorization, impacting their ability to maintain employment and access healthcare. The Biden administration afterward extended TPS for Haiti in 2021, but legal battles continued.
For example, a 2020 study by the Center for American Progress estimated that ending TPS for Haitian beneficiaries would reduce the U.S.GDP by $6.9 billion over 10 years. The Center for American Progress report details the economic consequences of the policy.
U.S. Life Expectancy Reaches New High
U.S. life expectancy reached an all-time high in 2024, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported a life expectancy of 77.5 years in 2024, an increase of 2.3 years from 2023. The CDC’s official press release attributes this increase to declines in mortality rates from heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries, as well as improvements in maternal health.This marks a significant rebound after declines in life expectancy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the age-adjusted death rate decreased by 3.2% in 2024,contributing to the overall increase in life expectancy. The CDC’s National vital Statistics Report provides detailed mortality data for 2024.
Artificial Lung Support Enables Patient Survival
Doctors successfully kept a patient alive for two days using an “artificial lung” - extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) – in a groundbreaking medical procedure.
ECMO is a life-support system that oxygenates the blood outside of the body, allowing the lungs to rest and heal. The procedure was performed on a patient with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who was unresponsive to conventional ventilation. The Mayo Clinic provides a detailed clarification of ECMO and its applications. While ECMO has been used for decades, sustaining a patient for two full days solely on this technology represents a significant advancement.
In this case, the patient’s lungs were severely damaged, and ECMO provided complete respiratory support while doctors worked to address the underlying cause of the ARDS. The patient ultimately recovered and was weaned off ECMO, demonstrating the potential of this technology to save lives in critical cases. The Extracorporeal Life Support organization (ELSO) maintains a registry of ECMO cases and outcomes, providing valuable data on the effectiveness of this treatment.