MedCity News

FDA Approves Viridian’s Thyroid Eye Disease Drug, Competitor to a Blockbuster Amgen Med

Payers

Businessman Hand shows the sign of the top service the best Quality assurance, Guarantee, Standards, ISO certification and standardization concept. guarantee product and ISO service concept.

CMS Recalculates Star Ratings — Again

CMS is recalculating some 2026 Medicare Advantage Star Ratings after a court ruled it improperly calculated Clover Health's rating, a decision that could boost payments for a small number of insurers.

By Marissa Plescia

MedCity Influencers

Semaglutide weight loss drug, conceptual illustration. Marketed as Ozempic, semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue that is used to treat diabetes and for weight management. It increases the production of insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar levels, while also suppressing secretion of glucagon, the hormone that raises blood sugar levels. It also reduces hunger and slows gastric emptying

A Bridge to Nowhere? Medicare’s GLP-1 Coverage Expansion Requires A More Holistic Approach To Weight Management

For seniors, the change in policy will dramatically expand access to a revolutionary medication. But there are also significant risks.

By Sandeep Palakodeti

Latest Video

Latest News

MedCity Influencers

Healthcare’s Most Avoided Question: “How Much Exactly Do You Need, and What Will America Get in Return?”

Before policymakers, employers, insurers, or taxpayers commit ever-larger sums to the system, an uncomfortable question deserves attention: How much additional capacity does healthcare actually need and what measurable outcomes should society expect in return?

By Eugene Litvak

Health Tech, Hospitals, Providers

Rainbow Refraction by Color Threads Through Needle Eyelet on Black Background Macrophotography, Selective Focus.

3 Traps Health Systems Fall Into When Trying to Improve Their Culture

Cultivating a positive culture is a priority for hospital leaders, but many are making avoidable mistakes. Myra Gregorian, Seattle Children's chief people and transformation officer, outlined some of these common blunders — such as not involving frontline staff in decision making and assuming that simple communication methods are sufficient.

By Katie Adams

MedCity Influencers

Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Awareness. Woman Holding Teal Ribbon on Lower Abdomen, Uterus, Female Reproductive System, Women's Health, PCOS and Gynecology

The Terminology Gap Undermining Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

While the Pap identifies the cell changes, the HPV test determines the root cause before those changes even happen. Both tests have saved lives. But they are not interchangeable, and treating them as such puts the patient at risk.

By Dr. Liz Swenson

BioPharma, Pharma

EMA: Amgen, Vifor Inflammatory Drug’s Benefits No Longer Outweigh Risks

A European Medicines Agency committee now recommends withdrawing marketing authorization for Tavneos, an Amgen drug marketed in Europe by a CSL Limited subsidiary. Meanwhile, an FDA proposal to withdraw the drug from the U.S. market is set to go to a hearing.

By Frank Vinluan

Policy

New Bill Led by Democrats Aims to Cap Medicare Out-of-Pocket Costs

The Medicare Cost Cap Act seeks to create a $5,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs for traditional Medicare beneficiaries.

By Marissa Plescia

Health Tech, Hospitals, Startups, Providers

Close-up of caregiver holding senior client hand. Support from nurse to patient, taking care of elderly man in hospital. Emotional support and care in healthcare, hospice care.

Documentation Tools Aren’t Just for Doctors: Inside Reid Health’s Deployment of Abridge’s Nurse Tech

Rural health system Reid Health is using Abridge's AI-powered documentation tech to reduce burnout among nurses. It appears to be working — after-shift charting is down by up to 45 minutes, and the RN vacancy rate has been cut more than in half, said Misti Foust-Cofield, Reid’s chief nursing officer.

By Katie Adams

MedCity Influencers

An abstract visualization of an artificial intelligence (AI) neural network with glowing nodes and connecting lines, representing big data processing, machine learning algorithms, and large language models (LLMs). Ideal for technology, science, and futuristic concept projects.

Why Generative AI Isn’t Enough: The Case for Causal Reasoning in Medicine

AI built on transparent, causal reasoning, systems that ground every output in validated biological mechanisms, show the pathway behind each recommendation, and cite their sources is what makes the difference between a tool that erodes clinical trust and one that rebuilds it.

By Elena Ikonomovska

MedCity Influencers

The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough” in Healthcare Experiences

It’s not low effort or underinvestment. It’s the steady-state output of an organization succeeding at the wrong thing.

By Mary Doeling

MedCity Influencers

Have Healthcare Data Lakes Become “Data Swamps”?

They are vast, deep, and nearly impossible to navigate without the right clinical lens applied on top. The real challenge facing health data platform companies and health system data teams is what to do with all of it.

By David Lareau

Hospitals

Hospital Room Corridor With Empty Seats At Night

Why ‘Still Open’ Is the Wrong Way to Measure the Hospital Crisis

Counting hospital closures only tells part of the story, noted Duane Fitch, partner at Plante Moran. Across the country, hundreds of hospitals remain technically open while steadily shedding services their communities depend on, such as emergency care, obstetrics and psychiatric care.

By Katie Adams

BioPharma, Pharma

A Metabolic Disease Posing Severe Pancreatic Risks Gets Its First FDA-Approved Therapy

Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Tryngolza is now the first approved therapy for treating severe hypertriglyceridemia, a prevalent chronic metabolic disorder that can lead to acute pancreatitis. This drug is a key piece of Ionis’s pivot away from partnering its assets, and instead developing and commercializing them on its own.

By Frank Vinluan

Health Tech

Upside Seeks to Solve the Housing Crisis Armed with $20M Raise

Upside's $20 million raise was led by Aquiline and Flare Capital Partners, with support from existing investors including 645 Ventures, Freestyle Capital, Triple Impact Capital and Techstars.

By Marissa Plescia

Payers, Opinion

UnitedHealthcare Threw Open Its HQ to Journalists and Influencers. Why?

UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Noel, Optum CEO Dr. Patrick Conway, and other top executives and employees gave unprecedented access to journalists and others in order to show how the company is trying to reduce friction in healthcare. The goal was to change hearts and minds. Did the insurance behemoth succeed?

By Arundhati Parmar

MedCity Influencers

Why Most Healthcare AI Fails After the Pilot Phase

AI isn’t failing because it lacks capability. It’s failing because it isn’t consistently reaching the moments where decisions are made.

By Michael Meucci

MedCity Influencers

Real-Time Trials Are Here — Now We Need Real-Time Trust

For years the healthcare system has relied on the slow machinery of research — and that system is failing the people it was built for. It was designed for a world that operated with an abundance of caution and lacked the modern tools of today. That world no longer exists.

By Brigham Hyde