Participation in alternative payment models has remained steady, with 44.9% of health care payments flowing through categories 3 and 4, according to an AHIP survey. The percentage of health care payments tied to risk-based APMs rose slightly to 28.7% from 28.5%. Public payers are ahead of private payers in value-based payments, with Medicare Advantage leading at 60%.

Humana has partnered with Google Cloud to introduce Agent Assist, an agentic AI tool designed to improve the member experience by assisting the company's 20,000 member advocates. The tool, built using Google Cloud's Vertex AI, Gemini and Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, helps manage high call volumes by summarizing conversations, anticipating member needs and providing compliance support.

Medicare Advantage faces challenges from recent policy changes that have led to a decrease in plan choices, reduced supplemental benefits and greater out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries, write Donna Shalala and Tommy Thompson, both former HHS secretaries. Shalala and Thompson, who played key roles in the program's development, note that the policy changes stem from a narrative that MA has failed to reduce Medicare spending, although enrollment is strong and satisfaction is high.

Health care cyberincidents rose by 21% in 2025, totaling 575, compared with 476 in 2024, the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center found. Despite the increase, the number of breached patient records fell after a major incident in 2024 affected 192.7 million patients.

Cancer patients diagnosed in 2020 and 2021 have demonstrated lower short-term survival than people diagnosed from 2015 to 2019, according to a study in JAMA Oncology. The study attributes this to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including delayed screenings and treatment, and notes a particular impact on colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

A study in JAMA Network Open found that adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus had an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiorespiratory events in the weeks following hospitalization. Myocardial infarction rates were 2.6 to 8.7 times higher, stroke rates were 7.4 times higher, and arrhythmia rates were 16.5 times higher.

The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission's new obesity definition focuses on functional consequences rather than body mass index, revealing hidden cardiac risks. A UK Biobank study involving 502,233 adults published in Obesity found that clinical obesity, characterized by physical impairment or organ dysfunction, significantly increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and myocardial infarction. The study underscores the importance of thorough obesity evaluations but notes challenges such as reliance on electronic health records and limited demographic diversity.

A study in JAMA Network Open found that young adults with childhood-onset complex chronic conditions had longer hospital stays, higher costs and increased readmission rates compared with peers without those conditions. The study, involving 19,915 hospitalizations, highlighted the need for targeted measures to improve care for this population.

The Trump administration has launched TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer drug platform, as part of the Most Favored Nation drug pricing initiative. The website offers coupons for 43 medications at discounts ranging from 33% to 93%, requiring users to confirm they are not enrolled in government-funded insurance programs. TrumpRx, which has integrated with GoodRx for pricing, has received praise from health policy groups for its potential to lower drug costs, although some experts have raised concerns about competition.