First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and provocative articles about the life sciences writ large, written by biotech insiders, health care workers, researchers, and others. To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received in response to them. You can submit a […]

Flawed EPPC Report Aims to Cast Doubt on Long-Standing Research Documenting Abortion Pill Safety Peter Dazeley / Getty Images An April report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), which has been met with criticism over its methodological rigor and lack of data transparency, has led to renewed calls for the FDA to restrict […]

A nonprofit led by Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder and long-time CEO of genetic data firm 23andMe, won a last-minute bidding war to buy most of the company’s assets for a price of $305 million, the company said in a press release. The news, reported first by the Wall Street Journal, comes less than a month […]

As the Trump administration moves to institute changes to the process by which vaccines are recommended for the U.S. public, as well as the actual recommendations themselves, consumers could lose access to no-cost health insurance coverage of vaccines. This is due to the fact that several laws and regulations tie such coverage to recommendations made […]

Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Good morning. Today, we’re hearing more about President Trump’s “most-favored nation” plan for drug pricing, Recursion’s case for why the company laid off 20% of its staff, and more. HHS tries pushing pharma to the […]

DEERFIELD, Ill. & SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2025 –  Walgreens and Greater Than HIV/STDs, a public information campaign from KFF, are joining with health departments and community organizations to provide free rapid HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C testing at more than 575 Walgreens stores on June 27 for the nation’s largest National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) event.  […]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda may get the headlines, but his plans as Health and Human Services secretary also include something that has gone largely overlooked: overhauling U.S. health care spending priorities, targeting the current procedural terminology (CPT) billing codes. Developed by the American Medical Association, CPT codes provide a standard […]

On May 22, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill—called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—that includes significant reductions in federal Medicaid spending to help offset the cost of tax cuts, along with changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), immigration reforms and  other provisions. Together, the combination of policies […]

The Food and Drug Administration expanded the approval of Moderna’s RSV vaccine on Thursday, extending the license to include adults aged 18 to 59 who are at high risk of severe illness if they contract respiratory syncytial virus. Previously the vaccine, sold under the name mResvia, was only licensed for use in adults aged 60 […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollment increased following the enactment of enhanced premium tax credits in 2021, as more individuals became eligible for subsidies. In 2025, individual market enrollment reached a record high of 25.2 million people. However, it is not yet known how many ACA enrollees effectuated coverage, so the size of the on- […]