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HealthPlatform.News(letter)

September 8, 2025

In this week’s edition of health news across the states: Facing backlash, health insurers to curb use of prior authorization; Why a private investor is putting billions into women’s health care; Bipartisan momentum grows in expanding Medicare cancer screenings; Screwworm threat found in U.S.

Plus: Mello: Congress can help advance healthcare AI innovation

HealthPlatform.News [[link removed]] Facing backlash, health insurers to curb use of prior authorization [[link removed]]

Amid growing pressure from federal and state policymakers, U.S. health plans are reforming the controversial practice of “prior authorization,” which requires doctors to seek advance approval from an insurance company before performing treatments or prescribing medications.

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Why a private investor is putting billions into women’s health care [[link removed]]

The Gates Foundation has promised $2.5 billion in new research and development funding over the next five years, “focused exclusively on women’s health."

The money will support “the advancement of more than 40 innovations in five critical, chronically underfunded areas,” the foundation said, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. The money is also meant to catalyze additional investment from governments, philanthropists and the private sector, the group said.

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Bipartisan momentum grows in expanding Medicare cancer screenings [[link removed]] [[link removed]]

Cancer prevention advocates are calling on Congress to push through a new law that would boost early detection cancer screenings within the Medicare program. Combined with current practice, the additional screenings could save money and lives in the fight against the deadly disease.

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Screwworm threat found in U.S. [[link removed]]

Federal officials have confirmed the first human case of the New World screwworm (NWS), a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on living tissue, in the U.S. The patient, a Maryland resident who recently traveled to El Salvador, has recovered, and officials say there is no evidence the infection spread to anyone else.

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Mello: Congress can help advance healthcare AI innovation [[link removed]]

AI is already influencing life-and-death decisions in U.S. hospitals, often without many safeguards. That creates both a historic opportunity and a serious risk. My work has led me to understand that although poorly designed regulation can hinder innovation, the government has a critical role to play in ensuring the conditions for innovation translate into greater adoption of healthcare AI. The key problem isn’t that there isn’t a lot of innovation; it’s that uptake of new innovations is low. A major reason why adoption lags behind innovation and interest in AI is what experts have called “a foundational trust deficit.”

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In case you missed it

Critics call for transparency in a federal hospital funding stream [[link removed]]

Senate considers bill to tackle Medicare Advantage upcoding costs [[link removed]]

Study points to dangers of pure fentanyl overdose deaths for U.S. youth [[link removed]]

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