Welcome to 2026

It's been a long year already.

The HHS is cutting six vaccines from its list of 17 recommended childhood immunizations, Chelsea Cirruzzo and Helen Branswell report. Officials also now only recommend some vaccines for "high-risk" individuals, and they're telling parents to use "shared clinical decision-making" to determine whether to vaccinate kids against other diseases, such as flu and rotavirus.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has placed several vaccine skeptics on the government's vaccine advisory committee, but even that panel was not consulted about the new policy.

Read more about how the new recommendations came about, and what they could mean for children's health and insurance coverage.

congress

What to watch on health care this year

Congress is preoccupied with the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, but the House is expected to vote later this week on legislation to extend enhanced ACA premium subsidies for three years, according to the House schedule.

The vote, the result of a successful gamble by Democrats, is an example of how health care legislation can get attention even in a week flooded with geopolitical news.

Higher health insurance costs will likely be an undercurrent this year as Democrats try to keep the public focused on the economy by tying Medicaid cuts and expired ACA subsidies to voter frustrations over a flagging economy. However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has signalled that Democrats do not plan to shut the government down again over the ACA subsidies.

The ACA credits are not the only health care policy to monitor this year. Trump cut deals with several drugmakers to bring U.S. prices in line with other rich countries, but much still needs to be worked out, and it's not clear what the deals entail. For example, the administration proposed two most-favored-nation Medicare pilot programs, but multiple companies that have cut deals said they're exempt from them.

Also, the TrumpRx website is supposed to go live sometime this month, but there are unanswered questions about how it'll work.

There's also the health care deal from the end of 2024 that fell through and could resurface, possibly as part of government-funding legislation at the end of the month.

Read more about the three big health care policy issues to watch this year.

dei

Future DEI research funding is likely DOA

The courts have stopped the administration from terminating thousands of existing research grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. But NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said the agency is unlikely to renew many DEI grants this year, according to Anil Oza.

An NIH spokesperson declined to clarify which grants are at risk.

It's been difficult to keep track of the lawsuits and renegotiated projects over DEI-related research funding terminations last year. Read more for Anil's helpful rundown.

research overhead

Another win for universities

A federal appeals court on Monday blocked the NIH from cutting billions of dollars for research overhead at universities and other institutions, Jonathan Wosen reports.

An HHS spokesperson declined to comment on whether the Trump administration will petition the Supreme Court to hear the case.

The administration may still try to change indirect cost policy despite the ruling. The White House budget office is working on a plan to reduce indirect cost payments.

research

Year in review

Last month, a team of STAT reporters wrapped up a 10-part series on the impacts to the U.S. research enterprise under the Trump administration.

It will be a while before the full effect will be understood, but STAT reporters did a great job of getting a handle on what can be discerned so far.

Find all of the stories here, with moving profiles by Anil, Jonathan, Sarah Todd, Angus Chen, J. Emory Parker, Theresa Gaffney, Andrew Joseph, Megan Molteni, and Eric Boodman. I hope you read all of them.

in memoriam

A sad note

David Mitchell, a leading and early advocate for constraining prescription drug prices, died on Friday. He was 75 years old.

Ed Silverman wrote about David, a former public relations specialist who skipped retirement to found Patients for Affordable Drugs. He was well-suited for the role. Not only did he understand how to get the attention of lawmakers and policy influencers, he also suffered from multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that cost $440,000 a year to treat when he launched his campaign in 2016.

Many reporters and lawmakers relied on David for independent, thoughtful commentary in the complicated policy debates over drug prices. He made a difference. He will be missed.

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What we're reading

What does Neuralink want — to help people with paralysis, or prepare for a war with AI? STAT
Trump's cuts are about to make health care even worse, The New York Times
Missed first vaccines make babies far more likely to miss measles shot, study finds, STAT
90 minutes to give baby luna a new heart, The New York Times
A biotech incubator in China tries to unlock innovation — alongside drugmakers worldwide, STAT