Senators in the dark on CDC nominee plans

The White House reportedly plans to nominate someone to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the coming weeks, but the senators responsible for confirming that person haven't been clued in.

Senate health committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told Chelsea Cirruzzo the White House hasn't told him who they plan to nominate. Other committee Republicans interviewed by STAT, including Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), and Jon Husted (Ohio), also said they haven't heard who is under consideration.

National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya is the acting CDC director, but the administration needs to nominate a permanent replacement soon, due to statutory limits on how long the position can be filled on an acting basis.

The nominee might have a difficult go of it in the Senate health committee. The agency has been at the forefront of most of the administration's controversial vaccine policies, including changes to the childhood vaccination schedule, and Cassidy has been burned more than once on vaccine policy by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Republican committee members Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) also could pose a potential problem to a nominee who doesn't embrace vaccines.

Meanwhile, vaccine policy has left a few committee members undecided over whether to support Casey Means to the largely figurehead position of surgeon general. On Tuesday, Cassidy declined to say whether he would vote to confirm Means as the nation's top doctor, telling reporters he still needs to speak with his committee.

drug prices

44

That's how many drugs are on TrumpRx, up from 43 at launch. (The new drug is a different version of Zepbound, which was already on the site.)

When President Trump announced his namesake drug discount platform, he heralded it as "one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time." An administration official promised to add drugs weekly, and Dr. Oz said his agency was poised to release performance results "over the next week," touting the site's "millions and millions of users, billions of searches, and hundreds of thousands of prescription coupons already doled out."

Daniel Payne checked in on TrumpRx one month later. He found that few drugs are available, that promised performance data remains unavailable, and at least some of the private deals underlying TrumpRx are still being worked out.

"President Trump is DELIVERING," Assistant Secretary for Health Brian Christine posted on social media on Tuesday, with a link to the site. Read more.

nutrition

Medical schools update nutrition education

Fifty-three medical schools have agreed to update their approach to nutrition education at the behest of the Trump administration, a change that leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement say shows their ability to find common ground with the medical establishment, even amid major conflicts over issues like vaccine policy.

Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon will provide more details about the plan at an 11 a.m. press event today, Sarah Todd reports. Senior agency officials said on a call ahead of the event that each of the schools agreed to:

Perform a "comprehensive curriculum assessment" of their nutrition education
Nominate a "faculty champion" to advance nutrition education
Create a public landing page with the school's plan for getting to 40 hours of nutrition education or the equivalent, an effort that will begin in fall 2026

The American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges are also on board with the changes, the officials said. Read more.

insurance

Pulling the blinds at UnitedHealth

UnitedHeath Group executives promised to disclose more about its business dealings to help investors judge the conglomerate's financial health during tumultuous times.

A new reporting policy from the health care giant is doing the opposite, Bob Herman reports.

This week, UnitedHealth listed 10 subsidiaries in its annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A year ago, the company disclosed nearly 3,100.

autism

I-ACC vs. IACC

Independent autism researchers and advocates have formed the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee to counter a federal advisory panel, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, that they don't trust, O. Rose Broderick reports.

Kennedy put members on the federal IACC who agree with his view that childhood vaccines can cause autism, despite the lack of evidence for such a link.

The first meeting of Kennedy's IACC will be March 19. That's also the date of the first scheduled meeting of the other I-ACC. Read more.

drug pricing boards

Virginia is for lower drug prices

Virginia lawmakers are spearheading a new approach to a drug affordability board that they believe will go further than similar efforts attempted by other states, Ed Silverman reports.

The plan is to build from Medicare's drug price negotiation program, allowing Virginia to quickly get its prescription drug affordability board up and running. None of the other nine states with similar boards use the same drugs chosen annually by Medicare.

What we're reading

Moderna to pay Roivant up to $2.25 billion to settle patent lawsuit behind mRNA vaccines, STAT
RFK Jr. tells Joe Rogan he's about to unleash 15 banned peptides, Gizmodo
What Alexis de Tocqueville taught me about recovering from a brain injury, STAT
Is RFK Jr. coming for your Dunkin'? The Boston Globe
RFK Jr.'s pick for surgeon general cashed in promoting companies with a history of unsafe products, Rolling Stone