A Senate committee will vote today on whether to advance the nomination of Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the CDC. Trump's other picks to lead key health agencies, including Dr. Jay Bhattacharya at the NIH and Dr. Marty Makary at the FDA, had already established themselves as contrarians to the medical establishment during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Monarez has held various health-related roles in the federal government for nearly two decades, initially maintaining a comparatively low profile.
The collaboration, which is expected to begin in spring 2026, will enhance access to specialized pediatric care by bringing CHOP's clinical expertise to communities ChristianaCare serves in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. By integrating CHOP's services with ChristianaCare's established network, the collaboration will improve care delivery, making advanced pediatric treatments more accessible and reducing the need for families to travel long distances for care.
Pennant Group has announced the acquisition of GrandCare Health Services, a home health agency in Southern California. GrandCare, to be renamed GrandCare Home Health, provides services across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. The acquisition strengthens Pennant's presence in California, where it already owns senior living operations.
At least 127 breakthrough devices have so far come to market, and policymakers now want to take the next step: to make sure that Medicare will pay for them. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has said that he is working on 'a way Medicare can pay for something the second the FDA approves a breakthrough device.' That's something device makers have been lobbying for, saying it will help them avoid the 'valley of death' that can doom innovative companies before reimbursement kicks in.
More than 100 rural hospitals have closed in the past decade, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR), a national policy center that works to improve health care payment systems and whose data have been cited by the Bipartisan Policy Center. About one-third of all rural hospitals in the country are at risk of closing because of financial problems. In Alabama, 23 rural hospitals—about half of all of them in the state—are at immediate risk of closing, according to CHQPR.