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Good morning. Soccer enthusiasts in the U.S. have plenty to cheer about these days. However, I found this perspective on FIFA’s commercial hydration breaks in Defector quite interesting.
$360,000
The U.S. government spent approximately $360,000 from January 2025 to March 2026 to store contraceptives intended for international aid, as reported by a USAID Office of Inspector General advisory released last week. During this period, monthly storage expenses rose from over $17,000 to $24,000.
The contraceptives, originally destined for low-income countries in Africa, were left in Belgium following significant budget cuts to USAID by the Trump administration last year. Out of $9.7 million worth of family planning supplies, only about $1.7 million remains usable due to climate-controlled storage. However, expiration dates looming in April 2028 present a challenge. Meanwhile, a family medicine planning crisis is unfolding across Africa, according to sources cited by CNN this spring.
Pandora’s box of Medicare-funded weight loss
Next month, for the first time, Medicare will provide access to weight loss GLP-1 medications for individuals aged 65 and older through a government program initially labeled as temporary. However, as STAT’s John Wilkerson notes, ending a temporary initiative can be challenging.
The issue arose when Medicare leaders sought to encourage private Medicare insurers to voluntarily cover these drugs as part of a three-year program, to begin after a brief transition. Insurers were not receptive, prompting the government to extend the transitional coverage until the end of next year. During this time, taxpayers are covering the costs. Read more from John on the implications for seniors and taxpayers.
Data on Utah’s lower drunk driving limit
In 2018, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to lower its legal blood alcohol concentration limit for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 g/dL. A study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals a significant drop in drunk driving-related deaths in Utah compared to neighboring states since the law’s enactment. Notably, the most substantial decrease occurred in crashes involving drivers with a BAC between .01 and .05.
The study’s authors concluded that Utah’s 0.05 BAC law served as a robust deterrent against alcohol-related fatal crashes. This aligns with international trends observed in countries like Australia and France, which have also implemented lower BAC limits. Several U.S. states, including Washington, New York, and Michigan, are considering similar legislation this year.
Conflict-of-interest questions after a decade of HCA
Within the International Human Cell Atlas Consortium, Alexandra-Chloé Villani is recognized for her pioneering work in single-cell technologies to study the immune system’s response to drugs. She is organizing a major meeting in Boston this week and is anticipated to assume a leadership position by the year’s end. However, it is less known that her husband holds a senior executive role at 10x Genomics, a key provider of technologies for the consortium and the event’s primary corporate sponsor.
While close ties between academia and industry are common in this rapidly evolving field, STAT’s Megan Molteni spoke with HCA scientists who were unaware of this relationship and believe it should be disclosed to the community. Read more on the intricate ties influencing the costly and complex research conducted by HCA scientists.
How supplement use changed over decades
The use of supplements among American adults has significantly increased since the early 2000s. In 1999, 51% of adults took supplements, a figure that rose to 60% by 2023, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers analyzed annual data from a CDC health survey that included interviews on supplement use. They discovered a surge in supplement usage post-2009-10, especially among older adults. Long-term increases were noted in immune and anti-inflammatory products like zinc, elderberry, and ashwagandha, particularly during the Covid pandemic. While vitamin use rose, multivitamin-multimineral usage declined, which researchers attribute to a rising preference for personalized medicine.
How an Alzheimer’s expert missed it in her own father
Alzheimer’s disease begins its progression 15 to 20 years before symptoms become apparent to families. Neurologist Elizabeth Bevins is well aware of this timeline, yet she failed to recognize the early signs in her father. “Not because I lacked training,” she writes in a new First Opinion essay, “But because I was trained to wait for unmistakable decline before acting.”
Bevins argues that this mindset is flawed. She advocates for a significant change in brain health treatment, emphasizing early risk identification, ongoing surveillance, and timely intervention to prevent irreversible damage. Read more about the potential benefits and risks of acting earlier.
What we’re reading
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The kratom civil war is heating up, and MAHA has picked a side, Wired
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High inflation is forcing older women on fixed incomes to make hard choices, The 19th
- FDA approves Colorado’s plan to import cheaper drugs from Canada, STAT
- They’re uninsured after Obamacare became too costly. And they’re far from alone, KFF Health News
- Covid vaccination cut risk of adverse heart events, large study finds, STAT
