Explore every Policy Ledger article written by Hardik Vats.
View all 481 articlesGeneric versions of the blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug launched in India within a day of patent expiry, at a fraction of the brand-name price. Americans will have to wait years for the same.
Read articleA 6.6% average pay rise, 4,500 new training places and a change at the top of the health department ended a doctors' dispute that had disrupted the NHS since 2023.
Read articleMore than 30 nations have signed five-year health agreements with Washington that require them to pay a growing share of the bill. Supporters call it accountability; critics call it a retreat.
Read articleCountries are still deadlocked over how to share virus samples and the vaccines made from them, and the United States, now outside the WHO, is not at the table.
Read articleMore than 8,000 confirmed cases and nearly 4,000 confirmed deaths have been reported since May. The Bundibugyo virus has left responders without the vaccines and treatments that helped end recent outbreaks.
Read articleTalks over 15 high-cost medicines, including Botox, Trulicity and the HIV drug Biktarvy, must wrap up by November 1. Prices will take effect in 2028.
Read articleA 100% default tariff on imported patented medicines now applies to all drugmakers, but pricing deals, factory pledges and exemptions mean many companies will pay far less.
Read articleFederal regulators finalized an overhaul of the rules requiring health plans to publish what they pay doctors and hospitals. The changes take effect in December.
Read articleA new mandatory pilot will compare what Medicare pays for certain doctor-administered drugs with prices in other wealthy countries. CMS now projects savings roughly 96% smaller than its original estimate.
Read articleWith nearly 3,900 confirmed cases, 2026 is the worst U.S. measles year in more than three decades. An international panel will decide in November whether the country is still "measles-free."
Read articleA new federal schedule, a court order blocking it, an executive order reviving it and a rival schedule from pediatricians have left parents and doctors navigating competing guidance.
Read articleSince October 1, most lawfully present immigrants without green cards can no longer get federally funded Medicaid. Medicare and marketplace changes follow within months.
Read articleMost states must start enforcing work rules for Medicaid expansion adults on January 1, 2027. Nebraska went first, and its early data are drawing close attention.
Read articleThe administration says broker-driven "unauthorized enrollments" were draining billions in subsidies. Critics warn that people who wanted their coverage are being swept up too.
Read articleAs the ACA shopping season opens November 1, enrollees face a second straight year of double-digit premium requests, a higher out-of-pocket cap and new limits on who can get federal help.
Read articleGavi raised less than it needed for 2026-2030 after the United States ended its funding. It has cut staff and scaled back its malaria vaccine goals, and its leader warns tens of thousands of children could die.
Read articleFour provinces and territories have free diabetes drugs and contraception under federal deals. Most of the country does not, and Ottawa has signaled it will not sign new agreements.
Read articleCases have fallen sharply from their peak, and Africa's top health agency ended its emergency declaration. Yet Madagascar now has the world's largest outbreak, and a more severe strain is spreading locally in Europe.
Read articleLenacapavir, a long-acting injection that was nearly 100% effective in trials, is rolling out in more than a dozen countries with U.S. and Global Fund support, even as overall HIV funding shrinks.
Read articleA high-level meeting on September 25 was meant to renew political commitment to pandemic preparedness. Objections from the United States and others left its final statement unadopted.
Read articleStates are cutting provider payments, dropping coverage of weight-loss drugs and scaling back immigrant coverage as slowing revenue collides with the largest federal Medicaid reductions in the program's history.
Read articleAfter years of short-term patches and a shutdown that briefly cut off virtual visits, Congress extended Medicare's pandemic-era telehealth rules for nearly two years. Advocates want them made permanent.
Read articleFederal health officials have advanced a first-ever definition of ultra-processed food and a rule to end food companies' ability to secretly declare ingredients safe. What it could mean for what Americans eat.
Read articleEvery state received a share of the new Rural Health Transformation Program. As the first deadlines arrive this fall, analysts say the fund offsets only part of the Medicaid cuts headed for rural America.
Read articleWith no comprehensive federal law, states passed a wave of 2026 laws limiting how insurers use artificial intelligence, banning chatbots from posing as therapists and requiring humans to make the final call.
Read articleAs the midterms approach, Democrats are talking about expanding coverage again. Oregon is weeks away from delivering a detailed plan that could make it the first state with a single-payer system.
Read articleJuries have ruled against Meta and YouTube, school districts are settling, and 29 states have taken Meta to trial. The cases test whether app design can be treated like a dangerous product.
Read articleLawmakers gave the National Institutes of Health a small raise for 2026 and are again resisting a proposed cut for 2027. But new research awards have dropped sharply, and the agency now runs on a stopgap budget until December 11.
Read articleA temporary "GLP-1 Bridge" opened Medicare coverage of obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound in July. The permanent model meant to replace it has been delayed indefinitely.
Read articleFrom October 15 to December 7, more than 60 million older and disabled Americans can change their Medicare coverage. The options look very different depending on which kind of Medicare they have.
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