The COVID-19 public health crisis ended in May 2023, three and a half years after HHS declared the pandemic a national health emergency. However, public anger over U.S. healthcare’s response is still rearing its ugly head in 2026. 

The new entity, Precure, will be owned by both groups. Its work in detecting early disease for timely intervention stems from a research project launched this summer. The Mayo Clinic said Precure will make the results of that initiative actionable.

The judge did not rule that Cigna was justified in refusing to pay but did agree that, under provisions of the NSA, federal courts have no right to compel payments. 

The payers in question, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, deny any wrongdoing and are not obligated to pay back any money. 

Medicare Advantage plans were the least likely to deny standard requests but still did so about 12% of the time. Medicaid managed care insurers rejected standard prior authorizations 14% of the time on average. KFF used 2025 payer data on 71 million Americans for its analysis.

The benefits management company Aon said per-employee expenditures may rise about $19,000. While the broader economy is to blame, part of the rise can be attributed to the management of costly chronic conditions such as diabetes. 

Jennifer S. Lawton, MD, is known for her research on how to protect the heart and brain during cardiac surgeries. She has also spent her career mentoring trainees and serving in a variety of leadership positions. 

Telix and ITM say their partnership is intended to integrate each company’s capabilities into a single organization, giving them greater control over the path from isotope production to patient treatment.