Who Gets to Do Research in Space When the International Space Station Is Gone?
The International Space Station will be retired in 2030 after 30 years of multinational research, ending the era of a shared government‑run laboratory. Private firms such as Axiom, SpaceX and Blue Origin will build the next low‑Earth‑orbit habitats, owned by commercial entities rather than nations. This shift threatens the public‑health and biomedical experiments that have flourished on the ISS, as tourism and profit‑driven activities could dominate. The United States and its partners must act to secure research access before the commercial stations launch.
I Tried Price Shopping for Health Care. It Isn’t Worth It – Not Yet.
The author tried to price‑shop a CT scan after a back injury and discovered that the lowest‑cost, in‑network provider didn’t offer the needed service, forcing a longer trip to a pricier location. The experience highlights how inaccurate provider directories, opaque...
Dual-Eligible Patients Fall Through the Cracks in Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Dual‑eligible Americans—about 12 million who receive both Medicare and Medicaid—face stark gaps in substance‑use disorder (SUD) treatment. Roughly 1.5 million of these high‑need patients have SUD, yet Medicaid covers only about half of guideline‑recommended services and Medicare’s recent outpatient expansion omits telehealth...
If Gene Therapies Are so Revolutionary, Why Does No One Want to Pay for Them?
Gene therapies promise one‑time cures for diseases like sickle‑cell and inherited blindness, but their price tags—often $1 million to $3 million per patient—clash with the U.S. insurance model. More than half of new cell and gene therapies face coverage restrictions because insurers...
FDA’s New Program Injects Politics Into Drug Approval
The FDA has introduced the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) pilot, offering ultra‑fast approval pathways for drugs that align with the current White House policy agenda. The program could slash review times for qualifying products, giving participating companies a market...
The Promise and Problems of Hospital Price Transparency
In 2021 CMS mandated hospitals to publish machine‑readable price lists for 300 common services, hoping transparent pricing would spur competition and lower costs. Five years later, health spending still outpaces inflation and the rule’s impact remains minimal. Low public awareness,...