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The Department of Health and Human Services began the process of decertifying a multistate organ procurement group a year after a federal investigation found the organization prepared dozens of patients for organ recovery while they were still alive, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Wednesday. The cases included a Kentucky man, T.J. Hoover, who was brought to the operating table in 2021 for organ recovery even as he was thrashing in bed, crying and shaking his head. A congressman likened the account to a “horror movie” during a congressional hearing in July 2025. (Wu, 8/5)

UnitedHealthcare is making moves in Medicare Advantage for 2027. The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is considering departures from 34 counties in 12 states, according to a preliminary list the company distributed to third-party marketing organizations last week. That represents 1.2% of the counties where it sells Medicare Advantage policies this year. UnitedHealthcare is the only Medicare Advantage insurer in three of the counties it may exit. (Tepper, 8/5)

A decades-old spin on traditional employee health benefits is making a comeback. Cigna Group subsidiary Cigna Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group subsidiary UnitedHealthcare division and a bevy of insurers and emerging companies are offering “level-funded” products to employers desperate to reduce rising healthcare costs. (Tong, 8/5)

Sentara Health has formally notified Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia that it intends to allow some of its commercial, Medicare and Medicaid agreements to expire if the companies cannot reach a deal for a new contract. The dispute could affect nearly 380,000 Anthem members in Virginia. (8/5)

Massachusetts is investing nearly $1.4 million into a new initiative aimed at getting older patients out of the hospital faster. Seven hospitals will partner with aging services organizations and use the money to help patients line up nonmedical services such as meals, medication management and transportation after an inpatient stay. The program, if it is successful and overcomes long-term funding challenges, could serve as a model for other states and health systems grappling with delayed discharges. (Eastabrook, 8/5)

The fate of the No Surprises Act's independent dispute resolution (IDR) clause continues to hang in the balance as it winds its way through the courts. The No Surprises Act, signed into law in 2020 by President Donald Trump, was intended to protect patients from unexpected bills for care from out-of-network providers and to ensure fair contracts between health plans and physicians. It requires health plans and providers to resolve their billing disputes by establishing an IDR arbitration process in which the insurer and the provider each come up with an offer and an independent third party chooses one of the two. (Frieden, 8/5)

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a novel type of treatment for narcolepsy made by Takeda, backing a drug class that scientists hope can transform the treatment of sleep disorders and potentially address a broad range of neurologic conditions. (Chen, 8/5)

Last year, a little-known Chinese startup took center stage at the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy annual convention in New Orleans. Speaking before a sprawling conference hall for the presidential symposium, HuidaGene CEO Alvin Luk presented data from one of the world’s first trials to test if CRISPR gene editing could treat children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an intractable, fatal disease. (Mast and Yang, 8/5)

Two and a half years into his tenure as Emergent BioSolutions CEO, Joseph Papa is executing another round of restructuring to align the business with “current business realities.” The Narcan maker will lay off 93 employees across all areas of the company and remove 21 open positions, the company said Wednesday alongside its second-quarter earnings report. (Liu, 8/5)

Bank of America spends more than $250 million a year covering GLP-1 weight loss drugs for its employees, CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC on Wednesday, saying the rapidly rising cost is a worthwhile investment in his workforce. (Son and Constantino, 8/5)