A new analysis of initial rate filings for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans submitted by 312 insurers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia finds the median proposed increase for 2026 is 18%, more than double last year’s 7% median proposed increase. The proposed rates are preliminary and could change before being…
Key Takeaways Just over half (55%) of adults, including larger shares of young adults and Black and Hispanic adults, say they use social media to find health information and advice at least occasionally and most adults report seeing health-related content in the past month on social media, with the largest shares saying they’ve seen content…
Looking at new usernames collected by our Cowrie honeypots, you will first of all notice a number of HTTP headers. It is very common for attackers to scan for web servers on ports that are covered by our Telnet honeypots. The result is that HTTP request headers end up in our username and password database. …
Bees often struggle to get the nutrients they need from flowers Ran Zisovitch/Shutterstock An artificial “superfood” that provides essential nutrients for bees results in colonies producing much more larvae, suggesting it could help tackle the global decline in honeybees. Bees need to eat pollen from a range of flowers to get the nutrients they need,…
Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) deliver care to three-quarters of all Medicaid enrollees nationally. MCOs often require patients to obtain approval of certain health care services or medications before the care is provided—an insurance practice commonly referred to as “prior authorization”. This allows the MCO to evaluate whether care is covered, medically necessary, and being delivered…
Editorial Note This brief was updated on August 11, 2025 to correct the number of states that allow and prohibit minors to consent to their own contraceptive care. Across the country, minors’ ability to consent to their health care, particularly their reproductive health care, varies significantly. Expanding “parental rights’ in health and education has been…
Fitbit’s smartphone app has undergone several redesigns over the past two years, and now there’s another big one coming in October, timed to the launch of the newly announced Pixel Watch 4. Launching as an opt-in review (an open beta), the design centers on Google’s AI-powered Personal Health Coach, built with Gemini. The entire app…
A new analysis shows that individuals with employer insurance could save 41% on their out-of-pocket spending for asthma and COPD inhalers through manufacturer savings. In response to a U.S. Senate investigation into inhaler costs, 3 drug makers voluntarily capped out-of-pocket costs on their brand-name asthma and COPD inhalers. Among the asthma and COPD inhalers covered…
This is all powered by Google’s latest on-device Gemini Nano model, meaning nothing is processed in the cloud. If you enable this feature, it’ll replace your voicemail, so you’ll have to choose if you want to use Take a Message or the standard voicemail function. AI-Generated Voice for Translations Courtesy of Joel Chokkattu Real-time translations…
Science News from research organizations Researchers used neuroimaging and virtual reality to identify two brain regions that help people maintain their sense of direction while moving around. Date: August 20, 2025 Source: Society for Neuroscience Summary: Researchers discovered two brain regions that work as a “neural compass,” keeping people oriented in virtual city navigation. These…
