April 21, 2026
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz
Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images

STAT+ | CMS to ask every state for new audits of health care providers

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said the requirement will help combat fraud in federally funded health care programs.

By Daniel Payne


STAT+ | UnitedHealth earnings beat expectations in the first quarter, but hurdles persist

Company leaders said its UnitedHealthcare insurance division raised prices and shed less-profitable Medicare Advantage and commercial members

By Tara Bannow


Flu vaccine no longer mandated for U.S. troops, defense secretary says

The defense secretary said American service members are free to get the flu shot but will not be forced to.

By Associated Press



President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after disembarking Air Force One, Sunday, April 12, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

STAT+ | Opinion: I’m an expert on presidential health. The 25th Amendment is not an option for removing Trump

A physician and expert on presidential health explains that the 25th Amendment is a political document, not a medical one.

By Lawrence K. Altman


Judge postpones OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s sentencing to let opioid victims attend in person

The criminal sentencing was moved to next week in order to allow victims to attend the court proceeding in person.

By Associated Press


Opinion: What happens when a chief executive loses executive functions?

A geriatric psychiatrist and a clinical neuropsychologist on the danger posed by a chief executive with compromised executive functions.

By Anand Kumar and Neil Pliskin


Adobe

Opinion: The U.S. health care system is built around looking backward

Health care does not simply process clinical decisions as they happen. Instead, it repeatedly revisits them.

By Holland Haynie


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