Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03221-1
Publisher Correction: Lung and liver editing by lipid nanoparticle delivery of a stable CRISPR–Cas9 ribonucleoprotein
STAT+: CMS recalculates Medicare Advantage star ratings again, adding more volatility to program
Federal officials have recalculated the quality ratings for 2026 Medicare Advantage plans, a new government memo shows. The consequential decision was prompted by yet another legal action from the health insurance industry.
Over the past few years, health insurance companies that sell Medicare Advantage plans have inundated the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with lawsuits that challenged their lower star ratings, which jeopardized taxpayer-funded bonuses. Many insurers have lost their cases, but a handful have won. Two years ago, CMS had to redo Medicare Advantage star ratings after federal judges said the government erred with its original calculations.
Medicare Advantage plans that get at least four out of five stars get bonus payments. Those bonuses have ballooned to $16 billion this year — almost the entire budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an amount that has doubled since 2020.
<![CDATA[MAPS probes psychedelic-assisted healing for formerly incarcerated people, spotlighting trauma, access barriers, and a public-health policy path.]]>
Clinician Decision-Making Around Offering Home Video Telehealth Visits: Qualitative Study
<strong>Background:</strong> Use of in-home video telehealth rapidly expanded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including at Veterans Affairs (VA), a forerunner in telehealth. Despite this uptick, differences in use by patient age and rurality created a digital divide that persists to this day. While clinicians frequently cite patients’ older age and lack of technical skills as barriers to in-home video telehealth, it remains unclear how clinicians decide whether to offer video visits to patients and to what extent these beliefs may hinder offering video visits to older adults. Gathering perspectives from clinician users of in-home video telehealth may illuminate opportunities to ensure continued access to care through solutions such as telehealth. <strong>Objective:</strong> This study aimed to examine clinician decision-making around the offer of in-home video telehealth to understand how interprofessional clinicians determine to whom they offer in-home video telehealth and what factors (organizational, personal, or attitudinal) influence their decision. <strong>Methods:</strong> We conducted a qualitative study by using semistructured interviews. Participants were interprofessional clinicians (N=16) employed by 11 different VA hospitals and included 1 clinical pharmacist, 6 medical doctors, 2 nurse practitioners, 1 occupational therapist, 3 psychologists, 1 physical therapist, 1 speech-language pathologist, and 1 social worker. All the participants had at least some experience using in-home video telehealth from locations across VA (the largest integrated health care system in the United States) and were interviewed over a 6-month period. Interviews focused on clinicians’ use of video telehealth and the decision-making process involved in offering in-home video telehealth. We used directed content analysis with a rapid analytic approach, given the time-pressured nature of our project. <strong>Results:</strong> This study revealed that clinician decision-making around offering in-home video visits is complex and influenced by several domains, namely, (1) clinician factors, including experience with video and perceived benefits of video; (2) appointment factors, including the visit’s clinical goal; (3) clinician-reported patient factors, including age and willingness to try video; (4) patient social context, including caregiver availability; (5) geographical factors, such as availability of reliable high-speed internet and patient distance from the medical center; and (6) health system factors, including technical support and clinician ability to work from home. Access to in-home video telehealth may be facilitated by clinician familiarity and confidence with telehealth technology, strategies to improve patients’ technical skills, and support for caregivers. Infrastructure also plays an important role, including device availability, broadband reliability, and clear protocols for matching services to video visits. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Findings highlight the importance of clinician competency in telehealth, patient and caregiver digital readiness, and a supportive technology infrastructure to equitable in-home video care. In addition, improved guidance for specific clinical services and awareness of potential biases may enable consistent, accessible telehealth delivery for older adults and medically complex populations. <strong>Trial Registration:</strong>
STAT+: FDA advisory panel endorses Moderna mRNA flu vaccine that was subject of controversy
A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration gave its endorsement Thursday to a seasonal mRNA flu vaccine that was developed by Moderna and that earlier this year became the subject of controversy when a top agency official briefly refused to even consider accepting it for review.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee — known as VRBPAC — voted unanimously that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for both adults ages 50 to 64, and those 65 and older. It remains to be seen what the FDA will decide, but staff presentations during the meeting suggested the agency sees the vaccine as having cleared sufficient hurdles to be licensed via a traditional pathway for the younger group, and an accelerated pathway for the older group.
Multiple flu vaccines currently on the market were first licensed using an accelerated pathway, Wellington Sun, a former FDA employee, noted during the meeting’s public comment period. (After leaving FDA, Sun worked for Moderna, but he is no longer with the company.)
STAT+: Eli Lilly ends 340B drug discounts to some hospitals for failing to provide claims data
Making good on its threat, Eli Lilly has begun eliminating mandated price breaks to a few dozen hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program after failing to receive comprehensive claims data.
The move comes after the company warned earlier this month it would take such a step as part of a policy announced in January in order to reduce what it calls duplicate discounts paid to the hospitals. Trade groups representing hospitals, however, argue the move is unlawful and want Congress to intervene.
At the time, Lilly maintained that more than 2,300 hospitals had complied with its demand, but some larger hospitals systems around the U.S. refused to do so, despite recent follow-up letters regarding the policy, which went into effect Feb. 1. Up to 1,000 had so far not complied, and Lilly indicated it was pressing about 50 larger hospitals to provide data.
New hope in treating Huntington’s disease and a report card on RFK Jr.’s promises
On this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD”: New hope for people living with Huntington’s disease, and a report card on RFK Jr.’s effort to remake health in America.
The Food and Drug Administration reversed its opposition to a closely watched gene therapy for Huntington’s disease, clearing a path for its maker, the biotech company UniQure, to file for U.S. approval. Joining us to discuss this new development and what it means for the Huntington’s community is Lauren Holder, a Huntington’s disease advocate who is living with the early stages of the disease.
<![CDATA[Alkermes’ phase 2 Vibrance-2 shows alixorexton significantly boosts wakefulness and reduces daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy type 2, with benefits sustained.]]>
Videos on Bilibili, TikTok, and Xiaohongshu as Sources of Medical Information on Adenoid Hypertrophy: Cross-Sectional Content Analysis
Background: The clinical diagnosis rate of adenoid hypertrophy (AH) in children has increased in recent years, drawing growing attention from parents. Short-video platforms such as Bilibili, TikTok, and Xiaohongshu host a large volume of educational content on this condition. However, the quality and reliability of this information remain unclear. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the completeness, understandability, actionability, reliability, and overall quality of short videos on AH across Bilibili, TikTok, and Xiaohongshu and to explore factors associated with these quality metrics, including uploader characteristics and engagement indicators. Methods: We collected 220 videos (Bilibili: n=90, 40.9%; TikTok: n=63, 28.6%; and Xiaohongshu: n=67, 30.5%) using newly registered accounts. Two independent reviewers evaluated video quality using a 6-item content completeness scale (score range 0-12), the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials, the modified DISCERN instrument, and the Global Quality Scale (GQS). Interrater reliability was high (Cohen κ=0.77-0.993). Completeness assessed essential informational components of AH. As data were nonnormally distributed, results are presented as median (IQR). Cross-platform comparisons were conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc Mann-Whitney tests (with Bonferroni correction). Spearman correlation was used to explore associations between video characteristics (ie, duration and engagement metrics) and quality outcomes. Stepwise linear regression identified independent predictors of overall quality (GQS). Results: Video duration differed significantly across platforms (Bilibili: median 113.5, IQR 66.5-271.5 seconds; TikTok: median 73, IQR 44-100 seconds; and Xiaohongshu: median 63, IQR 41-127.5 seconds; <.001). Bilibili videos demonstrated higher completeness than videos on the other 2 platforms (Bilibili: median 2, IQR 1.5‐4.0; TikTok: median 1.5, IQR 0.5‐2.0; and Xiaohongshu: median 1.5, IQR 0.5-2.8; <.001); overall differences were observed for understandability and reliability, but pairwise comparisons did not reach statistical significance after Bonferroni correction. Xiaohongshu videos showed greater actionability than TikTok videos (=.011). Medical professionals (n=158, 71.8%) had higher understandability than nonprofessionals (n=158, 81.8% vs n=62, 66.7%; =.001). Video duration positively correlated with completeness (ρ=0.64, 95% CI 0.56-0.71; <.001). Shares showed weak positive correlations with completeness and actionability. Stepwise regression identified understandability (using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool–Understandability) as the strongest independent predictor of overall quality (GQS), followed by actionability, video duration, and uploader type; engagement metrics and platform did not enter the final model. Conclusions: The quality of AH-related videos on Chinese short-video platforms is generally suboptimal. Bilibili offers higher completeness, while Xiaohongshu excels in actionability and interactivity. Understandability is the strongest predictor of overall quality, surpassing uploader type and engagement metrics. To improve online health information, platforms should move beyond engagement-based algorithms, and health care professionals should prioritize clear, actionable content.
<![CDATA[New SLEEP 2026 data show orexin agonist oveporexton boosts cognition, daily function, and reduces microsleeps in narcolepsy type 1.]]>