Hello from the Common Health Coalition! The 2-4-2 Digest is a weekly snapshot for health leaders - 4 key insights in 2 minutes or with 2 swipes on your phone.

Weekly Health Insights

Measles: After a year of sustained measles transmission across multiple states, U.S. health officials are now assessing whether the country has lost its measles elimination status for the first time since 2000. The determination will be officially reviewed in April, when experts can evaluate whether linked transmission chains have continued for 12 consecutive months. View Yale SPH’s latest measles report here.

HIV/AIDS: Florida has proposed cutting eligibility for its AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a move that could disrupt HIV treatment access for thousands of residents. The proposal comes as Florida continues to have one of the highest HIV burdens nationally, with over 4,400 new diagnoses in the most recent reporting year.

Medicare: Medicare’s pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities are set to expire at the end of the month, which would sharply limit virtual access for most beneficiaries even as many continue to rely on remote care. Congress is now weighing a short-term extension as part of must-pass funding legislation.

Federal Healthcare Plan: The “Great Healthcare Plan” has been released as ACA subsidies are yet to be extended. The Trump Administration aims to lower prescription drug prices and allow OTC medication to be more accessible, increase price transparency, and directly deposit money into people’s health spending accounts. 

Colleague Corner

In a recent JAMA Health Forum editorial, Drs. Sandro Galea and Julie Donohue examine why efforts to lower drug prices often fall short, arguing that focusing on a single policy changes, such as Medicare negotiation or consumer cost-sharing, cannot address the structural drivers of high pharmaceutical spending.

"The US system for pharmaceutical delivery to patients…involves a wide array of actors with particular stakes in multiple steps of the process, from drug discovery and marketing to accessibility and pricing. The challenge, which is also the opportunity here, is finding effective policy levers along the pharmaceutical life cycle."

– Dr. Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Editor in Chief, JAMA Health Forum and Dr. Julie Donohue, PhD, Deputy Editor, JAMA Health Forum

Data Watch

A JAMA study found that U.S. opioid overdose deaths fell by 50% between summer 2023 and fall 2024, while fentanyl’s share of illicit drug seizures declined from 28.8% to 23.2%. The analysis finds that reduced fentanyl presence in the drug supply explains only a small portion of the mortality drop, suggesting other factors, such as changing drug supply dynamics, shifts in drug use behavior, and expanded access to harm reduction and treatment, played a larger role.

Figure 1. National Trend in Overdose Deaths per 100,000 per Month and the Proportion of Fentanyl in the Illicit Drug Supply

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