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

Government Shutdown: The Senate voted 60–40 to advance a bipartisan deal to end the six-week government shutdown, funding agencies through January and promising a December vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. The plan would also reinstate furloughed workers, fund food aid, and repay states that kept programs running. The package now moves to the House for a final vote as soon as Wednesday.

Measles: Canada has lost its measles elimination status after an outbreak that began in late 2024 persisted for more than a year, leading the Pan American Health Organization to revoke measles-free status for the entire Americas region. Check out the latest Yale School of Public Health measles report for the Americas here.

Medicaid Drug Costs: CMS will launch a five-year pilot called GENEROUS in 2026 allowing states to align Medicaid drug prices with those in other developed countries, aiming to curb prescription spending that topped $100 billion in 2024.

GLP-1s: New federal agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk brings GLP-1 prices down to ~$245 per month across Medicare, Medicaid (for states that opt in), and the new TrumpRx.gov platform starting in 2026—the first time Medicare will cover obesity treatment. 

Vax News: At a recent national “Make America Healthy Again” conference, leaders celebrated their growing influence in Washington under Health Secretary RFK Jr. Check out the Common Health Coalition’s Vaccine Resources page for additional explainers and toolkits related to immunization policy. Follow us on Instagram @commonhealthcoalition for more up-to-the-minute health content.

Colleague Corner

An ASTHO spotlight details an effective public health and health care collaboration in action: state public health partnerships with birthing hospitals helped deliver new RSV monoclonal antibody protections to newborns through the Vaccines for Children program. Hospital enrollment rose from 10% to 36% nationwide, driving sharp declines in RSV-related hospitalizations.

"When public health agencies and health care partners work together, we can deliver lifesaving interventions, even in complex, high-volume settings like birthing hospitals."

– Dr. Susan Kansagra, CMO, ASTHO and Dr. Michelle Fiscus, CMO, Association of Immunization Managers

Data Watch

A new Health Affairs study found that federal efforts to automate Medicaid renewals—allowing states to confirm eligibility through existing data—helped keep more people covered during the “unwinding”. In California, New York, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, automation raised overall renewal rates by 7.7 percentage points and cut procedural denials by 8.3 points. Streamlining renewal systems may help states curb churn as new work requirements take effect.

Exhibit 2. Unadjusted Medicaid ex parte renewal rates for 4 states that received Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and US Digital Service (USDS) assistance compared with states that did not, 2023–24

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