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Good morning. The news of Dolly Parton’s passing struck people pretty hard across the STAT newsroom. She was an incredible musician and humanitarian, but most relevant to this newsletter, she was an ardent supporter of science, including research behind the Moderna Covid vaccine.
Two measles deaths in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced yesterday that there have been two “measles-associated deaths” in the state. The only information the state released about the individuals is that they were both unvaccinated. They’re the first measles deaths in the country for 2026, and the first for Pennsylvania in more than three decades. Last year, three people across the country died from the disease.
Two of the people who died last year were children. But as STAT’s Helen Branswell wrote in 2023, adults are increasingly susceptible to the disease now that the first wave of children whose parents refused vaccinations has grown up. This, too, could fuel future outbreaks.
Even at big companies, health care $$$ is increasing
A new survey reinforces how expensive and fraught employer-based health care is — even for the largest businesses that are thought to be more sophisticated.
The Business Group on Health’s latest survey received responses from 127 large employers, half of which had at least 25,000 workers. From 2023 to 2025, health care costs increased more than they had predicted. And for 2026 and 2027, the growth in health care costs are expected to reach new highs (8.5% and 9.2%, respectively) before employers make any changes to benefits.
“Employers’ ability to accurately predict their health care costs is not just a budgeting problem,” Ellen Kelsay, CEO of the Business Group on Health, told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s emblematic of a bigger picture issue with the overall health care system.”
America’s smallest businesses are already giving up on offering health insurance at record rates. Big companies will continue to offer health benefits, but Kelsay said the “volatility” should make them reconsider whether their insurers, consultants, and other vendors “are delivering meaningful value.” — Bob Herman
A ‘natural experiment’ on the shingles vaccine
Two years ago, a team of researchers at Oxford found a link between the newer shingles vaccine and lower rates of dementia. Today, the same team has found another encouraging association between the shot and a reduced risk of heart disease. The research took the form of a natural experiment, comparing the health records of people vaccinated before the newer shot was approved with those who got it afterward.
“We are keen to see results from randomized controlled trials. And one of them is underway,” said study co-author Maxime Taquet. “If confirmed, Shingrix could prevent hundreds of thousands of cardiovascular events in the USA alone, and may be the first vaccine that protects the heart and the brain.” Read more from STAT’s Elizabeth Cooney on what the team has observed already.
The profit motive for women’s health
In another great story from Liz Cooney this morning, she puts the problem of women’s health disparities succinctly: There are health conditions that affect only women, those that affect women differently, and those that affect women disproportionately. Research in all these areas bore the brunt of the Trump administration’s federal grant terminations, which some experts say has led to a new calculus when it comes to investment in women’s health.
“It is the most exciting time to invest in women’s health I’ve ever seen in my two decades in venture capital, because people are now talking about it as an investment category,” said Foreground Capital co-founder Elizabeth Bailey. Read more on what’s moving markets and how long the road ahead looks.
Expectations vs. reality post-Dobbs
David N. Hackney, a reproductive biologist, assumed several things would happen after Roe v. Wade was overturned, all of them bad. Abortion rates would fall, he and many others predicted, while infant and maternal deaths worsened, and abortion doctors fled restrictive states. But more than four years later, most of these predictions have not come to pass.
The data are fascinating and important, but advocates should not lose sight of “the foundational ethical assault” of abortion bans, Hackney argues in a new First Opinion essay. “When arguments are based on consequences, we then argue about data when we should be fighting for freedoms.” Read more.
What we’re reading
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New Mexico to continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after federal cuts, The Guardian
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Study’s alarming finding: At least 1 in 4 NFL players gets brain disease, New York Times
- Opinion: Medical aid in dying and the burden of choosing to live, STAT
- What your calf muscles can reveal about your heart health, BBC Science Focus
- After a years-long slump, Massachusetts biopharma sector has come roaring back in 2026, Boston Globe