February 19, 2026

Last week, the FDA rejected Moderna’s experimental flu vaccine application citing issues in clinical testing. Moving forward, with the decision reversed, Moderna hopes to secure FDA approval based on age to accelerate approval for those 65 and older.

The rule, which went into effect last year, added multiple new disclosures including details on company officers and directors, organization charts, the firms’ rationale for combining, and other details to help the FTC determine whether deals could violate antitrust laws. Among others, the American Hospital Association opposed the rule stating that mergers were a critical tool to save hospitals from closing their door and that the rule would “significantly increase the complexity and costs of pursuing valuable merger activity.”

Healthcare cost concerns are increasing, and as a result payment policy changes by CMS include allowing more procedures to be done outside of hospitals. Healthcare providers are placing greater emphasis on more affordable outpatient facilities as part of their portfolio optimization.

Medicaid expansion has provided coverage for middle-aged adults who otherwise would lack insurance, covering approximately 1 in 5 Americans ages 50 to 64, giving them access to health coverage before they qualify for Medicare at age 65. Exempt are people with disabilities, caregivers, pregnant and postpartum individuals, veterans with total disabilities, and others facing medical or personal hardship.

Medicare Advantage is seeing a sharp rise in “forced disenrollment” in 2026 of about 10% of enrollees (~2.9 million people) as insurers exit plans or markets. This is up from roughly 1% on average in 2018-2024 and ~6.9% in 2025. This disruption is expected to hit non-SNP and PPO members especially hard and be disproportionately felt in rural areas, raising concerns about care continuity and plan stability.