SmartBrief subscribers in February were interested in a number of stories on the nation’s capacity to serve its citizens’ medical needs, including telehealth, budgetary considerations, remote patient monitoring, marketplace plan enrollment and a growing population of older patients. Read on to find out why these topics matter to today’s health care consumers.
Budget ups and downs
What happened: The $1.2 trillion spending package signed into law by the president extends Medicare telehealth waivers through the year 2027 and hospital-at-home programs through 2030. The measure also provides funds for rural and safety-net hospitals, and it increased the NIH’s budget to $48.7 billion and HHS’ to $116.8 billion. Funding for physician training was part of the spending package as well, but restoration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits was not.
What’s next: NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya’s shared his thoughts on the agency’s budget, which he has said will be fully spent by the end of the current fiscal year. “Grants are already going out the door,” he told a House Appropriations subcommittee.
On the topic of budget reduction, an analysis showed that some the cuts proposed by the Trump administration did not pass muster with legislators.
Care from there
What happened: An analysis examined remote patient monitoring’s journey to become a staple in health care. The 2026 Physician Fee Schedule acknowledges the technology’s important role, and insurance companies mostly have as well, with the exception of UnitedHealthcare’s recent decision to restrict coverage of the services.
What’s next: Research indicates that RPM allows for better disease control and helps to reduce costs. “For physicians and practice leaders, the takeaway is straightforward,” writes Lucy Lamboley of Prevounce Health. “Remote care management, including RPM, is no longer something to evaluate as a temporary initiative or niche offering. It is part of the care delivery landscape, shaped by years of policy development, payer alignment and clinical evidence.”
ACA enrollment trends
What happened: An analysis outlined recent trends in Affordable Care Act marketplace plan enrollment, noting that sign-ups dropped by 1.2 million once enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. Some states allocated funds to offset the loss, while others have experienced major declines in enrollment. It’s projected that 2.2 million people will lose coverage this year.
Many Americans are seeing major rises in their premiums, forcing serious decisions about whether to keep buying coverage or go without. Katherine Hempstead of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commented that when the price of something jumps suddenly and sharply, “economics tell us that a lot of people will buy less of it, or not buy at all.”
What’s next: Insurers are feeling the pinch from lower ACA marketplace enrollment. For example, Centene projected that an enrollee percentage in the high teens to mid-30s would opt out of coverage this year, but the latest data put that figure closer to 40%. Leaders of several state marketplaces have commented that they expect many more people will end their coverage in April or May once they see how much premiums have risen. Older adults in particular may be affected by the loss of enhanced premium tax credits.
Health needs of the silver set
What happened: The last wave of retiring baby boomers – known as the “silver tsunami” – is expected to put pressure on the nation’s health care system and its capacity to provide care. One in 5 Americans will be 65 or older by 2030, which will require better data utilization, technology and partnerships, digital health leaders said at a ViVE conference. “Every day, 10,000 people are turning 65,” noted Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan of AARP in an earlier interview.
What’s next: Dr. Reshma Gupta, chief of population health at the University of California, said offering more in-home services for older adults is one way of maintaining quality care. Gupta said in-home fall detection technology and services for people in subsidized housing could play an important role as well.
A report from Wisconsin noted that although the state’s health care workforce has grown by nearly 20% in under 10 years, this may not be sufficient to address the rising need for older-adult care. Ann Zenk of the Wisconsin Hospital Association said the organization is considering initiatives to help more people enter the workforce and make care available to more patients.
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