You get a CGM, you get a CGM

Adobe

For the first time in the U.S., children 2 and older can get a continuous glucose monitor without a doctor’s prescription. That’s a good thing, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which last month cleared Dexcom’s Stelo for marketing.

Giving patients more access to their health data at a lower price point — the Stelo costs $99 per month — could help children avoid diabetes, providers told STAT fellow Lauren Chan. Already, about 1 in 3 American adolescents have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.

But other doctors aren’t sure throwing more information at families is helpful. There’s no established “normal” blood sugar level in kids. Some also worry CGMs could fuel restrictive eating patterns. “I worry about kids being told, ‘Your blood sugar went too high last time you had a cupcake, you're never allowed to have another one again,’” a clinical dietician said. Read more.

health insurance

Another big premium hike on the horizon

Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurers are pitching a 14% median increase in premiums next year, according to a new Peterson-KFF analysis of rate filings. If these preliminary figures hold, it would mark the second year in a row of double-digit premium hikes.

So what gives? The expiration of enhanced premium tax credits this January will lead to many more enrollees seeing a jump in premiums. At the same time, the departure of healthier marketplace enrollees has left behind a smaller, sicker pool of people who are more expensive to cover. These hikes are on top of already ballooning premiums for employer-provided health insurance, which increased by more than double the rate of inflation in 2025. Family premiums have spiked by over 25% since 2020.

Health care affordability ranks among voters’ top concerns in 2026, according to several large polls.

a stat investigation

Speaking of exorbitant health care costs …

STAT’s health care biz whiz Bob Herman returned from parental leave last fall to immediately be confronted by the misery of open enrollment. “I was like, ‘lol of course this horrendous experience is the first thing I have to do,’” Bob told me. The process inspired his multipart series, “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach,” about how the cost of employer-based health insurance is destroying businesses and workers.

Premium hikes in 2026 were the biggest since the ACA went into effect. “It's really bad out there, it's only going to get worse,” Bob said. Workers are paying for it as the people in charge mostly ignore our throbbing national headache. Health insurers profit off huge prices; employers accept bad contracts. “Lawmakers don't want to rock the boat, even though the boat has already been battered and run aground,” Bob said.

Spend some time with the series. And, if you want some more, RSVP for Bob’s “office hours.”

politics

House Republicans say DEI is back?

The Trump administration spent much of 2025 systematically purging any hint of diversity, equity, and inclusion from the government. Now, the Republican-controlled House wants the FDA to put a little DEI back into its work, my colleague John Wilkerson reports from D.C.

A recent FDA funding bill includes a report setting expectations for how the money will be used. The report encourages the agency to require study sponsors “to submit a diversity action plan for phase 3 studies of new drugs.” Under the Biden administration, the FDA pushed for the inclusion of more women and people of color in clinical trials, and published draft guidance on the matter. Trump officials swiftly canned the whole endeavor. Could the FDA dip a toe back in? And what does “DEI” mean to Republicans now? Read more from John.

consumer safety

Legitketaminesuppliers dot com is actually … not legit, FDA says

The FDA scolded a bunch of online ketamine retailers this week. The agency posted 14 letters to companies with names like “Legit Ketamine Suppliers” and “Ket Plug,” telling them to stop selling unapproved ketamine products. Injectable ketamine drug products come with significant risks, which are not disclosed to consumers, the FDA said. It’s especially risky if ketamine is provided without medical supervision.

FDA approved ketamine for use as a surgical anesthetic back in the 1970s. In 2019, the agency approved Johnson & Johnson's Spravato, an esketamine nasal spray, for treatment-resistant depression in adults (it was later OK’d as a standalone depression treatment). Many in the behavioral health space have been cautiously optimistic about ketamine, even as the drug takes on a life of its own at infusion clinics that advertise to people with serious mental health conditions. — Lizzy Lawrence

first opinion

Where do AI chatbots fit into dementia care?

Artificial intelligence-driven chatbots trigger mixed feelings for many. They can be convenient helpers on a wide range of tasks, or low-maintenance collaborators. But chatbots can also lead vulnerable people into psychosis or worse in rare cases. For people with dementia and their family members, AI chatbots, thoughtfully used, could offer a reprieve, medical ethicist Jason Karlawish writes in First Opinion.

For people with diseases such as Alzheimer’s, easy-to-use tech can make up for impairments that complicate daily living (think: meal planning, paperwork, bills). AI agents can remind users of important tasks or even automate them — work typically done by human caregivers. But chatbots can also offer something more: endless personal conversation.

The “feeling of dignity in the face of dementia is the north star against which these many promising technologies ought to be judged,” Karlawish writes.

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