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A new single-dose influenza vaccine that can be taken in the first days after symptoms of the flu start to appear has been approved; 102 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could be affected if protections under the Affordable Care Act are repealed; a federal advisory panel is recommending homeless individuals be routinely vaccinated for hepatitis A to prevent disease outbreaks, which have increased since 2016.

While the emergence of new antirheumatic agents—including biologics—has revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), these drugs come a high cost to the healthcare system. Furthermore, many patients who receive these drugs may not respond to therapy, thereby increasing costs without improving outcomes.

In reponse to rising healthcare prices and emergency department (ED) visits, insurers have implemented policies that apply financial disincentives for ED visits that could presumably be cared for in alternative settings. However, 87.9% of commercially insured ED visits present with the same primary symptoms as visits that result in nonemergent diagnoses.

The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth; Medicare for All and single payer healthcare are suddenly popular, but what it means to the politicians embracing the terms are not exactly known; the Trump administration is expected to try to expand religious and moral exemptions for covering birth control in employer health insurance plans.