• California: OpenAI has acquired the healthcare startup Torch, which focuses on consolidating lab results, medication data, and visit recordings. According to sources familiar with the deal, the deal was worth approximately $60 million. The deal continues OpenAI's expansion into the healthcare field. Recently, OpenAI announced new products called ChatGPT Health and OpenAI for Healthcare. ChatGPT Health is aimed at consumers while OpenAI for Healthcare is designed for hospitals and health systems. In a post on X, Torch CEO Ilya Abyzov said the company will help "build ChatGPT Health into the best AI tool in the world for health and wellness." Similarly, OpenAI wrote in its own X post that "[b]ringing [Torch] together with ChatGPT Health opens up a new way to understand and manage your health." (Diaz, Becker's Health IT, 1/12)
• Maryland: HRSA has released new federal guidelines that include an option for people ages 30 to 65 to self-collect samples for cervical cancer screening. This decision means that starting in 2027, most private insurers will be required to cover self-collected testing for human papillomavirus and any necessary follow-up tests without cost-sharing.  According to a recent study, 43% of respondents said they preferred self-collection, and 70% said they were open to the idea. HRSA's updated recommendations are also aligned with those from other professional groups, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society. However, Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that while self-collected testing could help expand access to cervical cancer screening, there needs to be a framework to connect people with follow-up testing and treatment when needed. "Increasing screening access without established systems to provide follow-up testing and treatment could delay diagnosis and treatment and prove detrimental to patients," Fleischman said. (Robertson, MedPage Today, 1/9)
• West Virginia: In December, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger of the Southern District of West Virginia temporarily blocked the state's ban on artificial dyes in foods from going into effect. The preliminary injunction was requested by the International Association of Color Manufacturers (IACM), which argued that the law lacked "scientific evidence" and that it "arbitrarily and irrationally targets color additives no U.S. agency — state or federal — nor any court has ever found to be unsafe." In a memorandum opinion and order, Berger rejected IACM's claims that the law unfairly targeted color manufacturers but agreed with the argument that the law was unconstitutionally vague. Berger also noted that many of the color additives included in the law had been approved by FDA, which "muddies the water and creates confusion" about what substances could be considered "poisonous and injurious." According to The Hill, the preliminary injunction applies to West Virginia's general ban on artificial dyes in foods, not a provision of the law focusing on food in schools. The school food provisions went into effect in August 2025. (Weixel, The Hill, 12/26/25)

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