• Georgia: According to a new CDC report, vaccine coverage by age two was similar for children born in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, but there were decreases for five vaccines and certain demographic groups in 2021-2022. Declines were seen in coverage of two or more doses of the influenza vaccine, the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, the rotavirus vaccine, four or more doses of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and the primary series of the Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine. The largest decrease was in coverage of two or more doses of the influenza vaccine, falling from 61% to 53.5%. The other declines were smaller, roughly one to two percentage points. Vaccine coverage was also lower among children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program, Black or African American children, Hispanic or Latino children, and children living in poverty or more rural areas. "Vaccines have substantially reduced severe illness, hospitalization, and death and have saved approximately $2.7 trillion in societal costs," the researchers wrote. "Although national vaccination coverage remained stable for most vaccines, lower coverage among certain population subgroups and in some jurisdictions is creating an increased risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases." (Henderson, MedPage Today, 3/27)
• Indiana: Eli Lilly will acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a drugmaker currently developing treatments for narcolepsy and other neurological conditions, for $6.3 billion. Lilly could also pay an additional $1.5 billion if FDA eventually approves two drugs Centessa is developing. Currently, Centessa's leading drug candidate is cleminorexton, which has shown a potential best-in-class profile in phase 2a studies for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. "We see a broader potential for this pathway, maybe a little bit of analogy to GLP-1, in a way that, you know, sleep and wakefulness are like core to our functioning, and when your sleep is disturbed or your wakefulness is disturbed, it causes a lot of other problems," said Lilly CEO Dave Ricks. "So I think you can count on Lilly exploring broad use for [the orexins] and this new pathway, and we're pretty excited about it." According to the Wall Street Journal, the Centessa deal is the latest of Lilly's acquisitions this year, which include a $2.4 billion deal for Orna Therapeutics and a $1.2 billion deal for Ventyx Biosciences. (Robbins, New York Times, 3/31; Kellaher, Wall Street Journal, 3/31; Peebles, CNBC, 3/31)
• Maryland: According to new CMS data, enrollment in ACA plans dropped by 5% in 2026 compared to 2025. In total, there were 23.1 million sign-ups during the 2026 open enrollment period, around 1.2 million fewer than in 2025. However, even with this decline in enrollment, 2026's numbers were still 8% or 1.7 million people higher than in 2024. Although there was a 13% decline in new enrollments, there was a 15% increase in returning consumer plan selections. Florida and Texas had the highest numbers of ACA enrollments with over 4 million each. The average out-of-pocket premium for ACA coverage also increased, going from $113 a month in 2025 to $178 a month in 2026. Higher premium costs may have pushed people to switch to plans with lower premiums, but higher deductibles. Enrollment in bronze plans, which have average deductibles of over $7,000 per person, increased from 30% of all ACA enrollees in 2025 to 40% in 2026. According to Healthcare Dive, the increase in bronze plans enrollees is concerning since high out-of-pocket costs could lead some people to forego care completely or face immobilizing medical debt. (Casolo, Becker's Hospital Review, 3/30; Muoio, Fierce Healthcare, 3/30; Parduhn, Healthcare Dive, 3/30)

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