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According to new CDC data, the U.S. fertility rate fell by 1% in 2025, reaching another record low, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio.
- Georgia: According to new CDC data, the U.S. general fertility rate decreased from 53.8 births per 1,000 women in 2024 to 53.2 births per 1,000 women in 2025 — a new record low. In 2025, there were 3,612,012 births, a decrease of less than 1%. Birth rates fell for teenagers ages 15 to 19, as well as women in their 20s. However, birth rates increased for women in their 30s and early 40s, suggesting a continuing trend toward later parenthood. Similarly, a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that Gen Z women in their late teens and twenties "are dramatically less likely to want children" compared to women from previous generations. "Several factors have been identified as contributing to this lower desire to have children, such as increased labor market opportunities and agency among women, rising financial costs, changing priorities, and [concerns about] maternal mortality," the study said. Because more women are delaying parenthood, there are now fewer children in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population under 18 is steadily decreasing, with 1 million fewer children between 2010 and 2020. (Mann, NPR, 10/24; James, Medical Daily, 10/26)
- Maryland: FDA has received reports of two deaths associated with illicit products claiming to be Eli Lilly's experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide. The deaths were reported to FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System, and the agency has declined to say whether it has verified them. The deaths were reported in July and September. In the first case, which involved a 41-year-old woman, retatrutide was listed as a suspected product obtained from "an unreliable source." Meanwhile, the second case involved a 49-year-old patient who supposedly received retatrutide through an online peptide vendor. Both patients died of cardiac arrest. According to Lilly, the reports "make clear" that the affected individuals were taking black-market versions of retatrutide, which may contain the wrong amount of active ingredients and contaminants. Recently, Lilly has been suing companies selling black-market versions of retatrutide, filing six lawsuits in August and five more in October. So far, it has settled two of the lawsuits filed in August. (Jeffries, Becker's Hospital Review, 10/13)
- Ohio: HealthSpan Partners, an affiliate of Bon Secours Mercy Health, is planning to take Surgery Partners, a surgical care provider, private in a deal valued at roughly $5.7 billion. According to HealthSpan, the deal will allow it to expand its presence in the growing outpatient surgery market and serve more patients across a broader range of care settings. Currently, Surgery Partners has a network of ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, and physician partnerships with around 5,000 affiliated physicians and more than 200 locations across 30 states. After the deal is finalized, the companies will establish one of the largest outpatient surgical care platforms in the country. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 once Surgery Partners shareholders and regulators give their approval. (Cloonan, Wall Street Journal, 10/26)
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