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Consumer credit reports contained $88 billion in medical debt as of June, a problem the federal agency that enforces financial protection rules vows to crack down on. Medical debt is far and away the most common type of liability on credit reports. On Tuesday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials questioned whether it belongs there at all. As of last year, 58% of all third-party debt collections were for medical debt, the agency determined in a new report. About 20% of U.S. households owe medical debt, which appears on 43 million credit reports, the CFPB found. (Bannow, 3/1)

Getting care from higher-priced hospitals in an emergency doesn't necessarily result in better outcomes — at least in markets that have little competition, according to new findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Hospital prices vary considerably across regions, and persistent mergers in recent decades have been blamed for driving up the cost of privately insured patients' care. Understanding the relationship between hospital prices, market concentration and quality is important as some policymakers weigh price regulation. (Bettelheim, 3/1)

A retraction often marks the end of a dispute over published scientific research. But in the case of a $300 digital fertility tracker marketed by Valley Electronics, it was only the beginning. After a study on the effectiveness of its Daysy thermometer was retracted, Valley sued Chelsea Polis, a researcher who had publicly lambasted its findings, for defamation. When a federal judge threw out the case, Valley appealed, arguing that Polis went too far by calling the company “unethical” and labeling its study “junk science.” The appeal — set for March 22 — underscores the growing tensions between new, loosely regulated technologies and watchdogs insisting that published claims be supported by rigorous science. (Sheridan and Ross, 3/2)

As smartphone apps that treat mental health conditions become more common, the companies making them are grappling with a growing imperative: If they want to succeed, they need to get a lot better at producing more compelling evidence. Interest in the mental health tech space has boomed as more stakeholders warm to the idea that software could be used to meet unmet demand for mental health treatment at a reasonable cost. Developers, fueled by unprecedented investment, are pursuing swelling product pipelines and putting out a steady flow of research papers claiming to show clinical efficacy and economic savings. But by and large, that evidence hasn’t been enough to convince highly skeptical health insurers and providers, who are still cautious to prescribe or pay for the products, broadly known as digital therapeutics. (Aguilar, 3/1)

Humana officially kicked off the rebrand of its $8.1 billion Kindred at Home business on Tuesday, with the insurer initially focused on integrating the nation's largest home health business into its CenterWell brand in seven states. Humana, the nation's second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer with 4.9 million enrollees, said CenterWell is the nation's largest primary care group focused on older adults. In the year since CenterWell launched, the subsidiary has grown to include more than 206 primary care clinics that serve older adults insured through a variety of Medicare Advantage, traditional Medicare, Medicaid and commercial carriers—not just Humana. The company recently hired Dr. Andy Agwunobi to head this division as president, and expects to end the year with up to 260 centers, some of which are backed through a private equity partnership. (Tepper, 3/1)

The National Institutes of Health this week ordered a sweeping review of government policies for experiments involving potentially dangerous viruses and other pathogens, a move the agency said will balance the benefits and risks of such research but is unrelated to the debate over the coronavirus pandemic’s origin. The review will be conducted by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and NIH hopes to have recommendations by the end of the year. In essence, this is a plea for help in deciding where to draw the line on research, identifying the experiments that require special safety measures or are too dangerous to be initiated. (Achenbach, 3/1)

Inhalers helping patients with chronic lung conditions breathe are also adding congestion to the Earth's atmosphere. This is spurring U.K. drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to develop a new line of devices that use a propellant with near-zero climate impact. The company isn’t alone. Rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc said last year it's working on similar planet-friendly technology. AstraZeneca is collaborating with Honeywell International Inc. on the next-generation inhalers and plans to introduce them in 2025, Ben Fenby, global head of AstraZeneca’s Aerosphere franchise, said in an interview. (Paton and Rathi, 3/2)