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The financial cost of care for retirees has gotten higher than ever, with new research from Fidelity Investments indicating Americans are ill-prepared to cope with the financial toll of medication, medical care, and health insurance in retirement. According to Fidelity's 24th annual Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, released Wednesday, a 65-year-old retiring this year will need an average of $172,500 to cover health care and medical expenses throughout retirement. The figure marks a more than 4% increase from last year’s estimate and continues a steady rise since the company’s first projection of $80,000 in 2002. (Almazora, 7/30)

Democrats are ramping up efforts against the $1.1 trillion in healthcare cuts President Donald Trump enacted this month. On Wednesday, the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, Senate Democrats staged a pair of news conferences to highlight the impacts of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and to unveil legislation that would repeal its $964 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years and the $$124 billion it slashed from the health insurance exchanges. (McAuliff, 7/30)

Pharmaceutical prices are expected to rise by 3.35% in 2026, according to Vizient’s latest Pharmacy Market Outlet report, released in July. The report found that price pressures are easing in certain areas due to biosimilar competition, especially with respect to drugs such as Humira and Stelara. High-use inpatient medications are also expected to see price declines. Pediatric drugs are expected to have the highest inflation rate, at 3.93%, while prices in the self-administered medication segment dropped from 4.53% to 3.3%. (Murphy, 7/30)

The newborn savings accounts created as part of President Donald Trump’s massive new tax and immigration law are a “back door for privatizing Social Security,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. The “Trump accounts” enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill give newborns a $1,000 savings account that can be invested with tax-deferred treatment. Families or their employers can make $5,000 contributions to the accounts each year until the beneficiary turns 18. (Bogage, 7/30)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: �鶹Ů�� Health News’ ‘Letters To The Editor’: Readers Weigh In On Making American Health Care Affordable Again

�鶹Ů�� Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. ... Sounding the Alarm for Ambulances. Thank you for shedding much-needed light on the exorbitant costs and lack of reimbursement that have become a harsh reality for many ambulance services across Colorado and the nation (“Insurers Fight State Laws Restricting Surprise Ambulance Bills,” July 9). While it’s vital to protect patients from “surprise” bills — something your coverage highlights — it’s equally important to acknowledge the other side of the equation. (7/31)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A Tourist Ended Up With A Wild Bat In Her Mouth — And Nearly $21,000 In Medical Bills

In retrospect, Erica Kahn realizes she made two big mistakes. The first was choosing to temporarily forgo health insurance when she was laid off from her job. The second was screaming when a wild bat later landed on her face. (Leys, 7/31)

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) will introduce a bill to award federal grants to study uterine fibroids as one of several competing bipartisan measures to support study of the noncancerous growths common in women of childbearing age. The bill would establish a new grant program of unspecified amount and duration to support research on early detection of and intervention for uterine fibroids, including screening procedures. (Waldvogel, 7/30)

More than a dozen Republican-led states are urging Congress to ban abortion shield laws, pieces of legislation passed in states where abortion is legal that protect abortion providers from liability for violating anti-abortion laws in other states. A total of 15 GOP attorneys general signed and sent a letter to congressional leadership this week requesting federal action be taken to preempt abortion shield laws, arguing they interfere with states’ ability to enforce criminal laws. (O’Connell-Domenech, 7/30)