The AP (1/14, Stobbe) reports new federal data released Wednesday show “that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years – the longest drop in decades – but also that the decline was slowing.” According to CDC data, “an estimated 73,000 people died from overdoses in the 12-month period that ended August 2025, down about 21% from the 92,000 in the previous 12-month period.” CDC officials also “reported that deaths were down in all states except Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico and North Dakota. But they noted it’s likely that not all overdose deaths have been reported yet in every state, and additional data in the future might affect that state count.” Researchers cannot yet “say with confidence why deaths have gone down,” but possible explanations include “increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs, and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.”

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— “US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveals,”Mike Stobbe , AP, January 14, 2026

The New York Times (1/13, Abelson, Sanger-Katz) says some “1.4 million fewer people have enrolled in [ACA] coverage this year in the face of soaring premiums, according to an early report, following the expiration of the enhanced subsidies that helped lower the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans.” Data released “by the federal government on Monday indicated that 22.8 million Americans had enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans starting Jan. 1, down from 24.2 million enrolled through the end of the sign-up period last year. They are the first official figures showing the effects of the change in policy.” These “new data covered sign-ups through Jan. 3. People can still enroll through Thursday.”

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/13, Solomon) reports a study found that “weekend catch-up sleep (WCS) may reduce the incidence of daily depressive symptoms in late adolescents and young adults.” The researchers observed “that participants with WCS had 41 percent lower odds of daily depressive symptoms versus those without WCS. Results were similar from causal inference and traditional multivariate regression models. A twofold greater benefit on depressive symptoms was seen for both healthy weekday sleep duration and an optimal time.” The study was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

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— “Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Tied to Fewer Depressive Symptoms in Teens,”Mark Arredondo, HealthDay, January 13, 2026

NBC News (1/12, Lovelace Jr.) reports, “As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act insurance comes to an end, people are moving to cheaper plans or dropping their coverage entirely, according to state and federal data.” In 2025, “Congress failed to extend enhanced tax credits for [ACA] customers,” leading to “soaring monthly premiums across the U.S.” On Monday, CMS “released datashowing that nationally, sign-ups are down more than 800,000 from last year.” According to NBC News, “fewer new enrollees are signing up and fewer people are renewing their coverage.” In “Idaho, Massachusetts and Virginia, state health officials say roughly twice as many people have dropped their coverage for 2026 compared with the same point last year.” Meanwhile, “in Pennsylvania, terminations have more than tripled, to above 70,000, officials say, and are still growing.”

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— “ACA sign-ups fall as higher premiums push people off plans,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr. , NBC News, January 12, 2026

Healio (1/12, Rhoades) reports, “Certain depressive symptoms experienced during midlife were tied to a greater risk for dementia, with some increasing the risk by around 50%, according to recently published data.” One study author said the results “show that dementia risk is linked to a handful of depressive symptoms rather than depression as a whole. … This symptom-level approach gives us a much clearer picture of who may be more vulnerable decades before dementia develops.” “Six depressive symptoms emerged as robust midlife indicators of increased dementia risk: Losing confidence in myself” , “Not able to face up to problems” , “Not feeling warmth and affection for others”, “Nervous and strung-up all the time”, “Not satisfied with the way tasks are carried out”, and “Difficulties concentrating” . Associations were independent of established dementia risk factors, including APOEε4 status, cardiometabolic conditions,”

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— “Six depressive symptoms during midlife raise dementia risk,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades , Healio , January 12, 2026