The AP (3/19, Swenson) reports a new survey from KFF found that about 8 in 10 Americans “who re-enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage say their health care costs are higher this year, including about half who say their costs are ‘a lot’ higher.” Of the 1,117 Americans surveyed “who had ACA marketplace coverage in 2025, including those who dropped coverage or changed plans, about 55% said they’re planning to deal with health care costs by cutting spending on food and other basic household needs.” Although about 7 in 10 enrollees “stayed on ACA health insurance,” that figure includes “about 3 in 10 who changed plans within the marketplace.” Furthermore, the poll shows that “about 1 in 10 of last year’s enrollees said they dropped coverage altogether and are now uninsured.” According to the AP, a “main reason for increased costs was the Dec. 31expiration of enhanced tax credits that had offset premiums for most enrollees.”

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— “What Americans are giving up to afford ACA health insurance, according to a new poll,”Ali Swenson , AP, March 19, 2026

The Washington Post (3/19, Rowland) says a new HHS OIG report (PDF) released Thursday states that “many U.S. nursing homes are creating phony schizophrenia diagnoses to hide their use of dangerous antipsychotic drugs to subdue dementia patients.” The Post explains that a “diagnosis of schizophrenia allows nursing homes to avoid reporting use of the drugs and artificially improve quality-Star ratings on the government’s Medicare consumer website.” The OIG report said, “We found that nursing homes inappropriately diagnosed schizophrenia to mask their misuse of antipsychotic drugs, artificially inflate their Star rating, and skirt established safeguards meant to protect residents.” The OIG’s findings also “come as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…is considering relaxing its reporting standards for antipsychotic use.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (3/17, Pearson) reports “a new survey suggests many teens are” being “pressured into sending” sexual images, “and often with someone they are dating.” The survey “included more than 6,200 18- to 28-year-olds who were asked about incidents of image-based sexual harassment they experienced before turning 18.” The survey “looked at who tended to pressure adolescents into sharing sexual images of themselves, whether they complied and the emotional fallout of those decisions.” Over 90% “of those who said they had received a coercive request for a sexual photo were women, and more than half complied.” They were much “more likely to do so at the request of a dating partner, rather than a stranger or someone they knew online only.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/16, Thompson) reports a study found that “loneliness and social isolation are both linked to the cognitive decline a woman feels as she begins to transition into menopause,” and that “women experiencing both loneliness and social isolation are at greatest risk for brain decline.” According to the study, “moderate to severe loneliness combined with social isolation increased a woman’s risk of cognitive decline by eightfold, while mild loneliness nearly tripled her risk in combination with social isolation.” Researchers speculated that “loneliness might affect brain health by promoting inflammation related to anxiety or depression,” and that “social isolation might reduce the amount of brain stimulation a person receives.” The study was published in Menopause.

Related Links:

— “Loneliness, Social Isolation Impact Brain Health Among Women Entering Menopause,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 16, 2026

MedPage Today (3/16, Robertson) reports a study found that “extended-release buprenorphine was an effective treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) and safe for their babies.” Researchers observed that “women randomized to weekly, injectable extended-release buprenorphine had higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than those in the sublingual buprenorphine group (82.5% vs 72.6%).” Furthermore, “those taking extended-release buprenorphine also had fewer serious adverse events during pregnancy (8.7% vs 26.8%) and during the postpartum period (6% vs 18.6%). While rates of nonserious AEs did not differ between groups, more were considered related to extended-release buprenorphine during pregnancy (26.1% vs 7%),” although they “were mostly mild.” The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)