Proposed Medicaid budget cuts could have a substantial effect on healthcare workers, experts say.

The House of Representatives on Feb. 25 adopted a budget resolution calling for the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the federal insurance program, to slash a minimum of $880 billion from its budget over the next eight years as part of the Trump administration’s $4.5 trillion tax-cut plan.

While President Trump has said since taking office that he won’t cut Medicaid funding (barring any “fraud or abuse” the administration may find), analysts say doing so would be inevitable under the proposal. Even if the committee got rid of every other part of its budget, it would still need to reduce at least $600 billion from Medicaid to meet the $880 billion total, according to a New York Times analysis.

Total Medicaid spending was roughly $880 billion in 2023, with about $606 billion of that coming from the federal government, data from health policy research firm KFF shows.

Keep reading here.—MA

Abbott’s newest Infinity deep brain stimulation (DBS) system trial has begun.

On March 5, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced that the first patient had officially been implanted with Abbott’s DBS system for a multisite, randomized controlled trial of the device’s effects on treatment-resistant depression.

The trial will follow this patient and others for the next three years, according to a Mount Sinai press release. In total, it aims to recruit about 100 participants who haven’t responded to four or more antidepressant treatments, according to the clinical trials government site. Half will have their implants turned on and half will not, with the two groups compared after the first year.

DBS systems like Infinity are used to adjust abnormal activity in areas of the brain that impact Parkinson’s and essential tremor through targeted electrical signals. In 2022, the FDA gave Abbott breakthrough device designation to investigate whether its system can treat treatment-resistant depression this way, too. On Sept. 4, Abbott announced this new trial.

Keep reading here.—CC

Welcome back to AI 411, a monthly roundup of artificial intelligence (AI) announcements from across the healthcare industry.

Some of the biggest healthcare AI news this month surrounds the ongoing lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group. The biggest healthcare company by revenue in the US is facing allegations that it used a flawed AI program and then denied treatment to some Medicare Advantage members who thought their care should be covered. This case could have major implications for payers who are looking to integrate AI to speed up the prior authorization process.

For now, here is your roundup of health-related AI news from February.

Abridge and Athenahealth. AI scribe maker Abridge and electronic medical records company Athenahealth announced a new partnership on Feb. 25. Under the agreement, Abridge’s note-taking technology was added to a new Athenahealth product called Ambient Notes and will be available in a limited release to 160,000 smaller and independent practices that use Athena’s products.

Keep reading here.—CM