• California: Google has launched a new "Agent Garden," which is a centralized hub where organizations can access pre-built artificial intelligence (AI) agents. According to Aashima Gupta, global director for healthcare strategy and solutions at Google Cloud, AI agents are more advanced than earlier versions of AI tools, like chatbots, and can handle more complex, multistep tasks. In addition to its Agent Garden, Google also announced the Agent2Agent Protocol, a framework that allows several agents to communicate with each other even if they were created by different developers. "Imagine entire systems powered by multiple AI agents working together autonomously to optimize things like revenue cycles, streamlining claims operations, even proactively addressing bottlenecks," Gupta said. Currently, some health systems that have implemented Google's AI tools are Highmark Health and Hackensack Meridian Health. (Olsen, Healthcare Dive, 4/10)
• Connecticut/New York: The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (COHS) last week approved Northwell Health and Nuvance Health's merger plan. Through the merger, Northwell and Nuvance will form a 28-hospital system with over 1,000 sites of care across Connecticut and New York. Although the merger was approved, regulators from Connecticut and New York have placed conditions on the deal. For example, COHS will require Northwell to maintain all current collective bargaining agreements and limit growth in commercial prices. Northwell is also not allowed to engage in any sale-leaseback transaction for at least five years. Meanwhile, the states' attorneys general are requiring Northwell to expand women's health services, including labor and delivery services, at Sharon Hospital in Connecticut and maintain staffing levels at Putnam Hospital in New York. Regulators in both states will also monitor Northwell's progress in investing $1 billion into Nuvance over the next five years. (Vogel, Healthcare Dive, 4/10)
• Illinois: According to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, U.S. spending on GLP-1 drugs reached $71.7 billion in 2023, increasing by over 500% since 2018. GLP-1 drugs included those approved for diabetes like Ozempic and Rybelsus and those approved for weight loss like Saxenda and Wegovy. In the study, researchers found that total annual spending on GLP-1 drugs increased from $13.7 billion in 2018 to $71.7 billion in 2023. The greatest rate of growth occurred from 2022 to 2023 at 62%. Spending also varied by brand and type of product. For example, semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy) and tirezepatide (Mounjaro) made up 70% of all U.S. GLP-1 spending by 2023. Similarly, GLP-1 drugs that were approved to treat type 2 diabetes made up 89% of all spending on the drugs. In the future, new GLP-1 drugs could continue to increase demand and spending. Currently, the GLP-1 drug market is predicted to increase to $105 billion by 2030. "Challenges in long-term adherence, spending in competition with other health care costs, lack of price transparency, and the integration of new products and indications will continue to drive demand for ongoing research in this area," the researchers wrote. (Docter-Loeb, Washington Post, 4/21; Musto, The Independent, 4/21)

Healthcare's approach to weight management and obesity care is rapidly evolving. To meet the present moment, stakeholders need to understand the landscape, manage new innovations, and prepare for care transformation.