A new national AGA survey reveals 63% of Americans now view obesity as a chronic disease — not a personal failure. And more than 8 in 10 believe insurance should pay for medical treatment, including GLP-1 therapies and bariatric surgery. Yet despite this shift, cost and lack of coverage remain the biggest barriers — leaving millions unable to access treatments that could prevent liver disease and other serious GI conditions.As obesity care reshapes GI practice, the policy gap is widening. If Congress doesn’t act on the long-stalled Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, patients—and GI clinicians—remain stuck.
Author: Abhay Panchal
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) has urged the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider certain inclusion and exclusion criteria when asking sponsors to conduct clinical trials for drugs to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The group commented on two draft guidances on the topic and asked the agency to convene public meetings to allow more dialogue before the guidances are finalized.
As GI volumes grow and patient expectations evolve, ASCs face new pressure to reduce appointment cancellations, streamline communication and strengthen operational and cultural foundations ahead of 2026. During Becker’s 31st Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs in Chicago, four GI leaders shared the strategies they believe will define success in the coming years. The panel featured Dean Lehmkuhler, administrator of Indianapolis-based Northside Gastroenterology Endoscopy Center; Sumana Moole, MD, physician and founder of Suwanee, Ga.-based Merus Gastroenterology & Gut Health; Benjamin Levy, MD, gastroenterologist at University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago; and Emma Gimmel, BSN, RN, director of nursing…
Noninvasive CRC screening is getting crowded — but not all “easy” tests are created equal.This new review compares FIT, multitarget stool DNA (Cologuard / Cologuard Plus), the next-gen stool RNA test (ColoSense), and emerging blood-based tests like Shield. The takeaway is blunt: stool-based tests still outperform today’s blood tests on effectiveness and cost, especially for advanced precancerous lesions. Blood-based tests should be reserved for patients who refuse colonoscopy and stool options — at least until sensitivity, adenoma detection, and pricing improve.
On Nov. 21, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System final rule, outlining updates to Medicare facility payment policies and rates for hospital outpatient and ASC services.
A new practice-management editorial argues that the long-dominant ASC model is showing cracks:• Professional fees for colonoscopy have dropped >40% since 2001 • Facility profits are increasingly captured by national ASC owners • Anesthesia costs and staffing shortages continue to squeeze margins With Medicare proposing +14% payment for office-based endoscopy in 2026 (and –7% for ASC settings), GI groups are re-evaluating where their future growth comes from. Leaders like Dr. Lawrence Kosinski say office suites can restore control, autonomy, and value-based agility — while maintaining safety and patient experience. The full article breaks down the financial inflection point, state payer…
Abbott has announced a $23B deal to acquire Exact Sciences, maker of the leading at-home colorectal cancer test used more than 16 million times since launch. Analysts are calling it one of the boldest medtech moves of the decade—a direct bet on the future of cancer diagnostics. Why this matters:• Abbott is doubling its diagnostics market opportunity, from $60B to $120B • Cologuard’s growth could accelerate dramatically through international expansion • Exact’s pipeline (MRD, liquid biopsies, genomic profiling) gives Abbott a foothold across diagnosis → treatment selection → recurrence monitoring Some experts see a smart offensive play. Others question whether…
A breakthrough from Chinese researchers may one day replace colonoscopies with a glowing, bacteria-powered pill. In a new ACS Sensors study, scientists engineered a tiny capsule containing magnetized, heme-sensing bacteria that light up when they detect intestinal bleeding — a hallmark of colitis and other GI diseases. After traveling through the gut, the pill’s biosensors can be retrieved from stool in minutes, and the intensity of their glow reflects disease severity. Early mouse data showed strong accuracy, no safety concerns, and the potential to diagnose gut inflammation without scopes, sedation, or bowel prep. It’s still early-stage science — but if…
A first-of-its-kind JAMA Oncology study is shedding new light on one of the biggest mysteries in GI medicine: why colorectal cancer is rising so sharply in young adults. Researchers followed more than 29,000 women for 13 years and found that those eating the most ultraprocessed foods — especially packaged breads, breakfast items, sauces, and sweetened drinks — had a 45% higher risk of developing early precancerous colorectal adenomas by age 50. The findings stop short of proving causation, but they point to a troubling pattern: UPFs may accelerate the classic adenoma-to-carcinoma pathway, potentially via microbiome disruption, chronic inflammation, and altered…
Roche is moving aggressively into multi-cancer screening outside the U.S. with a new deal to commercialize Freenome’s kitted blood-based CRC and multi-cancer tests in international markets. The agreement includes a $75M equity investment and potential milestones that push the total value past $200M. The partnership also gives Freenome access to Roche’s Axelios sequencing platform — a high-speed NGS system Roche hopes will become a “clinical box” for decentralized cancer screening. Analysts say it doesn’t threaten Illumina yet, but signals Roche’s long-term push into liquid biopsy infrastructure.