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Health Awareness in MAY

ALS Awareness Month
The focus here is heavily on accelerating clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases and funding patient care technologies (like speech-generating devices) that help maintain independence.
Healthy Vision Month
Spearheaded by the National Eye Institute, this campaign specifically pushes for dilated eye exams. Many chronic vision conditions, like glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy, can destroy vision before any early symptoms appear.
National Walking Month

This acts as the perfect physical counterpart to Mental Health Month. Public health data consistently shows that just 20–30 minutes of brisk walking a day can lower cardiovascular risks by 30% and significantly reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

National Nurses Week
(May 6 – May 12)
Concluding on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, this week recognizes the foundational role nurses play in patient outcomes and increasingly focuses on combating healthcare worker burnout.
National Women's Health Week (Begins Mother's Day)
Led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this week serves as a reminder for women to schedule baseline preventative screenings, such as mammograms, Pap smears, and bone density scans.
Food Allergy Awareness Week
(Mid-May)
Focuses on managing severe anaphylactic risks in schools and public spaces, educating communities on how to recognize the signs of a severe reaction and properly administer epinephrine.
World Asthma Day
 (First Tuesday of May)
Organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), this day focuses on improving environmental control and inhaler adherence during peak spring pollen spikes.
World Hypertension Day
 (May 17)
Centers entirely on the "silent killer." Because high blood pressure rarely carries obvious symptoms, this day features global public screening initiatives to catch cardiovascular risks early.
World No Tobacco Day
(May 31)
A global World Health Organization (WHO) initiative highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce consumption globally.



2026 May 20th

ACA Marketplace & Health Insurance

Deepening Premium Shocks and Drastic Deductible Spikes Rock the Individual Market

A comprehensive market analysis reveals severe contraction and consumer distress following the expiration of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. Average ACA Marketplace deductibles surged by 37%, climbing over $1,000 per person to hit a historic high of $3,786. This unprecedented spike is driven by massive numbers of lower-income enrollees "buying down" from Silver plans with cost-sharing reductions into high-deductible Bronze plans simply to survive the rate changes. Driven by premium increases that averaged 58% out-of-pocket, plan selections fell by over a million people during Open Enrollment. Experts project final effectuated coverage (paid accounts) to suffer an overall mid-year attrition drop of 17% to 26% as 2026 unfolds, heavily concentrated among young adults (ages 18 to 34) and families positioned just above the 400% Federal Poverty Level "subsidy cliff."

May 19, 2026│Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). (2026, May 19). What we know so far about 2026 ACA Marketplace enrollment, premiums, and deductibles.



2026 May 20th

Medicare, Home Health & Hospice Compliance

Federal Register Publishes Official Rules Governing Medicare Enrollment Halt for HHAs and Hospices

Following the immediate executive notice issued earlier in the week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officially published its National Moratoria notices in the Federal Register, formalizing a strict six-month block on processing new Medicare provider agreements. This aggressive enforcement posture is aimed squarely at combating rapid enrollment fraud, illicit shell-company ownership shifts, and bad-actor billing schemes. The moratorium spans all 50 states and territories. Importantly, the newly verified details outline that the freeze explicitly halts re-enrollments triggered under the Change in Majority Ownership (CIMO) "36-month rule." Under these guidelines, if a home health agency or hospice provider undergoes a non-exempt corporate ownership transfer within 36 months of its initial enrollment, its existing provider transaction access number (PTAN) will be terminated, and the moratorium will effectively prohibit them from re-enrolling, freezing the transaction.

May 15, 2026 │Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026, May 15). Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: Announcement of nationwide temporary moratoria on enrollment of home health agencies (HHAs) and hospices. National Notices. 91 FR 27954. Document Numbers: 2026-09717 & 2026-09718.



2026 May 20th

Property & Casualty (P&C) State Regulation

NAIC Spring National Meeting Launches Massive Data Call to Track Wildfires and Non-Renewals

At the 2026 Spring National Meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), President Michael White unveiled an expanded, mandatory property market data call designed to capture roughly 98% of the homeowners market nationwide. This state-driven initiative explicitly tracks localized hazard non-renewals, premium hikes, and surging wildfire deductibles. Additionally, the NAIC confirmed that over 20 state insurance departments have actively launched localized, technical risk-mitigation grant programs (such as severe convective storm hardening in Minnesota, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, alongside wildfire defenses in California and New Mexico) via the NAIC's Catastrophe Center of Excellence to fight back on property uninsurability at the community level.

May 20, 2026 │National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (2026, May 20). Evolving marketplace, continued state leadership: NAIC President White 2026 Spring National Meeting keynote address.



2026 May 20th

Property & Casualty (P&C) Financial Forecasting

Underwriting Trends Forecast Long-Term Replacement Cost Acceleration Past Inflation

The quarterly macro-market review issued by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Milliman indicates that while the personal and commercial property sectors saw net combined ratios hit favorable territory thanks to moderating material supply chains, underlying P/C growth for the first half of 2026 has slowed to -3.7%. Economists caution that although short-term replacement cost growth is flat at 2.1%, actuarial forecasting models show a steep re-acceleration occurring through 2028. Property replacement expenses are projected to outpace standard U.S. consumer price inflation by 2028, underscoring the absolute necessity for carriers to maintain strict pricing discipline, tightly manage policy limitations, and uphold rigid commercial general liability and auto underwriting rules.

 May 14, 2026│Insurance Information Institute / Milliman. (2026, May 14). US P/C insurance industry navigates recovery following years of elevated claims costs and economic disruption. States News Service.



2026 May 20th

Commercial Property & Legislative Policy

Bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Sweeps U.S. House

In a major legislative development impacting commercial real estate development, property risk managers, and institutional lenders, the full U.S. House of Representatives passed the heavily negotiated "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act" by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 396-13. The modified resolution compromises on previous Senate friction by restoring protective community banking provisions while cutting restrictive administrative barriers at HUD. It establishes federal production frameworks to fast-track modular/factory-built multi-family construction and restricts high-volume institutional investing in private housing markets, directly shifting systemic risk profiles for residential property lines and institutional landlord coverages.

May 20, 2026│U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. (2026, May 20). Financial Services Committee's bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passes House. Press Release.

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