Medication and therapy have long been the standard protocol for treating mental health conditions. But there’s a third option: your smartphone.

In 2017, the FDA began clearing virtual tools to treat conditions like depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), insomnia, and substance use disorder. These digital mental health treatments (DMHTs) are a type of digital therapeutic, defined by trade group Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) as health software that delivers an evidence-backed medical intervention for a disease or disorder.

Yet despite their potential, these apps have struggled to find success. Developers previously told Healthcare Brew that’s largely because payers have been unwilling to cover them due, in part, to their newness. In a qualitative study published in 2024, 22 pharmacists and health insurance representatives said they were waiting for more evidence or a clearer reimbursement pathway.

On Jan. 1, 2025, the wait ended.

Get the latest updates on digital therapeutics here.—CC

Experts are worried that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cuts on April 1 are bad news for reproductive health.

During layoffs of about 10,000 federal employees starting April 1, multiple outlets including NBC reported that most of the approximately 100 employees at the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) had lost their jobs.

“It appears that anything having to do with women’s or reproductive health was particularly targeted in these cuts,” Sean Tipton, chief advocacy and policy officer at the nonprofit American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), told Healthcare Brew.

While 100 out of 10,000 might seem like a drop in the ocean, Tipton and others say this team is critical. The DRH collects and analyzes data on issues like maternal and infant mortality and lays out potential solutions, Lynn Yee, associate chief of maternal-fetal medicine for research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Healthcare Brew.

Here’s how layoffs are impacting fertility and maternal health.—CC

CVS named two new executives to its leadership team as the company tries to bounce back from a year that saw its net income cut nearly in half.

The retail pharmacy giant named UPS veteran Brian Newman as its new EVP and CFO and Press Ganey expert Amy Compton-Phillips as its new EVP and chief medical officer. Newman will take over the role on April 21 and Compton-Phillips starts on May 19, CVS announced on April 8.

“As I continue to build out my leadership team, I am confident that Brian and Amy will help us continue the momentum we have built over the past several months,” CVS Health President and CEO David Joyner said in a statement.

Some background. Joyner took the reins from former CEO Karen Lynch in October 2024, and the company has since made several changes in attempts to boost the company’s financial performance, including appointing a new head of insurer arm Aetna and implementing a $2 billion cost-savings plan.

Learn more about the new hires and CVS’s strategy here.—MA