Axios

More Americans are turning to surrogacy to build their families, as the practice becomes more common and more publicly discussed.

Why it matters: As surrogacy becomes more visible and accessible, ethical, legal and cultural tensions become harder to ignore.

Surrogacy in the U.S. can cost from $100,000 to more than $250,000.

Why it matters: High costs and limited insurance coverage make surrogacy inaccessible for many people seeking to build families.

MaRiahh Hodgkinson knows she has "unique" origins: She grew up with a mom and dad — and an "auntie" who gave birth to her in 1999.

The big picture: That has "always been a part of my family and story," she says. She doesn't even remember a time she was sat down and told about her parentage."

China's emergence as a second hub of pharmaceutical innovation could trigger massive changes to the global drug market, including how treatments are regulated and priced in the U.S.

Why it matters: More cutting-edge therapies are generally a good thing for patients, regardless of where they come from. But the new world order could spark questions over who'll access those therapies and where money flows.

As the Company Formerly Known as Twitter prepares to go public, its former CEO is raising money for a very different venture.

Driving the news: eMed, an employee telehealth company led by Linda Yaccarino, this morning announced $200 million in new funding at a post-money valuation north of $2 billion.

Trump administration health officials are giving serious consideration to a plan that would make injuries from COVID-19 vaccines a formal diagnosis that can be coded in medical records.

Why it matters: Increasing documentation of what's still a loosely defined condition could help lay the groundwork for future lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.

A leading anti-vaccine activist is petitioning the Department of Health and Human Services to add more than 300 conditions to a table used for vaccine injury compensation claims — and is threatening to sue the agency if it doesn't.

Why it matters: The effort is led by vaccine-injury lawyer Aaron Siri, a longtime ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was invited to brief a vaccine advisory committee in December on the childhood immunization schedule.

Multiple high-level vacancies at federal health agencies are giving the Trump administration a chance to pivot from contentious vaccine policies to a more mainstream public health strategy.

Why it matters: The anticipated nomination of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director and selection of a top Food and Drug Administration vaccine regulator will be closely watched for signs the White House wants to break from the drama that characterized much of the past year.

The Trump administration's suspension of certain immigrants' work authorization renewals is sidelining possibly thousands of foreign-born doctors, some of the affected physicians tell Axios.

Why it matters: The policy could worsen access to care in a health system already facing physician shortages.

AI is increasingly being combined with prescription drugs and other therapies in the push to personalize medicine.

• But that's making it harder to define whether a compound or an algorithm is actually doing the healing.

The big picture: Optimism over new ways to deliver customized, real-time care in patients' homes is being tempered by legal and regulatory questions about how to treat hybrid products that learn and evolve from their interactions with patients.