Axios

More than 500 drugs are expected to see price increases early this month, according to a new analysis.

Why it matters: Drugmakers are more likely to raise or lower drug prices around the start of a new year, but the practice may get more scrutiny as the Biden administration conducts the first-ever Medicare drug price negotiations and cracks down on companies that hike drug prices faster than inflation.

For all the frenzied speculation about how AI can transform health care, some companies are leveraging the technology for a decidedly simpler but still critical task: making shopping for health insurance less terrible.

Why it matters: Many Americans typically stick with their health plan year after year even when better and cheaper options are available, often because it's too hard to predict how much care they'll need or figure out if they can actually get a better deal.

This year kicked off with confetti, new tax laws and a baby boy for the Cannon family near Charlotte, North Carolina.

What's happening: Six minutes after midnight, parents Jonathan and Rachel Cannon celebrated the start of 2024 with the birth of their 7-pound, 3-ounce, 19.76 inches-long baby boy at Atrium Health Cabarrus hospital.

• Nearby Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center reported another baby was born exactly one minute later at 12:07am.

It's the only generation born fully in the 21st century: the oldest are about 13, and the youngest will be born in the coming year.

The big picture: Enter Generation Alpha, the first entirely online cohort. Its members have grappled with a climate crisis and pandemic — and can spend money more easily at their age than even their savviest close elders.