Help for Medicare Advantage Patients Who Lose Doctors Is Shelved, for Now

my latest Medicare story...
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/b...

Congress compels the Trump Administration to spend science and health funding Proposals for huge cuts to NIH and CDC budgets have been rejected, to the relief of scientists. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

Congress rejected the Trump Administration's request for huge cuts to the CDC and NIH budgets. But will the Administration spend funds it didn't want as Congress intended? New guard rails were added to ensure that happens. Are they enough? via
@thelancet.com www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans - KFF Health News Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospi...

In Los Angeles, there are more than 70 #medicareadvantage plans to choose from. So why did the UCLA Health system create two more? My latest for @kffhealthnews.org. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

3 Policy Moves Likely to Change Health Care for Older People

Should #nursinghomes have nurses 24/7? This and other policy changes from @paula_span www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/health/nursin...

Opinion | How RFK Jr. plans to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to flood the vaccine injury compensation program to hurt vaccine access in the U.S.

The Washington Post:
How RFK Jr. plans to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers
https://wapo.st/4pLaDWs

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare. - KFF Health News Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health prov...

Rules intended to make sure private #MedicareAdvantage plans have enough doctors are almost never enforced, reports @kffhealthnews.org @susanjaffe.bsky.social. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicare-ad...

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare. - KFF Health News Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health prov...

What you don't know about #MedicareAdvantage: Officials rarely check if the plans have enough providers. Out of thousands of Advantage plans, government documents obtained by @kffhealthnews.org show only SEVEN violated provider network requirements. Yes, really. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare. - KFF Health News Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health prov...

Little-known federal requirements are supposed to protect people with privately run #MedicareAdvantage coverage when contract disputes lead their health care providers and insurers to part ways. via @kffhealthnews.org @susanjaffe.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre. The Trump administration is using the shutdown to further weaken the our national public health infrastructure.

BREAKING NEWS: CDC employees terminated in apparent Friday night massacre.
open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

x.com/susanjaffe/status/197021...

CDC is “in the ICU right now” former officials say Senior officials say HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is eviscerating the CDC. Washington Correspondent Susan Jaffe reports.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implosion was months in the making, senior officials tell @thelancet.com after they resigned in protest following the dismissal of CDC Director Susan Monarez.
tinyurl.com/329beyzz

My Wife Has Profound Hearing Loss. What She Likes About Smart Captioning Glasses and Where They Can Improve Xander Captioning Glasses are 'a miraculous breakthrough,' my wife concluded after a brief road test. But there are a few things to know before forking over $5,000 for a pair of your own.

Especially for older adults w severe hearing loss: "These glasses translate speech to text in real time and project captions of conversations to the wearer's field of view," writes @jonkalish.
www.pcmag.com/articles/wife-profound-h...

When I Go, I’m Going Green

"I live in #Brooklyn, where real estate is pricey even for the dead," writes @paula_span. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/health/green-...

How Trump's immigration policies are affecting caregivers and nursing homes More than one million immigrants work in healthcare and make up an increasing share of caregivers for elderly and disabled Americans. That includes not only medical professionals, but also workers who...

"There are already huge numbers of vacancies for #nursinghome workers... If the immigrants who are now filling those jobs [leave], they just won't be filled," @huntercollege.bsky.social's Dr. David Himmelstein tells @newshour.bsky.social

Minors’ Ability to Consent to Contraception and Abortion Services | KFF This brief examines state consent requirements for minors accessing contraceptive and abortion care, processes for minors to attempt to obtain abortion without parental involvement, and trends in stat...

Minors’ Ability to Consent to Contraception and Abortion Services www.kff.org/1d6f093/

Millions to lose Medicaid coverage under new law President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes the largest cuts to Medicaid since its creation, with doctors warning that patients will suffer. Susan Jaffe reports.

"This seismic shift in the US health-care system was opposed by nearly every major health-care provider and industry organisation." #OBBBA @thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

background in aging issues not required, fellowship includes travel expenses to GSA annual meeting in Boston and a writing stipend
 www.geron.org/Resources/Jo... @lizseegert.bsky.social @paulkleyman.bsky.social

I Was Laid Off from CDC. Here’s Why We Need to Bolster State and Local Supports to Protect Public Health  | Milbank Memorial Fund I moved to Atlanta in August 2024 to begin my dream job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After making it to the semi-finalist

Micaela Camozzi writes:
"I Was Laid Off from CDC...."

"As a probationary worker, I have also remained on indefinite leave and ironically received a cash performance award even though the alleged basis of my termination was poor performance." www.milbank.org/2025/07/i-wa...

ASHP, Pharmacy Organizations Urge Insurers to Maintain Vaccine Coverage-ASHP This week, ASHP, along with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the Hematology/Oncology Ph...

Nine top US pharmacy groups urge health insurance companies to continue covering #vaccines at little or no cost to patients, regardless of changes to the #CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (#ACIP) news.ashp.org/news/ashp-ne...

'You Lied': Physician Lawmaker Confronts RFK Jr. About ACIP Firings Kennedy will be responsible for 'every death' from vaccine-preventable illness, pediatrician said

'You Lied': Physician Lawmaker Confronts RFK Jr. About ACIP Firings via @medpagetoday.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

Health insurers promised @HHSgov this week they'll streamline prior authorization, reducing delays and red tape. Does that mean #medicareadvantage and employer-sponsored plans will increase spending on medical care? Not likely, financial analysts tell Modern Healthcare. tinyurl.com/4uawpm52

Many Older People Embrace Vaccines. Research Is Proving Them Right.

Need a good reason to get the shingles vaccine? #PaulaSSpan has one that may surprise you.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/h...

Deadline 7/18 for full-time & freelance reporters to apply for
@geronsociety.bsky.social fellowship includes $1,500 stipend + expenses to attend Boston conference. Info, projects & past recipients (includg moi!) at tinyurl.com/yc5c33jn #AgingIssues background not required @lizseegert.bsky.social

www.geron.org/Resources/Journalists-in...

AMA Urged to Speak Out Against EMTALA Guidelines Withdrawal 'People will die because of this, and our AMA needs to be on the right side'

From today's @AmerMedicalAssn meeting: "I'm terrified for my patients," says #OBGYN @AllieConry re: elimination of abortions from required emergency medical care (#EMTALA). "People will die because of this..." ‪@joycefr.bsky.social‬ & @medpagetoday.bsky.social‬
www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcover...

NYC Policy Directs $72 Million to Community Media Over Five Years, New Report Finds - Newmark J-School A new report spotlights the transformative impact of New York City’s groundbreaking legislation supporting community media outlets.

"...Since the legislation’s inception five years ago, more than $72 million has been infused into the local community media ecosystem." #LocalNews #independentjournalism
www.journalism.cuny.edu/2025/05/nyc-policy-direc...

Medicaid work requirements don’t hold corporations accountable—they punish low-wage workers. It’s upside-down policy.
❌ They stigmatize people trying to survive
✔️ While protecting corporate bottom lines
Let’s call it what it is: corporate welfare, plain and simple.

Trump works towards US tariffs on drug imports Observers warn of the negative health consequences if US President Donald Trump follows through on his promise to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals. Susan Jaffe reports.

If the Trump Administration imposes tariffs on #imported #drugs and/or their active ingredients, can companies here produce enough products to meet the demand? How long would it take to boost production? via @thelancet.bsky.social www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

@thelancet.bsky.social editorial April 25, 2025: “The pursuit of rigorous medical science is not compatible with capitulation to government demands aimed at weaponising and eroding science.” www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Why Cameras Are Popping Up in Eldercare Facilities (Gift Article) Roughly 20 states now have laws permitting families to place cameras in the rooms of loved ones. Facility operators are often opposed.

Daughters of an 82-year-old woman w/memory problems put a camera in their mother's assisted living apartment. It told them what their mother couldn't, writes @paula_span. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/h...