Featured story: “Up until now, the state of #Texas—like most other banned states—has made it very clear they are not interested in providing clarity for providers and patients. And Texas doctors face some of the most draconian penalties in the country.” https://www.texasobserver.org/republican-abortion-laws-texas-legislature-exceptions/

"States increasingly struggling to cover the rising cost of popular GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepbound are searching for ways to get out from under the budgetary squeeze that took them by surprise.

One solution some policymakers may try is restricting the number of people on Medicaid who can use the pricey diabetes drugs for weight-loss purposes."
https://apnews.com/article/ozempic-wegovy-medicaid-weight-loss-glp1-dd34e5d76b660550dad73dc3069083ce

After 'coding error' triggers firings, top NIH scientists called back to work

https://www.science.org/content/article/after-coding-error-triggers-firings-top-nih-scientists-called-back-work

My friend's poster at yesterday's demo in S.F.

We should be demanding, organizing, and fighting for the abolition of billionaires, seizing their wealth, using it to provide free public services for everyone, a universal basic income, guaranteed housing, food, healthcare, not for a return to the shitty, pre-Trump status quo.

Bellingham, WA: More than 900 PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center employees started voting on Thursday, April 3, on whether or not to authorize a strike. The vote will be counted Tuesday, April 8.

"The caregivers told stories of co-workers sleeping in their cars and relying on the “Dove Pantry” — an in-house food bank — “filled and emptied by co-workers daily.”

#USPol #USPolitics #Healthcare #UnionStrong

https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/apr/03/peacehealth-union-members-start-vote-to-authorize-strike/

One aspect of this administration's terrible approach to immigrants that I don't see mentioned a lot: the potential impact on healthcare, given that "over 350,000 undocumented immigrants and nearly 700,000 documented immigrants work in healthcare."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/workforce/114947 or
https://archive.vn/9ufNg

h/t @bicmay
#immigration #healthcare #uspol #deportations

Featured story, from Mary Tuma: “These laws are torturing women, there’s no other way to put it. It is absolutely horrible having to try to help patients get care when the state has barred us from using our best medical judgment.”
https://www.texasobserver.org/republican-abortion-laws-texas-legislature-exceptions/

Today in Labor History April 5, 1989: The United Mine Workers launched their strike against Pittston Coal Co., eventually winning concessions by Pittston on February 20, 1990. The strike started in response to Pittston’s termination of health care for widows, retirees and disabled veteran miners. During the strike, there were 2,000 miners camped out daily at Camp Solidarity, and up to 40,000 total engaging in wild cat strikes, civil disobedience, picketing, occupations and sabotage. The strike reduced Pittston’s production by two-thirds, while over 4,000 strikers were arrested during the strike.

Here in #DC to tell the fascist vandals of America, #HandsOff our #democracy, #RuleOfLaw, #CleanAir, #CleanWater, #CleanEnergy, #SocialSecurity, #HealthCare, #science, and #VulnerableCommunities.

"More than 1 million noncitizen immigrants (one-third of them undocumented) work in healthcare in the U.S. Their ranks include skilled personnel who would be difficult to replace, especially if legal immigration is further restricted," according to a group led by Lenore Azaroff, MD, ScD, of Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/workforce/114947

Our top story: The federal Health Resources and Services Administration designates 192 #Texas counties as mental health provider shortage areas. Nolan County, home to Sweetwater, ranks worse than 155 of those. https://www.texasobserver.org/mental-health-crisis-rural-texas/

"The number one lesson that Donald Trump took from the pandemic on his watch is that it was bad for him politically. For him, utter ignorance was preferable to public information panic and preparedness. Kennedy is the mad bad tool implementing that lesson now in his powerful position running the nation's health agencies right into the ground."

~ Nina Burleigh

#Trump #RFKJr #science #disinformation #healthcare #medicine #science #research #Covid #pandemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5QW4fhhWHg

Ebola-infected monkeys cured with a pill, sparking human treatment hopes

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-ebola-infected-monkeys-pill-human.html

Holy crap, even Sideshow Bob's brain worm is starting to get nervous and say "Don't shoot me, shoot Elon."

I mean it's not like this guy ever gave a shit about any other life, human or animal, but his own.

He's not very bright but at least he's brighter than the fools in DOGE. The less idiotic rats are starting to want off the sinking ship.

#healthcare #cdc #doge #musk

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-hhs-job-cuts-doge-mistakes/

He helped write the policies that guided manufacturers, worked to close loopholes that threatened safety, and trained the FDA’s investigators to uncover sterility failures at manufacturing plants scattered across the globe.

And he was among the thousands of employees at the #FDA and other federal health agencies who were abruptly purged on April 1st by republicans.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/the-expert-who-kept-eye-drops-from-blinding-you-was-fired-yesterday

Medicare Advantage now covers 54% of Medicare enrollees, up from 8 million to 33 million between 2007 and 2024. Health policy experts on how rapid growth is reshaping #healthcare for older Americans, whether like it or not: https://buff.ly/YnF3zcB