The hottest Health Policy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Health & Wellness Topics

‘Listen to the Science’: A 75-Year-Old Warning About the Phrase

The Take (by Jon Miltimore) • 138 implied HN points • 02 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. When people say 'listen to the science,' they often mean 'listen to our plans.' Science can inform us, but it doesn't dictate what we should do.
  2. The economist Ludwig von Mises pointed out that science can't tell us what actions to take; it can only explain what is happening.
  3. Many debates around issues like climate change and COVID-19 are less about science and more about ethical choices, showing that not every problem has a simple scientific solution.

How To Treat Gender Dysphoria In Kids Without Sex Changes

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 1822 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. The debate over kids with gender dysphoria is highly polarized, with activists framing it as purely biological and critics focusing on opposing gender ideology instead of practical solutions.
  2. Major medical groups are shifting away from childhood sex-change surgeries and now recommend against procedures like breast removal, genital, and facial surgeries for minors.
  3. There’s a clear need to explore mental-health links and non-surgical treatments for gender dysphoria in children so that care focuses on safe, evidence-based alternatives rather than ideology.

Andrew Sullivan Calls on Rachel Levine to Resign Over Trans Children Research Coverup

The Take (by Jon Miltimore) • 812 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. A significant number of minors have undergone gender transition treatments in recent years, which raises concerns about the long-term effects on their health and wellbeing.
  2. There are serious doubts about the informed consent process for young children undergoing major surgical procedures, as they may not fully understand or appreciate the consequences.
  3. Critics argue that political motives have influenced health policies regarding transgender care for children, with calls for accountability from those involved in these decisions.

Covid-19 six years later

Your Local Epidemiologist • 2896 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Covid-19 is much less deadly than early in the pandemic and now behaves more like seasonal respiratory viruses, with smaller waves and two annual peaks, but it still causes hospitalizations especially in older adults and infants.
  2. Vaccines and treatments still cut the risk of severe illness, but protection wanes, vaccine uptake is falling, and guidance (especially about extra doses for older adults) is unclear, while cost and access barriers limit effective care.
  3. The biggest ongoing problem is eroding trust and a weakened public health system: many key questions remain unanswered (like long Covid and which interventions truly worked), so transparency, better data, and system reforms are urgently needed.

The Beginning of the End for Big Corporate Medicine

BIG by Matt Stoller • 42285 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Huge vertically integrated health firms—wholesalers, insurers, PBMs, and provider chains—create conflicts of interest that drive up costs, steer care toward profit, and undermine clinicians' independence.
  2. A new bipartisan bill would force structural separation so companies must choose between being insurers/PBMs/wholesalers or owning providers, and it would empower enforcement to block future rollups.
  3. Momentum is building at both state and federal levels—through laws, FTC actions, and public support—to break up or tightly regulate Big Medicine and return power to patients and clinicians.
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1924 Rathbone hearings, US Congress.

Bailiwick News • 1803 implied HN points • 25 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. In 1924, Congress held hearings to improve regulations on the sale of viruses and serums, aiming to prevent misleading claims about their effectiveness.
  2. Before 1924, some biological products didn't have clear standards showing their potency or effectiveness, which created confusion.
  3. The discussions back then highlighted the need for better protection for people using these products, similar to what was already in place for animals.

BOOM: Congress Imposes Public Utility Rules on UnitedHealth, CVS, and Cigna

BIG by Matt Stoller • 41024 implied HN points • 21 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Congress moved to treat big pharmacy benefit managers like public utilities by banning unfair network exclusions, forcing full price disclosure, and stopping PBMs from keeping rebates except for real service fees, though those rules mostly take effect in 2028–29 and depend on regulators.
  2. A few giant, vertically integrated PBMs owned by CVS, UnitedHealth, and Cigna dominate the market and use rebates and network steering to push higher‑cost drugs and favor their own pharmacies, which has driven independent pharmacy closures and higher patient costs.
  3. State public PBM models and recent regulator actions show reform can cut costs and improve access, but the federal law still leaves conflicts of interest, weak penalties, and enforcement risks that could limit its impact.

One Bad Idea After Another

Can We Still Govern? • 320 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. The administration is using broad, often misleading fraud claims to justify cutting Medicaid and withholding funds from blue states. Those moves risk denying care to eligible people while serving political goals.
  2. Actual data show Medicaid payment errors are low and Minnesota has been effective at controlling waste, and when fraud occurs it’s usually by large providers or organized actors, not everyday beneficiaries. This means the scare over widespread beneficiary fraud is misplaced.
  3. The fraud push looks politically motivated and hypocritical given pardons, conflicts of interest, and weakened enforcement, and it’s creating new paperwork and barriers that will reduce access to services more than stop real fraud.

Excess deaths in Australia cannot be explained by any other mechanism other than the COVID shots

Steve Kirsch's newsletter • 4 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. A statistical analysis of several Australian regions found excess deaths began right after COVID vaccine rollouts, and the timing and age patterns are said to not match the official explanations.
  2. Analyses of other national records claim there was no clear mortality or hospitalization benefit from the vaccines, and frailty-matched comparisons reportedly show similar death rates for vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.
  3. Public health authorities and official reports largely avoided treating vaccines as a possible cause or quantifying lives saved or lost, while only a few officials publicly raised these concerns.

Deliberate induction of anaphylaxis by vaccination

Bailiwick News • 2773 implied HN points • 12 Oct 24
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Vaccines can potentially cause serious allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, which may not be easily predictable. This can happen even with substances that are usually safe when eaten.
  2. Some historical research on anaphylaxis reveals a connection between vaccinations and the increase in allergies and autoimmune conditions today, suggesting that vaccines might sensitize people to allergens.
  3. Many vaccines contain proteins or substances that could trigger allergies, and the lack of stringent regulation in vaccine development means that people might not be fully aware of the risks involved.

Why All Mammograms Should Incorporate A.I.

Ground Truths • 8135 implied HN points • 08 Feb 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Health Policy
  1. AI makes mammogram reading more accurate and finds more cancers earlier, including smaller and aggressive tumors. It also significantly reduces radiologists' screening workload.
  2. AI can predict five-year breast cancer risk from a standard mammogram, letting clinicians target high-risk women for closer surveillance or preventive testing like MRI or genetic workups.
  3. AI can identify breast arterial calcification on mammograms, which signals higher heart disease risk and lets mammography serve as a two-for-one screen for cancer and cardiovascular risk.

Cue the allergies and time change, the flu vaccine process is starting, WH's impact on Tylenol, and good news

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1056 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Winter respiratory season is finally easing, but spring viruses like HMPV and RSV are on the rise and allergy season is starting earlier and lasting longer, so expect more colds and cranky kids this spring.
  2. The flu vaccine planning for next season is underway, but political interference and leadership turnover could block or delay an updated formula, meaning Americans might receive last year’s vaccine instead of one matched to current strains.
  3. A White House briefing that falsely linked acetaminophen to autism caused a measurable drop in acetaminophen orders for pregnant patients and a big rise in leucovorin prescriptions, showing how misinformation changes clinical care; acetaminophen remains the safest choice for fever and pain in pregnancy, so talk to your clinician if you’re pregnant and sick.

Stop Subsidizing Rural America

American Dreaming • 1557 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Rural America has been heavily subsidized for generations through programs like electrification, New Deal projects, Medicaid expansion, and broadband, yet those investments have not reversed its economic decline or political drift to the right.
  2. Many rural communities now face entrenched problems—low education, drug addiction and overdose, declining labor participation, housing stress, failing hospitals, and population loss—that are as much cultural and institutional as they are economic.
  3. The argument is that Democrats should stop trying to rescue rural voters with continuous subsidies and instead let those communities bear the consequences of their political choices while reallocating resources to places more likely to support progressive policies.

Hep B vaccine rates declining, RSV is having a late surge, more disease=more economic cost, AI and triage, and the U.S. surgeon general

Your Local Epidemiologist • 956 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Newborn hepatitis B vaccination rates are falling substantially, and declining childhood immunization (like MMR) threatens more cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and large economic costs.
  2. The respiratory season is unusual: flu activity is plateauing while RSV infections and hospitalizations are surging very late, putting infants at higher risk; vaccines and long-acting monoclonal antibodies can still provide protection.
  3. Consumer AI health tools can help with simple questions but are not yet reliable for triage; they often over-refer low-risk people and can miss early signs of serious emergencies, so don’t rely on them in urgent situations.

New Study Shows Negative COVID Vaccine Efficacy For Kids, Elevated Risk Of Myocarditis

Unmasked • 37 implied HN points • 21 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Public health officials and media pushed strong messaging that encouraged parents to vaccinate children by emphasizing COVID risks and downplaying natural immunity.
  2. A new study is said to show negative COVID vaccine efficacy for kids and an increased risk of myocarditis, suggesting the shots may have underperformed in that age group.
  3. Officials largely maintained the same pandemic policies even after vaccines underperformed in adults, which likely led to unnecessary child vaccinations and potential harms.

A new home for Force of Infection

Force of Infection • 154 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Health Policy
  1. The newsletter is moving off Substack to a standalone website, and subscriptions (including paid and regional choices) will transfer automatically; only readers who use the Substack app need to switch to email notifications.
  2. The move is intended to create a more permanent, independent, and stable home so the publication stays reliable despite changes to platform algorithms.
  3. The new site will let the newsletter expand beyond weekly reports into evergreen reference pages, seasonal summaries, and practical tools, with paid subscribers enabling that growth.

Endangerment Finding, bird flu, what counts as professional degrees, and more

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1029 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. A proposed Education Department rule would narrow which graduate programs count as “professional,” risking lower federal loan limits for public health, nursing, social work, physician assistant, and similar students and making these careers harder to afford.
  2. Repealing the Endangerment Finding weakens the EPA’s legal authority to limit greenhouse gases, which will likely increase air pollution and related health harms like asthma, heart and lung disease, and premature deaths, even as courts and states push back.
  3. A major H5N1 bird flu outbreak has infected millions of birds (mostly in commercial flocks), so the virus is circulating in poultry and wild birds; the risk to most people remains low, but poultry owners should follow testing and biosecurity guidance.

Consumptive Capitalism

Thinking about... • 675 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Before antibiotics, diseases like tuberculosis spawned an expensive wellness industry that sold hope, routines, and costly treatments instead of cures.
  2. Nostalgia-driven and consumerist health movements promote distrust of medical science and steer money toward private wellness businesses rather than public health solutions.
  3. Protecting population health needs strong public health systems, vaccines, and affordable medicines—prioritizing profit over science risks renewed epidemics and worse access to care.

The NHS Data Goldmine

Odds and Ends of History • 335 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. OpenSafely gives scientists access to nationwide NHS GP data, creating a powerful resource for large-scale medical research.
  2. Moving to Net Zero makes energy pricing much more complex, introducing new technical and market challenges that experts are working to resolve.
  3. These topics are being explained and shared through podcasts and newsletters so people can follow expert discussions and find further resources.

TrumpRx, Super Bowl commercials, flu B is here, and more

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1548 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Respiratory illnesses are ticking up again — late-winter coughs, sore throats, and fevers are rising due to colds, RSV, and a second wave of flu B, while measles outbreaks (notably in South Carolina) are growing. Flu B often follows flu A and overall season severity is moderate so far, but local impacts vary.
  2. TrumpRx is mostly branding with limited impact — it mainly helps people who pay cash, often won’t count toward insurance deductibles, and can ignore cheaper generics; real, widespread price relief will require stronger policy changes.
  3. Be skeptical of flashy wellness ads — blood-based cancer screening tests can miss cancers and cause false alarms with unclear survival benefits, and shame-based diet messaging backfires; consumers deserve clear tradeoffs and empowering, realistic advice.

Two Drinks with. . . Dr. I Told You So

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 695 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Paul McHugh has long warned that hormones and surgeries for gender dysphoria are experimental and often don’t improve mental health.
  2. As head of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins in 1979 he stopped sex-change surgeries after follow-up studies showed poor mental-health outcomes.
  3. At 94 he feels vindicated as recent legal cases and a malpractice win by a detransitioner are starting to challenge current gender-affirming care.

CDC Data Reveals Extremely Low Efficacy For This Year’s Flu Vaccine As The Experts Fail Again

Unmasked • 29 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. New leaders are running major public health agencies now, with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya in an interim leadership role and Dr. Marty Makary taking a lead at the FDA.
  2. Public health experts have strongly pushed getting both the flu and COVID shots—often at the same visit—and the public health establishment continues to promote those recommendations.
  3. CDC’s latest estimates show this year’s flu vaccine had extremely low effectiveness against the dominant strain.

Cause or Effect?

Disaffected Newsletter • 899 implied HN points • 26 Aug 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Robert Kennedy Jr. surprised many by endorsing Donald Trump and focusing on children's health in his announcement.
  2. Andrew Hartz is working to remove political bias from therapy, making it easier for people to find therapists who won't judge them.
  3. The discussion includes satire about various public figures and the voting habits of young women.

Shared decision-making, informed consent, and the rhetoric of false empowerment

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1399 implied HN points • 28 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Shared clinical decision-making is a technical label used when medical evidence doesn’t point to one clear option, and relabeling recommended vaccines as SCDM can falsely imply uncertainty and confuse parents without actually giving them more choices.
  2. Informed consent should give a balanced, understandable view of risks, benefits, and alternatives so people can make reasoned choices, and overstating rare or unverified harms skews that balance and undermines true consent.
  3. Patient autonomy means people make health decisions with the help of clinicians, and the childhood vaccine schedule is guidance not a universal mandate; framing recommendations as mandates or insisting people decide entirely on their own erodes trust and creates confusion.

Measles is off to an ugly start, EPA removes lives lost, ICE and hospitals, and lots of good news

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1639 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Measles is surging unusually early, with large outbreaks in low-vaccination pockets causing many cases, quarantines, and spread to other states. If you’re fully vaccinated you’re very well protected, and parents of babies under 12 months should talk to their pediatrician about early vaccination.
  2. The EPA will stop counting the dollar value of lives saved in cost-benefit analyses for major air pollutants, a change that makes pollution rules look more costly and makes it easier to weaken protections. This will likely harm communities near highways and industrial sites, especially low-income and marginalized groups.
  3. Increased ICE enforcement is creating fear that keeps people from seeking medical care, which can worsen health for families and communities. Schools and clinical teams can play key roles in supporting affected families and connecting them to local resources.

Money Saved By Canceling Programs Does Not Immediately Flow To The Best Possible Alternative

Astral Codex Ten • 41364 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Canceling effective programs like PEPFAR doesn't guarantee that the money will be spent on better programs. It may just sit unspent or be used for less effective initiatives.
  2. People often argue about valuing American lives more than foreign ones, but this doesn't lead to better outcomes for those in need. Many don't consider the long-term effects of cutting foreign aid.
  3. There's a need for balance in helping others. Spending a small percentage of the budget on foreign aid is reasonable, and it shouldn't diminish support for domestic needs.

ROGUE JUDGE STRIKES AGAIN

Who is Robert Malone • 27 implied HN points • 16 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. A federal judge blocked the HHS secretary’s changes to the vaccine advisory committee and a shortened childhood immunization schedule, freezing meetings and policy updates.
  2. The judge has a pattern of issuing sweeping nationwide injunctions and was previously rebuked by the Supreme Court, which raises concerns about judicial overreach and politicized rulings.
  3. HHS plans to appeal and seek emergency relief, and the dispute highlights broader separation-of-powers fights over executive authority and the use of nationwide injunctions.

Stoppard and chemotherapy

The Common Reader • 3012 implied HN points • 02 Dec 25
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Tom Stoppard's play 'Arcadia' inspired new ways to think about breast cancer treatment. It introduced concepts from chaos theory that explain cancer growth more accurately.
  2. The realization that cancer cells may spread throughout the body before diagnosis led to the development of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. This treatment has improved survival rates significantly.
  3. Although Stoppard's impact on cancer treatment wasn't widely known, his work contributed to saving many lives through its influence on medical practice.

One of CDC’s final blows. And what it means for you.

Your Local Epidemiologist • 4162 implied HN points • 21 Nov 25
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. The CDC has been facing major challenges due to political interference, leading to a loss of trust in its information. People need to be careful about relying on it for accurate health data.
  2. It's recommended to avoid certain topics on the CDC website, especially vaccines and reproductive health, and instead seek information from trusted outside sources like medical organizations.
  3. Despite the struggles at the CDC, there is a strong effort from health professionals and communities to provide reliable health information and support to the public.

Flu is up, up, and away. SNAP restrictions, measles milestone, and good news!

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1679 implied HN points • 07 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Flu is surging across the U.S., with influenza‑like illness at its highest level in six years; a mutated H3N2 strain plus falling vaccination rates are driving many hospitalizations and deaths, and vaccination plus early antivirals still help reduce severe outcomes.
  2. Eighteen states are piloting SNAP purchase restrictions, but the research is limited and mixed — restrictions can cut purchases of targeted items yet may not improve overall diet or health, and they raise concerns about cost, autonomy, and stigma; pairing restrictions with incentives looks more promising.
  3. Measles cases topped 2,000 in 2025, mostly in unvaccinated people, which risks the U.S. losing its WHO measles elimination status and could allow measles to become endemic.

The Most Important Word in The Democratic Party Platform for Health care

HEALTH CARE un-covered • 659 implied HN points • 23 Aug 24
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. The Democratic Party wants to expand healthcare benefits so that everyone can afford their medications, even those without insurance.
  2. Many people have gaps in their health coverage, which can be dangerous if they rely on medications like insulin.
  3. Including everyone in cost caps for medications can help prevent medical debt and save lives by ensuring people have access to necessary treatments.

Governor Tim Walz's Track Record on Medical Debt, Public Option, UnitedHealth Group

HEALTH CARE un-covered • 1059 implied HN points • 07 Aug 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Governor Tim Walz has worked to make healthcare more accessible in Minnesota, leading to a drop in the uninsured rate. This means more people are getting the healthcare they need.
  2. Walz supports a public option for healthcare which aims to provide more choices and better coverage for citizens. This effort shows his commitment to improving the healthcare system.
  3. He is focused on reducing medical debt and drug costs, making healthcare fairer for everyone. His efforts include laws that help ensure people can access necessary care without financial worry.

20 public health wins in 2025

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1767 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Public health teams delivered measurable, lifesaving results by preventing and containing outbreaks and reducing harms like heat-related deaths.
  2. Policy and clinical advances expanded access to prevention and care at home and abroad, from broader vaccine coverage and affordable HIV prevention to new treatments and programs like free child care and adult vaccines.
  3. The public health community showed resilience and civic engagement by forming coalitions, defending evidence in courts and politics, and putting scientists into public office to protect science-based policy.

A brutal flu season, new dietary guidelines, and why cancer screenings are at risk

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1287 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. We’re in a very bad flu season with influenza-like illness at its highest levels since the late 1990s, driven by an H3N2 subclade that partly evades this year’s shot. Getting a flu vaccine now, using antivirals early if sick, masking in crowded indoor spaces, and staying home when ill can reduce severe illness and spread.
  2. The new U.S. Dietary Guidelines are radically shorter and replace MyPlate with an inverted food pyramid, emphasizing whole foods, more protein, and some animal fats while softening alcohol advice. They diverged from the independent advisory report and removed health equity from evidence considerations, which could change federal nutrition programs and clinical guidance.
  3. New Medicaid work and renewal rules are expected to cause millions to lose coverage, leading to over a million missed cancer screenings and preventable deaths in the next two years. HRSA’s endorsement of at-home HPV self-collection tests may expand cervical screening access but isn’t a full substitute for clinician care and follow-up.

‘We’re All Just Winging It’: What the Gender Doctors Say in Private

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2272 implied HN points • 03 Dec 25
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Clinicians admit they often lack solid evidence but still perform life-changing gender treatments on vulnerable young people. They describe this uncertainty openly among themselves.
  2. At closed professional meetings, gender doctors speak much more candidly than they do in public, discussing new and experimental procedures for patients, including adolescents.
  3. Some providers are willing to carry out extreme surgeries—like removing erogenous tissue—on patients who say they are asexual or don’t want sexual sensation, raising ethical concerns about consent and long-term outcomes.

⚡️ Top 10 news of the week

digitalhealthinsider • 19 implied HN points • 25 Oct 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Health Policy
  1. Waltz is working on making prescription care cheaper and easier using AI technology. They aim to help consumers make better choices about their healthcare.
  2. There's a growing gap between what virtual health services offer and what people want. This disconnect could affect how healthcare evolves in the future.
  3. Health tech startups are facing challenges after a surge in funding during the pandemic. Many may need to merge or consolidate to survive in the changing market.

Dentists are bad

Slow Boring • 10672 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Health Policy
  1. Dentistry industry is poorly regulated and full of shady practices.
  2. Dental insurance can be problematic due to low coverage and pre-pay model.
  3. Dentists make a lot of money compared to other professions, and the industry lacks scientific evidence and ethics oversight.

Richard Hanania: Why I Changed My Mind. And Why You Should Too.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 329 implied HN points • 09 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Health Policy
  1. Regretting a past vote and admitting that regret publicly can be uncomfortable, but it’s an important act of accountability.
  2. Specific decisions—like appointing a high-profile vaccine skeptic to a top public health post and announcing aggressive tariffs—made clear earlier support was mistaken and had real, harmful consequences, including market turmoil.
  3. Being willing to change your mind when new evidence appears and explaining why you changed it is valuable and worth encouraging.

Mass shootings outnumber annual days in U.S., children are missing school due to measles, Covid-19 is peeping around the corner, and some hope

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1633 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Health Policy
  1. Mass shootings in the U.S. are happening more than once per day and represent a widespread, preventable public‑health crisis that evidence shows can be reduced with stricter firearm policies.
  2. Respiratory illnesses are surging: flu is rising among children (with low vaccination rates and early pediatric deaths reported) and Covid‑19 is increasing in parts of the country, so masking in crowded indoor spaces, testing when appropriate, staying home while sick, and staying up to date on vaccines can help protect others.
  3. Measles outbreaks are growing, causing many cases and hundreds of children to miss school, and vaccination plus following local public‑health guidance is the key way to stop these outbreaks.

5 ways our health care system has become utterly insane

Your Local Epidemiologist • 2696 implied HN points • 12 Nov 25
🏥 Health Politics Health Policy
  1. Health care costs are rising much faster than people's wages, making it hard for many to afford basic needs like rent and groceries. This leads to a lot of Americans going into medical debt, even those who have insurance.
  2. Despite spending the most on health care, the U.S. gets poorer health outcomes compared to other wealthy countries. Factors like a lack of preventive care and access to primary care contribute to this problem.
  3. Many believe Americans use too much health care, but it's actually high prices and administrative waste that drive costs. There's a lot of inefficiency in the system, and patients often don't know what they're actually paying for.