Posts Tagged ‘politics’

It’s hard to miss the headlines about wild gyrations in financial markets and tariff policies that have been coming in and out of view. We’re doing our best to stay out of those crosscurrents which threaten to become riptides. But the threat to place “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” is hard to ignore, simply because […]

As everyone digests the news that CMS has chosen not to expand coverage of obesity medicines under Medicare and Medicaid “at this time,” it is becoming clear the door is not closed. HHS told Bndpoints News: “CMS may consider future policy options for obesity medications pending further review of both the potential benefits of these […]

We find ourselves wondering, as Marion Nestle does, about the unlikely alignment of RFK’s MAHA concept with some of the ideas about food policy she has been advocating for decades. We do not always agree, but we have long admired Nestle’s convictions in taking on problems with food systems and the business model of the […]

Get ready. A few months have passed since the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Committee became final. But honestly, it seems like another lifetime when that was published. That was before the installation of the MAHA regime at HHS that is de-emphasizing vaccines, firing scientists, and promoting cod liver oil and “healthy” fries. […]

We should be used to this by now. For years, we’ve urged policymakers to find a way out of the box that has Medicare denying coverage for obesity. This time, it seemed we were close. But close doesn’t count. Late yesterday, the Trump administration said “CMS is not finalizing” provisions of a proposed rule that […]

On Tuesday, as part of mass firings, the powers that be at FDA lined people up to fire them. Security guards delivered the news. Clumsily. Now, just two days later, it seems they want a do over. The Washington Post reports the agency is trying to bring back a big chunk of people they fired: […]

Note: Thanks to all who read and shared this, our 2025 April Fools’ post. For those who might have thought HHS is really doing this, give it time. They might do it yet. Striking another blow to defeat “wokeness” in every nook and cranny of American life, the FDA is removing the mandate for “trans” […]

People who know describe the National Institutes of Health as the crown jewels of American biomedical research. It is the biggest public funder of medical research in the world. It appears that our government is in the process of burning down a great deal of medical science at NIH. This is becoming obvious, even though […]

The campaign to Make America Healthy Again is cranking up with some eye-opening messaging. An early leader in this campaign turns out to be a burger chain, Steak ’n Shake. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the chain last week for making french fries healthy again: “Congratulations @SteaknShake for being the […]

In her Critic’s Notebook for the New York Times, Vanessa Friedman makes the case that the fashion industry is abandoning any pretense of embracing size diversity. Ultrathin is in, she says. All signs point to the political and cultural winds blowing in a different direction: “Peer pressure to diversify the runway in the wake of […]