politics
What would another Trump presidency mean for health care?
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Nobody speaks for former president Donald Trump except for himself. He's disavowed the conservative agenda known as Project 2025, but the Republican party platform on his website is sparse on health policy details. To get an idea of what a second Trump presidency could actually mean for health care, a team of STAT reporters took him at his word, analyzing a video series from the past year and campaign statements. Here's a preview:
On drug pricing: In a video, Trump promises to sign an executive order on his first day to "end global freeloading" by the pharmaceutical industry. And he may have more avenues to take action on pricing since 2022, when Democrats gave the government more power to directly negotiate prices.
On gender-affirming care: While Trump has distanced himself from Project 20025 broadly, his stance on gender-affirming care remains similar. His language in a video about trans health focuses on children, but the actual policies that he outlines would ban or limit care for trans people of all ages.
On addiction and the overdose crisis: While the opioid crisis was a major focus of Trump's first term, his 2025 agenda says little about treatment and nothing about harm reduction. Instead, it's a militaristic mission that pledges to enact a Navy embargo to prevent fentanyl from entering the U.S. and to impose the death penalty on convicted traffickers and drug dealers.
Read the story, which was a team-up across many desks here at STAT.
community health
Community health centers struggle with widespread staff shortages
More than 70% of community health centers in the U.S. this year report shortages of primary care physicians, nurses, or mental health professionals, according to new survey data from the Commonwealth Fund. Most centers also report that it's difficult to get specialty care appointments for patients, especially those on Medicaid or without insurance. The report authors write that policymakers could expand federal funding for community health centers and expand recruitment and training programs for health care providers in underserved areas.
The report did have some good news, too: Despite the challenges, almost all of these community-based outpatient clinics were able to secure patients timely appointments (meaning same or next-day) and offer expanded hours, regardless of a person's ability to pay. And many more centers provide substance use disorder treatment in 2024 than did in 2018.
cancer
Can your neighborhood affect tumor biology?
Where you live has a huge impact on your health. Scientists have grown to understand this by linking social determinants of health — how easy it is to get to a doctor, to eat healthy foods, to exercise — with outcomes like mortality. But a growing number of studies are making connections between a person's neighborhood and the actual biology of their cancer.
People who live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods seem to have concerning changes in the biological makeup of their tumors. For example: One small study recently found that prostate tumor cells from men living in certain areas had slightly higher activation of genes related to stress and inflammation than those from men in other areas.
"Is it environment? Is it genetics? Is it both and what is contributing more?" one researcher posed to STAT's Angus Chen. "We have more work to do in that area." Read more on what scientists understand about how your zip code really can become part of your DNA.
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