2024 watch
Trump talks RFK, vaccines, and a 'wild' future for health agencies
Former President Trump was busy this weekend. He sat for a nearly three-hour interview Friday with podcaster Joe Rogan, and took the stage Sunday at Madison Square Garden to talk about his political priorities — including health care.
He's doubling down on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the face of the Make America Healthy Again movement. Trump said RFK Jr. would have a role in a second administration. "I'm gonna let him go wild on health. I'm gonna let him go wild on the food. I'm gonna let him go wild on medicines," he told NYC rallygoers.
That's exactly what a lot of people, including former GOP officials and industry execs, are scared of.
But Trump was careful when Rogan asked him about vaccine safety, indicating he's not fully bought into RFK's rhetoric. "They've come up with some amazing things," he said when Rogan asked about the pharmaceutical industry. "I know you're against certain vaccines, but like the polio vaccine, people had polio. It was like a disaster."
Trump's embrace of RFK is one indication of potential policy in a future Trump administration. On Monday, I broke down some of the other actions Trump might take if reelected, from ACA reform to Medicaid and high drug prices.
debates in science
Why 'bad genes' are back
When Trump talks about undocumented immigrants, he often brings up genetics. The former president's language underscores a larger trend, experts tell STAT's Anil Oza.
The eugenics movement is once again taking center stage in the U.S. — in both the immigration policies and rhetoric promoted by Trump, and through a rise in race science in academic literature.
Even well-intentioned scientists have fed into this shift by promoting genetic determinism — the idea that genes are the primary driver of traits and behaviors — and by platforming problematic work in the name of academic freedom, Anil writes. The rise of popular genetic sequencing companies has also propelled a public interest in understanding our genetic backgrounds, with marketing hype that this information would unlock health secrets and family histories. More from Anil.
drug pricing policy
Medicare director: Here's how price negotiation happened
There's been a lot of questions — and a lot of political debate — about how Medicare set about negotiating its first round of drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act. In a piece for STAT, Medicare director Meena Seshamani tries to shed some light on the process.
Seshamani points to her private sector experience, meetings with patients, and countless phone calls with 'stakeholders' (industry) as the program shaped what would eventually be the new prices for 10 of the top-selling drugs in America.
She also talks about how CMS is approaching the second round of negotiations, including more patient discussions. The agency will announce up to 15 drugs for the next negotiation cycle by Feb. 1.
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