The research machine that helps UnitedHealth protect Medicare profits

Also: In an internal call, CDC employees recount shooting, ask about RFK Jr.'s response

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Natsumi Chikayasu for STAT STAT+ | Inside the research machine that helps UnitedHealth protect its Medicare profits Experts say UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage research may favor its business, citing possible conflicts of interest and restricted access to internal data. By Casey Ross, Bob Herman, Tara Bannow, and Lizzy Lawrence STAT+ | Dear Vinay: Please embrace dissent and fade into the background Prasad's boldness could serve as an asset at CBER if he can talk to his staff and understand the legal and regulatory hurdles he is facing. By Matthew Herper In internal FDA town hall, employees raise concerns about staffing, impromptu expert meetings  Exclusive: In a town hall with George Tidmarsh, FDA staffers asked about shortages and impromptu meetings. "We are struggling," one said. By Lizzy Lawrence TING SHEN/AFP via Getty Images NIH director: mRNA vaccine contracts were canceled because public lacks trust in technology The explanation offered by Jay Bhattacharya does not not align with that of his boss, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. By Helen Branswell STAT+ | HHS cites list of studies as scientific justification for cancellation of mRNA vaccine contracts After backlash to Kennedy's scrapping of mRNA vaccine development, HHS discloses research purported to show harms. Studies have been disputed. By Chelsea Cirruzzo Opinion: Former surgeon general: The CDC shooting must be a wakeup call Public health professionals, from CDC scientists to local health officials, face harassment, threats, and now gunfire for doing their jobs. By Jerome Adams Jeff Amy/AP In internal call, CDC employees recount shooting, ask about RFK Jr.'s response In an internal call, CDC employees share harrowing stories and ask questions about "disinformation that caused this issue." By Daniel Payne and Helen Branswell

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