congress
ACA tax credits get a nudge
Republicans are showing interest in extending the extra subsidies that make Affordable Care Act health insurance plans cheaper.
Eleven Republicans and four Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill to extend for one year the ACA premium tax credits, which are set to expire Jan. 1. Some in GOP leadership are not ruling out the possibility of a deal on extending the credits.
The looming end of the enhanced subsidies is expected to be one of the biggest health care debates this fall. The fate of the subsidies will likely play a role in government-funding legislation and a potential shutdown. Read more about why extending the subsidies is in the interest of both parties.
vaccines
Vaccine misinformation makes a splash across the pond
A British cardiologist with ties to Kennedy gave a political speech full of false claims about Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, Andrew Joseph reports.
Aseem Malhotra delivered his talk at an event for Reform UK, a rebrand of the Brexit Party that touts itself as a reasonable alternative to Britain's two main political parties, Labour and the Conservatives. He said the vaccines "likely killed or seriously harmed millions of people across the world" and claimed a top oncologist told him the shots were a factor in the cancers that have afflicted members of the British royal family. Both claims have been repeatedly debunked.
Malhotra's speech angered many people, and Reform UK, which was warned by medical groups not to give him a platform, later tried to distance itself from the comments. Read more for Malhotra's connections to Kennedy and the responses to the speech.
fdA
Investigating whether Covid-19 jabs kill kids
Lizzy Lawrence writes about the FDA's "intense investigation" into whether Covid-19 vaccines have killed kids.
In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Friday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said his staff is looking into deaths of young healthy children from the Covid vaccine. Those deaths come from the FDA's vaccine database, which is made up of self-reported incidents and don't prove any kind of causality.
Makary gave anecdotes of deaths, but didn't offer concrete evidence linking the shots to deaths. His remarks are part of a steady stream of assertions by top health officials that sow doubt in vaccines. Read more.
fdA
Post-tubal ligation syndrome
A mysterious syndrome has led some post-tubal ligation patients on both long, literal trips to operating rooms and figurative journeys into the data-distrusting orbit of Kennedy, Eric Boodman writes.
About 700,000 patients "get their tubes tied" annually, making it one of the most common forms of female contraception, and the surgery is considered safe. However, an unknown number of patients report ongoing challenges after the procedure including intense pain and blood clots.
Eric describes post-tubal ligation syndrome as "a set of symptoms debilitating enough to unravel lives but inexplicable enough for many doctors to doubt it's a syndrome at all." And that doubt has pushed many sufferers on a desperate quest for answers, one that often shakes their faith in the medical establishment.
Read more of Eric's in-depth reporting and the personal stories of those seeking recognition and relief.
No comments