Current, Former CDC Staff Warn Against Slashing Support to Local Public Health Departments

By | March 25, 2025
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Protesters wearing and holding signs

This article is from a partnership that includes WABE, NPR, and KFF Health News. It was republished for free. It was selected to run as a part of this year’s theme at The Medical Care Blog, highlighting the Political Determinants of Health. On a sunny weekday in Atlanta, a small crowd of people gathered for a rallyâ€Ķ Read More: Current, Former CDC Staff Warn Against Slashing Support to Localâ€Ķ »

Women’s Cancer Screening Inequities and Current Barriers to Care

By | March 13, 2025
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Image of different symbols for women's cancer screening, including a woman in a lab coat, stethoscope, clipboard, and a uterus

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US for women. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer in 2025. On top of that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are around 11,500 new cases of cervical cancer, and aboutâ€Ķ Read More: Women’s Cancer Screening Inequities and Current Barriers to Care »

Defense of Medicaid in an Era of Government Efficiency

By | March 29, 2025
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The recent budget resolution passed by the House of Representatives proposes significant spending cuts, including approximately $880 billion from programs under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which encompasses Medicaid. This proposal has raised concerns about potential reductions in Medicaid funding, a program that currently provides health coverage to over 72â€Ķ Read More: Defense of Medicaid in an Era of Government Efficiency »

As States Mull Medicaid Work Requirements, Two With Experience Scale Back

By | February 20, 2025
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President Donald Trump’s return to the White House sent a clear signal about Medicaid to Republicans across the country: Requiring enrollees to prove they are working, volunteering, or going to school is back on the table. The day after Trump’s inauguration, South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster asked federal officials to approve a work requirementâ€Ķ Read More: As States Mull Medicaid Work Requirements, Two With Experience Scaleâ€Ķ »

Chappell Roan finally got us all talking about the uninsured again

By | February 13, 2025
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Last Sunday, standing at the mic with a grammy in hand for best new artist, Chappell Roan finally got the U.S. talking about the uninsured again. Reading from her notebook, she used the moment to call for adequate wages and health care for aspiring artists. She explained, “If my label would have prioritized artists’ health,â€Ķ Read More: Chappell Roan finally got us all talking about the uninsuredâ€Ķ »

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Surveying Health Outcomes That Patients Are Most Qualified to Evaluate: Comments on Past, Present and Future Methods

By | February 3, 2025
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While training to be a psychometrician I was blessed/cursed more than 50 years ago with a favorable response to a research proposal to improve tools that researchers increasingly used for surveying health outcomes but were rarely evaluated psychometrically. Knowing little about health, I found very useful the WHO’s 1948 definition of it as “a stateâ€Ķ Read More: Surveying Health Outcomes That Patients Are Most Qualified to Evaluate:â€Ķ »

The Social Drivers of Brain Health

By | January 22, 2025
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a drawing of a brain in white on a gray background with an outstretched hand underneath appearing to hold the brain

Despite advances in brain health, rates of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) continue to rise. ADRD is multi-faceted, with many causes. As with all public health issues, a health equity framework is essential to understanding the root causes. Building a complete understanding of ADRD and healthy aging allows us to develop informed policies, practices,â€Ķ Read More: The Social Drivers of Brain Health »

Project 2025 and Public Health

By | January 24, 2025
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Project 2025 logo

A lot has been said about the Project 2025 initiative including some discussion of its implications for public health in the United States. Representing a significant collaboration of more than 100 conservative organizations in the United States, Project 2025 certainly carries weight even if its specific role in the new administration remains uncertain. But whatâ€Ķ Read More: Project 2025 and Public Health »

The Serious Business of Play – Why Adults Should Play More

By | January 16, 2025
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I ask my patients to do a lot of things: reduce stress, move more, and eat healthier. I also encourage them to use phones, cigarettes and other addictive substances less. One thing I don’t often ask them to do is play more, and I think I am missing something important. And maybe I am missingâ€Ķ Read More: The Serious Business of Play – Why Adults Should Playâ€Ķ »

Political Determinants of Health: A Consensus Statement for 2025

By | January 9, 2025
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Two hands, one in latex glove, making a heart shape

Happy New Year to our readers, and thank you for joining us as we welcome in 2025. Two weeks ago, we took time to review and celebrate our first-ever blog theme: Climate Change and Public Health. We learned a lot during our first year with a theme, and we will take those lessons into 2025.â€Ķ Read More: Political Determinants of Health: A Consensus Statement for 2025 »

Reflecting on a Year of Public Health and Climate Change

By | December 19, 2024
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It’s been a rocky year for public health and climate change. We began 2024 with the news that 2023 had been, by far, the hottest year on record. The average temperature had increased so much from the prior year, that one scientist described it as not just breaking records, but a leap-frogging of them. Atâ€Ķ Read More: Reflecting on a Year of Public Health and Climate Change »

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Medical Care Update: Incoming Chair’s Message

By | December 13, 2024
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APHA Medical Care section logo

Hi, My name is Dr. Ben King and I’m the new Chair of the Medical Care section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). I am beyond excited about what the next couple of years have in store for us as a professional organization. I also recognize that we are entering a time of immenseâ€Ķ Read More: Medical Care Update: Incoming Chair’s Message »

Women’s Health is More than Just Reproductive Health

By | December 2, 2024
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Women’s health is a broad and multifaceted concept that extends far beyond reproductive anatomy and sexual health. Historically, the focus of women’s health care and research has centered on reproduction, often overshadowing other critical aspects of physical and mental health and wellness. However, women’s health encompasses a wide array of issues, from cardiovascular and autoimmuneâ€Ķ Read More: Women’s Health is More than Just Reproductive Health »

The Price of Paxlovid Deserves Renewed Scrutiny

By | January 22, 2025
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Paxlovid is startlingly expensive. As with many drugs in the United States, its pricing deserves renewed scrutiny. Among a handful of approved anti-retrovirals, the drug is the go-to prescription medicine to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults. It can reduce the likelihood of ending up in the hospital for people at elevated risk. For older peopleâ€Ķ Read More: The Price of Paxlovid Deserves Renewed Scrutiny »

The Origin, Public Health Significance, and Meaning of Veterans Day

By | November 11, 2024
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Veterans Day is a day to recognize and honor those who served in the Armed Forces. Retired Sergeant First Class Allen Barton spends each Veterans Day thinking about his time in service and remembering those he served with. Allen was enlisted in the U.S. Army on active duty and in the Army Reserve for 23â€Ķ Read More: The Origin, Public Health Significance, and Meaning of Veterans Day »

Watchdog Calls for Tighter Scrutiny of Medicare Advantage Home Visits

By | November 8, 2024
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Exterior of US Department of Health and Human Services, the agency who regulates Medicare Advantage plans

*This post was originally published on KFF Health News on November 8, 2025. It is published with open permission by that site. A new federal watchdog audit is ratcheting up pressure on government officials to crack down on billions of dollars in overcharges linked to Medicare Advantage home visits. But so far, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaidâ€Ķ Read More: Watchdog Calls for Tighter Scrutiny of Medicare Advantage Home Visits »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: Racial Residential Segregation

By | October 31, 2024
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Racial residential segregation in the US is persistent and associated with racial health inequities. This month’s special guest is Dr. Kristen Brown, a senior research associate at Urban Institute. We discuss her recent publication Still Separate, Still Not Equal: An ecological examination of redlining and racial segregation with COVID-19 vaccination administration in Washington DC. Weâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Racial Residential Segregation »

Presidential Election Puts Affordable Care Act Back in the Bull’s-Eye

By | October 25, 2024
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Note: The 2024 election wraps-up in short order. KFF once again published a thoughtful analysis of competing positions on health care–in this case the Affordable Care Act. And we are republishing that here. Enjoy. -The Editors Health care is suddenly front and center in the final sprint to the presidential election, and the outcome willâ€Ķ Read More: Presidential Election Puts Affordable Care Act Back in the Bull’s-Eye »

Centering Disability Justice in Climate Change Efforts

By | October 21, 2024
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Person in a motorized wheelchair is leaning over to the side trying to go under a wooden gate in a park.

Disability impacts all of us. Chances are that we ourselves or someone we love lives with at least one disability–a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Around 16 percent of the global population (close to one billion people) lives with a disability. And in the U.S., the rateâ€Ķ Read More: Centering Disability Justice in Climate Change Efforts »

Compare the Candidates on Health Care Policy

By | October 10, 2024
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Note: It’s election season. And time to take a look at the health policy positions of the presidential candidates. KFF published this thorough and well-sourced analysis of the candidates’ competing positions on everything from health care and abortion to public health and gun violence. Enjoy. -The Editors The general election campaign is underway, spotlighting formerâ€Ķ Read More: Compare the Candidates on Health Care Policy »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: Celebrating Our Blogiversary

By | September 26, 2024
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It’s September! That means it’s our blogiversary =) This month marks the 10-year anniversary (blogiversary) of The Medical Care Blog, where we focus on the intersection of public health and medical care. To celebrate this milestone, we are dedicating this month’s podcast to a blog-focused episode featuring special guests Greg Stevens and Ben King, co-editorsâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Celebrating Our Blogiversary »

4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More

By | December 13, 2024
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hands wearing latex gloves, drawing liquid from a vial with a syringe.

This post was originally published on KFF Health News. It is published with open permission by that site. Measles is on the rise in the United States. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases was about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the fourâ€Ķ Read More: 4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More »

Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Their First Face-Off

By | September 19, 2024
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This post was originally published on KFF Health News. It is published with open permission by that site. When Vice President Kamala Harris walked across the debate stage Tuesday night to shake the hand of former President Donald Trump, it was the first time the two had met in person. But that was the rareâ€Ķ Read More: Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Theirâ€Ķ »

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Be a Little Less of an Individual: On Climate Change with Bill McKibben

By | September 4, 2024
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Caring about the environment can feel like an uphill battle, where our individual efforts can seem small against the colossal issue of climate change. But working together–being just a little less of an individual in this battle–can feel uplifting and make a more significant difference. Environmental activist and author, Bill McKibben, joined Cal State LA’sâ€Ķ Read More: Be a Little Less of an Individual: On Climate Changeâ€Ķ »

First, Love Your Community: On Community Environmental Activism With mark! Lopez

By | August 30, 2024
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“Love your community” was the overriding message from East Side Los Angeles-based community environmental activist mark! Lopez. mark! [spelled as written] was the third guest of the Cal State LA Public Health Department’s annual Book Read project. Love, he said, is the first concrete step that anybody can take to help protect and support their community.â€Ķ Read More: First, Love Your Community: On Community Environmental Activism With mark!â€Ķ »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: Local Climate Impact

By | August 22, 2024
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How can we understand the local impact of climate change on our communities, now and in the future? All year, we are keeping up our focus on the climate crisis here on the blog and podcast. One of the biggest issues with understanding the impact of climate change is that the data on climate-related deathsâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Local Climate Impact »

Every Little Bit Helps: On Climate Change and Hope With Sammy Roth and Caleigh Wells

By | August 14, 2024
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Every little bit helps.  That is one of the key messages from our conversations on public health, climate change and hope with climate journalists Sammy Roth and Caleigh Wells. Each visited California State University Los Angeles as part of our Department of Public Health’s annual book read. All faculty and students in the department receivedâ€Ķ Read More: Every Little Bit Helps: On Climate Change and Hope Withâ€Ķ »

Ready or Not: Primary Care Must Prepare for Climate Change

By | July 3, 2024
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Climate change is a global killer, contributing to over 5 million deaths annually. Extreme temperatures and weather not only worsen chronic health conditions but can lead to new physical and mental health issues. Primary care providers are already facing challenges with managing climate-driven health problems, and are certain to face more. For my primary careâ€Ķ Read More: Ready or Not: Primary Care Must Prepare for Climate Change »

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Survival of the Biggest: How Consolidation through Private Equity is Reshaping Primary Care

By | July 25, 2024
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Image of Black or African American Female Clinician in a White Lab Coat Wearing a Mask and Stethascope

Consolidation, broadly, and private equity, specifically, is threatening the survival of primary care. Because of its life-extending, quality-improving, cost-reducing, and equity-promoting benefits, primary care has been declared a common good, worthy of the public stewardship and investment provided to the justice system, highways, and public schools. Through its core functions – coordination, comprehensiveness, access, andâ€Ķ Read More: Survival of the Biggest: How Consolidation through Private Equity isâ€Ķ »

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Healthy Intersections Podcast: Ocean Health and Human Health

By | July 17, 2024
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Summer is here, and what summer is complete without some time at the beach? But there’s a catch: our health and the ocean’s health are connected in some surprising ways. Beach closures in summer — from algal blooms and red tides, for example — are just one of the ways that the ocean’s health canâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Ocean Health and Human Health »

Private In-equity: Whose Interests Do We Serve?

By | July 14, 2024
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The pharmaceutical industry is a behemoth in the United States. In 2023, the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies had a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion dollars. Pharma companies spent more than $15 million dollars in contributions through political action committees during the 2020 election cycle. Analysts constantly see new avenues of generating revenues and profits forâ€Ķ Read More: Private In-equity: Whose Interests Do We Serve? »

Upcoming 988 Medical Care Symposium & Utilization of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ Service

By | July 4, 2024
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Figure 1. Awareness of the 988 Hotline

Before we introduce this week’s post about important disparities in 988 utilization, by Lindsey Dawson and Heather Saunders and originally published in KFF Health News, we wanted to highlight an upcoming Symposium on Responding to Behavioral Health Emergencies being held by the Medical Care section of the American Public Health Association (among others). The needâ€Ķ Read More: Upcoming 988 Medical Care Symposium & Utilization of the 988â€Ķ »

A Series on Climate Change and Hope

By | June 28, 2024
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Climate change is undeniably a bleak story. Recent data–from the top of a remote volcanic mountain–show that carbon dioxide is accumulating in our atmosphere faster than ever. Its concentration has reached levels far beyond those in any other time of human existence. This bad news is balanced, however, against a highly-regarded good news report thatâ€Ķ Read More: A Series on Climate Change and Hope »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias

By | June 19, 2024
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June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. On this edition of the Healthy Intersections Podcast, we recognize Alzheimer’s Awareness Month by hosting a round-table discussion between Dr. Lisa Lines, principal investigator for the RTI Rarity project; Chloe McGlynn, a research public health analyst at RTI; Dr. Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, social epidemiologist and community-engaged participatory researcher atâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias »

Successful Aging for LGBTQ+ Older Adults

By | June 13, 2024
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Splash of water rippling outward on a rainbow background

Every older adult should have the opportunity to age successfully. And the growing older LGBTQ+ population is no exception. This group is diverse, with unique health and social needs. On average, LGBTQ+ older adults experience poorer physical and mental health, but this is by no means the case for all LGBTQ+ older adults. The adversityâ€Ķ Read More: Successful Aging for LGBTQ+ Older Adults »

Food is Medicine – and Should Be Treated Like It

By | June 7, 2024
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Food is life. A consistent, nutritious diet can improve overall health and protect against chronic conditions. But not everyone can access or afford a nutritious diet. In 2022, 1 in 8 households in the U.S. and 1 in 6 households with children were food insecure. Black and Latinx households experience more than double the ratesâ€Ķ Read More: Food is Medicine – and Should Be Treated Like It »

Protecting Black Maternal Health Through Provider Diversity, Innovative Programs

By | May 30, 2024
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Research shows time and again that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from a pregnancy or childbirth-related cause than white women. Black infants are also over two times more likely than white babies to die before they turn one. Research also shows that people identifying as Black or African Americanâ€Ķ Read More: Protecting Black Maternal Health Through Provider Diversity, Innovative Programs »

Selling Fear at a High Price

By | May 23, 2024
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Pills spilling out onto US currency

I asked the question as a panelist at a health equity gathering, “Who does our health system serve?”. As a family medicine physician who sits perilously between patients and corporations (insurance, pharmaceutical, durable medical equipment, etc.), my answer was quite simple. Our health system serves the profit motives of those with hands in the jar.â€Ķ Read More: Selling Fear at a High Price »

Post-Dobbs Situation Report

By | May 16, 2024
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A map of the US showing the range of abortion restrictions as of May 2024

Abortion Bans Are Driving Off Doctors and Closing Clinics, Putting Basic Health Care at Risk The rush to ban abortion in some US states after the overturn of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women living in those states.â€Ķ Read More: Post-Dobbs Situation Report »

Alabama embryo ruling threatened access to IVF across the state and possibly nationwide

By | May 9, 2024
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Image of infant surrounded by IVF injection needles, with two hands cradling the head

After seemingly endless negative pregnancy tests and a few early losses after rounds of alternate fertility treatments, I felt that in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was my only hope of becoming a mother. As I saw others conceiving naturally, or succeeding relatively quickly with less invasive assisted methods, my longing and desperation for motherhood only grew. Iâ€Ķ Read More: Alabama embryo ruling threatened access to IVF across the stateâ€Ķ »

Impacts of Climate Change on Health and Health Care Utilization

By | May 2, 2024
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Global climate temperature changes

For new readers, the editors and the majority of contributors to The Medical Care Blog recently authored and signed onto a special consensus statement about climate change, labeling it the “greatest threat” to global public health. As part of the plan to publish that statement, we also declared that the drivers and health risks ofâ€Ķ Read More: Impacts of Climate Change on Health and Health Care Utilization »

Connections between planetary and human health

By | April 25, 2024
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a photo of the planet Earth

Without a healthy planet, we cannot have a healthy humanity. Every April is Earth Month, an opportunity to reflect on the deep and profound connection between the health of our planet and our own well-being. Our existence is dependent on the web of life that surrounds us. It is our responsibility to nurture and protectâ€Ķ Read More: Connections between planetary and human health »

Tell Me a Good Story: The Value of Stories in Health Services Research

By | April 19, 2024
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I am a health economist, trained to make sense of messy data. I generally work amidst a sea of numbers. But I’ve found that seeking out stories in health services research–those of doctors and patients–can help me anchor what’s truly important in research. These stories may also help researchers communicate the value of their workâ€Ķ Read More: Tell Me a Good Story: The Value of Stories inâ€Ķ »

Suicide Prevention Requires Collective, Systemic Solutions

By | April 11, 2024
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Person with dark skin sitting on the ground with their elbows on knees and hands on their face.

Suicide prevention and intervention programs and services are vital. Mental health services are essential to support individuals, families, and communities struggling with mental health, suicide, and after suicide loss. But we must also recognize that preventing suicide requires a larger collective, systemic response.  Suicide deaths are rising steadily every year, with a record high ofâ€Ķ Read More: Suicide Prevention Requires Collective, Systemic Solutions »

How Primary Care Is Being Disrupted: A Video Primer

By | April 4, 2024
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How patients are seeing their doctor is changing, and that could shape access to and quality of care for decades to come. More than 100 million Americans don’t have regular access to primary care, a number that has nearly doubled since 2014. Yet demand for primary care is up, spurred partly by record enrollment inâ€Ķ Read More: How Primary Care Is Being Disrupted: A Video Primer »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: COVID-19, 4 Years Later

By | September 16, 2024
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Map of the US showing estimated cumulative excess mortality from 2020-2022

It’s been 4 years this month since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic. Where are we now? It’s time to take stock of the real impact of the pandemic. Aside from the burden of illness and mortality, the mental health toll, and the strains on the healthcare system, COVID evenâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: COVID-19, 4 Years Later »

Racial/Ethnic Concordance and Doctor Communication

By | March 14, 2024
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Patient-provider racial/ethnic concordance (i.e., physician and patient identify as the same race/ethnicity) has emerged as one key suggestion for mitigating healthcare disparities. Past research has underlined its benefits, including improved infant mortality and more appropriate prescription regimens. However, the sum of the evidence remains unclear and many facets of the patient-provider relationship have yet toâ€Ķ Read More: Racial/Ethnic Concordance and Doctor Communication »

Health Equity in the Time of Hospital Consolidation

By | March 7, 2024
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Healthcare consolidation

Competition between hospitals in a given market should provide incentives to ensure quality while also lowering costs. Over the past two decades, hospital markets have increasingly consolidated. This consolidation reduces competition and increases the comparative leverage that hospitals and associated health systems have. While there are some theoretical advantages of increased consolidation such as potentialâ€Ķ Read More: Health Equity in the Time of Hospital Consolidation »

Healthy Intersections Podcast: Healthcare’s Carbon Footprint

By | February 28, 2024
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AI-generated illustration of a hospital w/ a wildfire in the background

If the US healthcare industry were its own country, it would be in the top 10% of all countries in greenhouse gas emissions. Welcome to the February, 2024 edition of the Healthy Intersections Podcast! This month, we sit down with David Introcaso, PhD, to discuss the healthcare industry’s carbon footprint. Dr. Introcaso is the hostâ€Ķ Read More: Healthy Intersections Podcast: Healthcare’s Carbon Footprint »

History of Climate Policy and Advocacy by the American Public Health Association

By | February 23, 2024
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In January, the Medical Care Blog’s editors published a consensus statement on climate policy and health. This statement was co-signed by many of our authors, editors, and editorial board members of the Medical Care journal. As we look ahead to our focus theme for 2024, we want to begin with a look backward as well.â€Ķ Read More: History of Climate Policy and Advocacy by the American Publicâ€Ķ »