Transcript:
Welcome to your Weekly Dose, a 3 minute or less recap of some of the health related headlines that caught my attention this week.
Donald Trump won the United States presidential race on Tuesday. Trump has said that he will not try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Polls have shown that the ACA has gain support from the public for its pre-existing condition protections, ban on lifetime limits, and allowing young adults to stay on their family plans until 26. His administration will face an immediate decision next year on whether to back an extension of enhanced premium subsidies for ACA insurance plans. But any efforts to weaken the ACA could cause more Americans to purchase plans that do not have ACA protections and allow insurers to charge sicker people higher premiums.
Unfortunately any more of his health policy specifics have not moved far from “concepts of a plan”. But Trump supporters and others who have worked in his administration say the former president wants to improve the law in ways that will lower costs. Brian Blase, who served as Trump’s health advisor, said there will be much more emphasis on minimizing fraud and waste. Trump has also vowed to protect Medicare, but is less specific on his intentions regarding Medicaid.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who may play a role in overseeing public health issues in Trump’s second administration, stated that Trump asked him to do three things: “1. Clean up the corruption in our government health agencies. 2. Return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. 3. Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic.” Kennedy told reporters Wednesday that fluoride “will disappear” from the water supply under Trump and that there are entire departments at the FDA that “have to go.”
In a sad story I missed last week… Dr. Richard A. Cash, the developer of oral rehydration therapy, died at 83 after an 8-month long battle with brain cancer. Dr. Cash was part of a team who developed and conduct the first clinical trials on oral rehydration therapy also known as ORT. ORT is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially due to diarrhea. Dr. Cash and his team’s developments in ORT is estimated to have saved over 50 million lives worldwide. Rest in peace Dr. Cash.
And in this week’s Nonprofit Spotlight I’d like to bring your attention to Disabled Hikers, a nonprofit building a disability community and justice in the outdoors towards a vision of an outdoor culture transformed by representation, access, and justice for disabled and all other marginalized people. Give them a follow on Instagram or Facebook or donate via their website disabledhikers.com.
Thank you for joining me for your Weekly Dose. If you made it this far you are clearly interested in health news so why not follow for more? See you next week.
Story Source Links:
How health care could change under the new Trump administration: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/06/nx-s1-5181861/2024-election-trump-kennedy-health-care
RFK Jr. wants to clear out ‘entire departments’ in the FDA: ‘They have to go’: https://www.foxnews.com/media/rfk-jr-wants-clear-out-entire-departments-fda-they-have-go
After Trump win, RFK Jr. says he won’t ‘take away anybody’s vaccines’: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-win-rfk-jr-says-wont-take-away-anybodys-vaccines-rcna178955
With Trump’s Victory, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Brings Major Uncertainties to Healthcare System: https://www.barrons.com/articles/trump-win-robert-f-kennedy-jr-healthcare-system-1b085c75
Richard A. Cash, Developer of Oral Rehydration Therapy, Dies at 83: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/30/richard-cash-obituary/
Nonprofit Spotlight: Disabled Hikers: https://www.disabledhikers.com/