Jennifer Oliva

A Third of Americans Have Cut Spending or Borrowed Money for Health Care

“One-third of Americans — an estimated 82 million people — say they are making sacrifices, including skipping meals or driving less, to pay for care, according to a new survey released on Thursday… Those without insurance reported even more trade-offs.”

VA plans to seek public guardianship for some veterans deemed unable to care for themselves The effort will extend to hundreds of veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness but lack family support or legal representation.

I don’t know fam it feels like giving the government guardianship over unhoused veterans and forcing them into institutions might be bad.

Thanks to @heritagehunter.bsky.social for the heads up.

People in need of disability benefits are facing new barriers – and government cuts and overhauls are to blame - Binghamton News A new report featuring faculty at Binghamton University reveals that 2025 changes to the federal benefits system have made it significantly harder for Americans to access disability benefits.

Article on the joint @aapd.com and @dredf.bsky.social report on increased challenges people with disabilities have in qualifying for or maintaining Social Security benefits under new policies, which include experts being shifted into phone-answering positions.

tinyurl.com/4c38wcbx

This is so horrific and unavoidable. I know there is too much bad news to process but this hits me particularly hard as the mom of a deeply-loved toddler & my only child. What are we doing here?

Congratulations!

Looking to get back into a health policy job that involves econometrics and/or coding.

If you know of any, hit me up!

I'm looking to hear some specific examples of how disabled Minnesotans have been harmed by federal Medicaid pause for reporting I'm doing at @motherjones.com . Please reach out to jmetraux@motherjones.com with any leads.

In a Law.com story on NJ’s fat discrimination bill, I noted: when RFK Jr. says weight loss “the right way” excludes medication, it creates hierarchy of deservingness.
More in forth. @uclalawreview.bsky.social piece w @jennoliva.bsky.social: Vet Disability Hierarchies papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Dr Oz: "We're announcing a 6 month national moratorium blocking all new enrollments for durable medical equipment -- prosthesis, orthotics -- supplies across the board."

Drug and alcohol testing is almost always a condition of probation. For most, this doesn't aid rehabilitation - it can be detrimental to it. Use this brief to urge the court to take a more individualized approach to your client's supervision! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Transcript: Trump Epstein Scandal Takes Damning Turn as Dem Drops Bomb As new revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein saga threaten the president, a legal expert decodes what we just learned—and lays out a roadmap to what will happen now.

Thanks to Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social for having me on The Daily Blast to talk about the latest bombshell related to the Epstein files -- that DOJ excised material/interviews of a witness who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor.

newrepublic.com/article/2070...

Grievance Is All You Need

.... understanding attacks on NIH, CDC and FDA through the lens of COVID revisionists:

joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/grievance-...

New VA Rule Ties Disability Ratings to Medicated Symptoms, Drawing Fire From Veterans Groups Under a previous court precedent, VA examiners were required to consider what a veteran’s disability would look like without medication. Under the new rule, the rating is based on how the veteran pres...

If veterans groups showed more solidarity in reforming SSI/SSDI process to be less cruel, I think in return there would be more backlash from non-veteran disabled folks regarding this. www.military.com/benefits/vet...

Love & appreciate your work!

As an Army veteran & lawyer that has represented vets on service-connected claims & appeals pro bono, this is a critically important point. I have a draft paper w/ @dorfmandoron.bsky.social re: Veteran Disability Hierarchies that engages w/these issues here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

“The UT System is largely following the Texas A&M System, which implemented a similar policy beginning this spring semester. The A&M policy resulted in nontransparent AI reviews of each instructor’s course content, mid-semester course censorship and cancellations…”

aaup-texas.org/blog/f/ut-re...

Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends 38 CFR 4.10 within the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). This amendment clarifies VA's longstanding interpretation of Sec. 4.10 and, in doing ...

This major change was only made public two days ago, and will go into effect immediately tomorrow, bypassing the notice and comment period, through an entirely spurious and fabricated line of reasoning.

The rule is a significant, and cowardly, attack on veterans benefits by the administration.

Tens of thousands of new mothers have been flagged to police over unreliable drug tests The Marshall Project found more than 70,000 cases referred to law enforcement over allegations of substance use during pregnancy—and that’s a significant undercount.

During her third pregnancy, Ayanna Harris-Rashid had used legal CBD gummies and a hemp-based ointment to ease her pain and nausea. At the hospital, she and the baby tested positive for marijuana, prompting providers to file a report with social services.

She was charged with felony child neglect.

One Year of RFK Jr. Has Left Public Health Devastated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a lot of promises on his way to becoming health secretary. He pledged to Make America Healthy Again, of course, and to restore trust in embattled health agencies. And he sai...

"Scientific expertise from the top all the way down to bench scientists has been lost .." How Kennedy dismantled public health agencies with almost no positive achievements to show for it.
bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
@lisamjarvis.bsky.social @opinion.bloomberg.com

Crushing the mRNA industry in the US also probably destroys a bunch of cures for various cancers just as an FYI.

FDA rejects Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application - for reasons with no basis in the law The move signals an escalation in the agency’s efforts to interfere with established procedures for testing and approving vaccines.

The FDA rejected Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine application using legal standards that don't actually exist in the law. A vaccine policy expert explains how this decision could undermine vaccine development and public health. buff.ly/eCsNVGZ #vaccineswork

Our amicus in AAP v. Kennedy. Thanks to Wendy Parmet at Northeastern and Dorit Reiss at University of San Francisco for making this happen. You can find our amicus here: litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/a...

Health Subcommittee: Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing com...

Honored to be testifying before the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce today to discuss the role of the prescription drug supply chain in drug affordability. My testimony is linked below. energycommerce.house.gov/events/healt...

I point out no Democrat asked why an investigation is not even open on Renee Good’s death to repeat to everyone: an investigation is the bare minimum. And as I noted last week, the difference between how Renee’s death has been treated is simultaneously sexist and deeply misogynistic.

Bloomington police announce arrests in sex trafficking bust: "Rashad Johnson out of Maple Grove. This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies."

More than 30 legal scholars in N.J. condemn federal civil rights violations In rare collective statement, 35 faculty members document First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment breaches, calling attacks on protesters and warrantless raids 'hallmarks of authoritarianism'

Very proud of my Seton Hall Law colleagues for putting out this statement condemning the civil rights violations in Minneapolis and across the country. www.nj.com/news/2026/02...

And while everyone is feeling good about Benito giving a Grammy to someone who is not Liam Ramos: Congress can pass a personal bill to grant citizenship to Liam Ramos, his family and Kilmer Abrego Garcia.

El mejor halftime show de mi vida.