“We’re just kind of done with the vaccine issue,” said one White House official. “We’ve done what we want to do on the vaccine front.”
On the future of the MAGA-MAHA alliance, w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/03/13/t...
President Trump heralded TrumpRx as “one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time.”
A month in, administration pledges are far from being met — even as drug pricing has become a key part of its pitch to voters.
www.statnews.com/2026/03/05/t...
Thank you!
He’s an action figure. He’s a milk-drinking rave-goer. He’s America’s health secretary — and he’s looking to cement the MAHA-MAGA alliance with political clout.
w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/27/r...
“It was always the case: if it’s FDA, leave it alone,” one lobbyist told STAT. “There’s been a swing. … Now the conversations are: Can we influence the process? I had never had that conversation before.”
PLUS: The Trump-connected firms that are getting big (and growing) contracts from the pharmaceutical sector:
www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/f...
NEW: Pharma lobbyists are working to influence an agency once thought largely off-limits — the FDA.
How Trump-era politics are being injected into the agency tasked with regulating U.S. medicines:
w/ @lizzylawrence.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/f...
Good cop, bad cop?
@lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @danielpayne.bsky.social — neither a cop — checked out Oz and Makary as they addressed pharma executives and lobbyists today in Washington.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/17/p...
RFK Jr. has long criticized pharma's influence on the federal government.
But Dr. Oz, talking to PhRMA today, took a different approach: welcoming the idea of closed-door meetings and urging industry leaders to work in the admin.
w/ @lizzylawrence.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/17/p...
Major shakeup underway at HHS as White House braces for midterms
www.statnews.com/2026/02/13/h...
I’m at the Boston federal court this AM for a hearing on the suit from AAP and other groups challenging a slew of changes to vaccine policies – which could affect the forthcoming ACIP meeting and the change to the childhood vaccine schedule
The American Academy of Pediatrics has become a leader in the effort to reverse RFK Jr.'s vaccine policies.
The success — or failure — of the group's approach will have consequences for kids' health nationwide.
Inside the AAP's plan for the MAHA age:
www.statnews.com/2026/02/13/a...
Scoop: Top FDA official Vinay Prasad overruled the agency’s reviewers when he refused to accept Moderna’s application for a new influenza vaccine, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...
Biotechs, wary of being tied to Big Pharma, form new industry group as hedge against Trump policies
via @elaineywchen.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/b...
So about TrumpRx: We crunched the numbers today and about half of the drugs on there have cheaper generics available already. www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...
TrumpRx claims to offer the lowest prices. But many drugs have cheaper generics.
(Full story below)
In a break from other major U.S. medical groups, plastic surgeons society recommends delaying gender-affirming procedures until age 19
w/ @theresagaff.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/g...
In a @kff.org survey from fall '25, nearly half of likely undocumented immigrant adults, and one in seven who are lawfully present, said they had avoided medical care since January '25 due to immigration-related concerns -- recent increases in ICE presence could further exacerbate these challenges
The ICE crackdown is having all kinds of far-reaching consequences — including on immigrants' health. @danielpayne.bsky.social reports on how patients are delaying or avoiding treatment because of the risks of leaving their homes, leading to unnecessary suffering
www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/i...
Doctors nationwide are seeing patients avoid care amid ICE crackdowns, sometimes with dire consequences.
Health providers are now employing pandemic-era tactics to keep care accessible.
How immigration policy is changing American health care:
www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/i...
Top Trump officials push Senate Republicans on new drug price legislation
www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/m...
#CDC sets the list of vaccinations recommended for all kids. But decisions about which inoculations kids require for school entry are made at the state level. Anti-vax forces are shifting their focus there @danielpayne.bsky.social & @isabellacueto.bsky.social report. www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/v...
NEW: RFK Jr.'s allies on vaccine policies are already on the move in statehouses across the country, seeking to roll back school entry requirements and expand exemptions.
Via @danielpayne.bsky.social @isabellacueto.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/v...
With a new U.S. vaccine schedule in hand, RFK Jr. allies aim for a bigger prize: changing state law
If they're successful, vaccine requirements for schools and daycares could be a thing of the past
w/ @isabellacueto.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/v...
CDC pauses billions in public health infrastructure grants to states
via @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2026/01/24/p...
Planned Parenthood has had a bruising few years.
But in many ways, the group isn't changing course in Washington, its CEO tells STAT.
She wishes other health sector leaders would do the same.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/23/h...
Health insurance execs shift blame for costly, confusing health care system
www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/h...
The top CDC vaccine advisor downplayed established vaccine science in an interview published today — and suggested policy goals, not new research, were the driving force behind new government recommendations in recent months.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/v...
