Rachel Fabi Ph.D.

ethics professor here, can confirm

Fearing ICE crackdown, immigrants nationally are avoiding treatment, sometimes with dire consequences Doctors nationally are describing harrowing consequences for patients who put off medical care because of fears of ICE.

Doctors nationally are describing harrowing consequences for patients who put off medical care because of fears of ICE.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/i...

STAT Mini Crossword STAT MINI Test your knowledge every weekday with our crossword. Listen: Hear from the voices shaping biotech and the life sciences with STAT podcasts Sign

Have you done today's #STATMini yet?
Tell us how quickly you completed it!
www.statnews.com/stat-mini-cr...

Rachel Fabi in overall waders holding a clamming rake, thigh-deep in an estuary in the snow

Rachel Fabi in a red knit cap and overall waders, holding a clamming rake and tossing a clam toward the camera while knee deep in water

A wire bucket full of beige and black clams, viewed from above

I went for a plunge in the Atlantic in 33 degree weather and then went clamming for 90 minutes and then made clam chowder — my sabbatical transition to winter cape codder is complete ❄️

Would be happy to! Living that sabbatical life 😎

Ohhhh got it!

you're looking for guest lecturers? down to help, of course!

Sharing Medicaid data with ICE for immigration enforcement is a moral and public health nightmare. The chilling effect will have public health ramifications for years to come.

We wrote about this for @jama.com:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

I just finished Blue Prince (insofar as you can "finish" Blue Prince) and I think I need to go lie down 🌀

Where to start with this one...
@fabioethics.bsky.social www.latimes.com/games/daily-...

Stateless at Birth — Birthright Citizenship and the Safeguarding of Immigrant Maternal and Child Health Rachel E. Fabi, PhD Patricia Mae G. Santos, MD, MS Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD ABSTRACT This perspective discusses the public health implications of the recent executive order (EO), and subsequent court challenges, regarding the termination of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The EO threatens to undermine the justification that undergirds many state and federal policies regarding access to maternal healthcare for immigrants: the expectation that babies born in the USA will become US citizens. In so doing, the EO creates conditions under which many children born in the USA may be rendered stateless and thus ineligible for public benefits.

New publication in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on the maternal/child health implications of the attempt to reinterpret the constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship:
link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007...

@journalgim.bsky.social
@cervantes-lily1.bsky.social
@trishasantos.bsky.social

Thanks Paul!!

Excited to be writing these new mini puzzles for @statnews.com (my favorite site for health and science policy news!)

STAT Mini Crossword STAT MINI Test your knowledge every weekday with our crossword. Listen: Hear from the voices shaping biotech and the life sciences with STAT podcasts Sign

Starting today, I'll be writing a daily mini crossword puzzle for @statnews.com!

You can check them out here: www.statnews.com/stat-mini-cr...

what a wild football game!!! 🖤💛

@rebecculous.bsky.social and I wrote today’s @defector.com crossword!

It’s seasonally appropriate 🎄✨

Thank you for your message. I am currently on sabbatical (December 20, 2025 - June 30, 2026), and I will not be regularly checking my email during this time. Please enjoy this special sabbatical edition of my out of office crossword puzzle. See you in July!

justgridding.blogspot.com/2025/12/sabb...

CMS Plans to Share Data with ICE Could Exacerbate Immigrant Families’ Fears About Accessing Health Coverage and Care This policy change will likely exacerbate fears among immigrant families about health officials and providers sharing patient information with ICE, increasing their reluctance to access health coverag...

I'm pretty sure (?) CMS's ability to share this data (which includes patient phone numbers and locations) is currently enjoined (per @drishp.bsky.social at KFF!), but when that injunction is lifted, troves of immigrant patient data will be handed over to ICE.

www.kff.org/quick-take/c...

This is substantively bad (for moral and public health reasons – it will deeply chill immigrant access to preventive and emergency healthcare, even if it never goes into effect) and procedurally bad (HHS shouldn't be able to just skip public comment because it feels like it).

HHS is asserting, without opportunity for public comment, that it will be sharing CMS data with DHS for immigration enforcement, despite years of promises not to do that.

public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-20911.pdf

A book with a crossword pattern on the cover with the title "Across the Universe" in the top right, the subtitle "The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle" in the center left, and "Natan Last" in the bottom right. The book sits on top of a wrapped gfit and is viewed through the branches of a Christmas tree

This season's hottest gift just hit the shelves! Check out "Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle" by my brilliant and kind friend @natanlast.bsky.social 🤩

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/723796...

Congrats, Deb — hope you enjoy your well-earned leisure :)

JAMA editorial, published online November 10, 2025, discusses how federal loan caps burden medical students. Article by Katie Farkouh, Jacqueline Hogan, and Maxwell Barton addresses impacts of new loan limits.

💬 Viewpoint: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act institutes new federal loan caps for medical students, increasing debt burden risks and barriers for aspiring physicians.

ja.ma/4qN1yxQ

An Emerging Threat To Health Equity: Diminished Patient Access To Language Services | Health Affairs Forefront Language services are essential for health equity and good patient health outcomes, but recent executive actions threaten to undermine this vital resource.

We should do everything we can to ensure language is not a barrier to health outcomes. #healthequity

An Emerging Threat To Health Equity: Diminished Patient Access To Language Services | Health Affairs www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore... by @lynettemartins.bsky.social @fabioethics.bsky.social

Health Affairs Journal

Sharing this piece on the health impacts of patients with limited eng prof compromised by current admin. co-authored with Drs @fabioethics.bsky.social Sabrina Derrington, and Amelia Bariwise.

www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/f...

3 months later and I am attempting to overcome my mental block around recording this lecture by adding a qualifier to the titled. Will it work? TBD!

A JAMA "Research Letter" published online October 9, 2025, shows a US map depicting 'Emergency Medicaid Spending for Undocumented Immigrants.' States are color-coded to show the percentage of spending, ranging from 1 to 2%.

Emergency Medicaid accounts for less than 1% of total #Medicaid spending, even in states with large undocumented populations.

ja.ma/4mZsZSf

Just emailed! Thanks so much :)

Rolling Back the Big Beautiful Bill’s Health Care Provisions Would Not Provide Health Care to Undocumented Immigrants Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded health coverage. The GOP’s Big Beautiful Bill didn’t change that. Overturning the health care provisions in the law won’t either.

H.R.1 ends health coverage eligibility for many lawfully present immigrants. It doesn't change health coverage options for undocumented immigrants who are already ineligible for federally funded health coverage under longstanding policy. More on this @kff.org : www.kff.org/quick-take/r...

Thank you for this! Excellent, clear messaging.

One note, the bit about FCEP isn’t quite right; happy to discuss in DMs if you are interested!