Bob Herman (@bobjherman) — Bluesky Profile

2 days ago

How STAT would cover 'The Fugitive' if its pharma scandal were real It's Oscar season, so we're bringing you a special STATus report on how we'd cover the drug scandal in "The Fugitive" if it were real.

How would STAT have covered the pharmaceutical scandal subplot from "The Fugitive"? Wait, is the pharma company's name MacGruber? How much time actually elapsed in the movie? A fun one from @alexhogan.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2026/03/13/f...

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3 days ago

Ahem: www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/t...

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3 days ago

I had gone to the local ER, expecting a run-of-the-mill gallbladder removal that would have me back at work by Monday. Instead, they shipped me down to the big regional hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, where an MRI showed a gallstone, yes, but also a 9.5-centimeter tumor wrapped tightly around the main bile duct and several major blood vessels in the liver.

The gastrointestinal specialist was in the room with my wife and me when the radiology report came back. I watched his face drop and his entire demeanor change as he read through it for the first time.

He was an affable guy roughly the same age as me. “We just don’t see this in guys our age,” he said.

I was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or cancer of the bile duct. As far as cancers go, it’s an especially brutal one: The five-year survival rate is around 10 percent, and most people diagnosed with it are dead within a year. That was going to be me.

Cholangiocarcinoma is deadly in large part because it is so rare: There are only about 8,000 new cases in the U.S. each year. Cancer treatment advances patient by patient, clinical trial by clinical trial. Each patient is a new data point. When there are few data points, the science advances very slowly.

“There are some chemo and radiation therapies that can slow it down a little bit, maybe buy you some extra time, but nothing that can kill it,” the GI doc explained. “The only way to cure it is to cut it out completely, either by surgically resecting the liver or doing a full-on transplant, but by the time most people are showing symptoms, it’s too late for either of those.”

“Is it too late for me?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

For Slate, I wrote about what it's like to get a terminal cancer diagnosis when you're 42. slate.com/life/2026/03...

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4 days ago

A top biotech VC quietly helped Epstein’s ‘great friend’ make a comeback Boris Nikolic’s career looked to be in tatters after his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein came to light in 2019. But he has quietly made a comeback, with some help from a top biotech VC.

A top biotech VC quietly helped Epstein’s ‘great friend’ make a comeback. Via @statnews.com

www.statnews.com/2026/03/11/e...

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1 week ago

Is Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk trolling teleheath company Hims & Hers with a new video? A spokesperson from the company told me there was "no connection." Here's a clip from my new @statnews.com video

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1 week ago

A month in, TrumpRx falls short of president’s grand promises Trump wants to focus on his efforts to lower drug prices, but the TrumpRx website is falling short of his promises.

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...

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1 week ago

UnitedHealth promised transparency. Instead, it’s cutting back key disclosures UnitedHealth used to disclose more than 3,100 subsidiaries. Its latest annual reports shows just 10.

Last year, UnitedHealth Group disclosed 3,100 subsidiaries. This year? Just 10. The health care giant is paring back transparency right as its executives say they are embracing it. www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/u...

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1 week ago

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

Stanley Plotkin, known as the “godfather of vaccines,” in an interview with @helenbranswell.bsky.social: “All I can say is that I’m beginning to regret having lived so long — because we’re going downhill.” www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

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2 weeks ago

Jeffrey Epstein’s tissue samples ignited a furor in the Harvard lab of George Church Exclusive: Harvard geneticist George Church knew more about Jeffrey Epstein's activities than he has previously said, before accepting new donations from the sex offender.

New: Jeffrey Epstein’s tissue samples ignited a furor in the Harvard lab.

A story of science, controversy, and a sex offender, via @mmolteni.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2026/02/24/e...

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2 weeks ago

NEW: The entire process of finding Medicare coverage may be influenced by artificial intelligence in the not-too-distant future. CMS wants to use AI tools for its "Medicare Experience Modernization" project — and there are lots of question marks. www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/m...

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2 weeks ago

Pharma lobbyists focus on a surprising new target: the FDA Lobbyists told STAT they believe the odds of approval go up if a decision can be spun as a win for the Trump administration.

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...

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3 weeks ago

STAT wins fourth Polk Award for reporting on impact of Trump on health STAT has won its fourth Polk Award in five years for documenting the Trump administration’s shakeup of the FDA, scientific research, and public health.

Working at STAT is a true joy. Everyone here works their tails off to produce trustworthy, powerful health care journalism. Extremely proud of @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and the @statnews.com staff for this. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/s...

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3 weeks ago

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES 2024 GEORGE POLK AWARDS IN JOURNALISM /PRNewswire/ -- Incisive reports from four areas of bloody conflict — Sudan, the Russian-Ukraine war zone, Israel's West Bank and Haiti — are among 15 winners...

This makes it four Polk Awards for @statnews.com in five years — a credit to an incredibly talented staff.

www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

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1 month ago

Prasad overruled FDA staff to reject Moderna's flu vaccine application The rejection is the latest instance of Vinay Prasad overruling career FDA scientists to place vaccines under harsher scrutiny.

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...

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1 month ago

Trump officials push for skimpier coverage in ACA marketplaces The Trump administration wants the 2027 ACA marketplace to offer plans with lower premiums — but the tradeoff is high deductibles and risk for those needing care.

With the ACA's enhanced subsidies now expired, Trump officials are very motivated to make ACA coverage appear more affordable. So they are pouring gasoline on "catastrophic" plans and other skimpy options. More with @tarabannow.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/2...

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1 month ago

We found at least 18 of the drugs on TrumpRx have cheaper generics available ranging from potential savings of over $600 for Tikosyn to just around $2 for Diflucan. Most of the drugs are made by Pfizer.

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...

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1 month ago

Hims, other telehealth platforms push multi-cancer detection tests before evidence of benefit Test makers and telehealth providers say they want to give people a chance to catch cancers early and seek treatment.

Multi-cancer early detection tests cost as much as $950. They aren't FDA-approved. There's no evidence they are beneficial for patients. And yet, Hims is advertising them in a Super Bowl ad. Read more from @katiepalmer.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...

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1 month ago

A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

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1 month ago

How Epstein’s wealth opened doors at a prestigious New York hospital The convicted sex offender enjoyed unusually close access to Mount Sinai doctors, records show.

NEW: A look at how Jeffrey Epstein’s tremendous wealth and connections opened doors at a prestigious New York City hospital — from a 24/7 hotline for the "board and donor community" to house calls.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

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1 month ago

bsky.app/profile/lizz...

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1 month ago

Novo Nordisk lowers sales, profits forecast as Wegovy faces growing competition Novo Nordisk on Tuesday said it expects sales and profits to decline this year, as the maker of Wegovy faces growing competition in the obesity market.

About 30% of prescriptions for weight loss drug Wegovy now come from Novo Nordisk's direct-to-consumer program — i.e., patients who are not actively using their health insurance. www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/n...

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1 month ago

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 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...

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1 month ago

UnitedHealth Group is getting smaller. But there's more to the story: This purge of Medicare Advantage enrollees, other insurance members, and unnamed assets also means "intercompany eliminations" — how much business UHG does with itself — are declining. www.statnews.com/2026/02/02/u...

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1 month ago

President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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1 month ago

Trump’s latest deal: $600 million of tech company discounts to help implement Medicaid work requirements States must have their work requirements systems running by Jan 1., a tight timeline for many.

Big tech and consulting firms pledge $600M of "savings" so they can set up Medicaid work requirements. “This announcement only underscores to me that these corporations are licking their chops at the business opportunity.” @tarabannow.bsky.social reports: www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/m...

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1 month ago

Very normal things from the owner of the Los Angeles Times bsky.app/profile/jaso...

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1 month ago

I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:

"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."

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1 month ago

You can buy a whole host of sketchy drugs at many gas stations. I wondered why gas stations, of all places, were the premier destination for people seeking quasi-legal recreational (or knockoff pharmaceutical) drugs. I dig into why in this week's @statnews.com STATus Report. youtu.be/4QsVjgIWVZs

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1 month ago

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/m...

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1 month ago

Trump administration proposes tiny pay raise to 2027 Medicare Advantage plans The Trump administration plans to increase payments to next year’s Medicare Advantage plans by less than 0.1% on average — far below what industry expected.

Trump's CMS agency is proposing tiny Medicare Advantage pay increase for 2027. Also some more big risk adjustment changes, including requiring diagnoses to be linked to actual encounters with doctors. Health insurers will scream. Still should get $17B more. www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/m...

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