"Marketplace plans from the Affordable Care Act no longer feel very affordable to many people, because Congress did not extend a package of enhanced subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. An estimated 4.8 million will go without coverage this year."
KFF Health News
Millions of Americans Are Expected To Drop Their Affordable Care Act Plans. They’re Looking for a Plan B. - KFF Health News
An estimated 4.8 million people are expected to go without health coverage because Congress did not extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care A...
 #healthcare #ACA #insurance #medicaid #hospitals #RuralHealth #CostsOfCare #DrugPrices
"No one is saying kids can’t eat foods that contain natural sugar, such as bananas and fresh mango, but avoiding added sugar — which most everyone agrees should be limited — would require incredible diligence. The old rules, which most parents failed to abide by, only asked them to hold the line till their kids turned 2." https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/10/rfk-sugar-dietary-guidelines-children-00720472 #PublicHealth #food #diet #sugar #ChildrensHealth #parenting #HHS #USDA
"'This is really one of the worst flu seasons we’ve been seeing,' said Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious diseases physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that the rate of kids and teenagers hospitalized with flu nationwide is the second highest in 15 years for this point in the season."
NBC News
Flu is particularly hard on kids this season
The CDC reported Friday that the rate of kids and teenagers hospitalized with flu is the second highest in 15 years for this point in the season.
 #PublicHealth #flu #vaccines #immunizations #MaskUp #ventilation #handwashing #ChildrensHealth
"The number of reported measles cases in South Carolina is skyrocketing — and spilling into other states. On Friday, the South Carolina Department of Public Health said it’s confirmed 99 new cases of the disease since Tuesday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 310."
NBC News
South Carolina measles outbreak surges past 300 cases
The state has confirmed 99 new cases since Tuesday. Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio and Utah are also reporting cases.
 #PublicHealth #measles #vaccines #immunizations #ChildrensHealth #SouthCarolina #NorthCarolina #arizona #utah #ohio
"...starting this year, foreign-trained doctors like Tibrewal will no longer have to repeat their residency in the United States, where new grads receive hands-on training for up to seven years. Texas last year joined 17 other states by waiving the second residency requirement under a new law designed to bring more doctors more quickly into Texas cities and towns."
The Texas Tribune
Texas changes law to attract foreign-trained doctors
Texas joins 17 other states that are making it easier for foreign medical graduates to work as doctors here. About a quarter of the state’s licen...
 #healthcare #physicians #licensing #immigrant #immigration #texas #txlege
"How does this happen to a person? How does something like a random musical come in and upend the life of a practical, equanimous person who is already oversubscribed and hasn’t even seen the horny hockey show that everyone is talking about? I had to find out what was going on; I had to do something to understand why I couldn’t stop attending the show before I wound up at a performance dressed as one of its characters." Me, becoming #BTSARMY
Why on Earth Have I Seen the Same Broadway Show 13 Times? An Investigation.
As a journalist, I thought I’d never join the ranks of obsessive superfans — until I suddenly became one.
 #fandom #art #entertainment
"Many low-income Californians prescribed wildly popular weight loss drugs lost their coverage for the medications at the start of the new year. Health officials are recommending diet and exercise as alternatives to heavily advertised weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, advice experts say is unrealistic."
KFF Health News
California Ends Medicaid Coverage of Weight Loss Drugs Despite TrumpRx Plan - KFF Health News
Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials adv...
 #healthcare #medicaid #PrescriptionDrugs #DrugPrices #CostsOfCare #california
Full series by @ProPublica on the impact of the dismantling of USAID
ProPublica
The End of Aid Archives
The U.S. Agency for International Development saved lives and promoted American interests around the globe. As the Trump administration abandons th...
 #healthcare #PublicHealth #GlobalHealth #hospitals #research #funding #grants #prevention #IDmastodon #hunger #FoodAid #FoodAssistance
"ChatGPT started coaching Sam on how to take drugs, recover from them and plan further binges. It gave him specific doses of illegal substances, and in one chat, it wrote, 'Hell yes—let’s go full trippy mode,' before recommending Sam take twice as much cough syrup so he would have stronger hallucinations. The AI tool even recommended playlists to match his drug use." https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/calif-teen-chatgpt-drug-advice-fatal-overdose-21266718.php #PublicHealth #AI #SubstanceUse #MentalHealth #ChildrensHealth