Healthcare Issues

[GoCubsGo]

They swore for months that Medicaid was not going to be cut. We called them out on their lies, a drama played out in small scale right here on BRD. Now, they've turned on a dime to claim that the massive, unprecedented cuts are no big deal.

GOP Senator On Fears Medicaid Cuts Will Lead To Deaths: ‘We All Are Going To Die’
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) dismissed concerns that planned Republican cuts to health care for vulnerable Americans will lead to people dying.

Too true and doubling down.

[Vrede too]

They swore for months that Medicaid was not going to be cut. We called them out on their lies, a drama played out in small scale right here on BRD. Now, they've turned on a dime to claim that the massive, unprecedented cuts are no big deal.

Too true and doubling down.

https://bsky.app/profile/salena.bsky.so ... izrrye222x

WTF is wrong with these people? Leaving aside the partisan perspective, her naked disdain for her constituents is atrocious. The 2026 opposition ads write themselves.

[GoCubsGo]

They swore for months that Medicaid was not going to be cut. We called them out on their lies, a drama played out in small scale right here on BRD. Now, they've turned on a dime to claim that the massive, unprecedented cuts are no big deal.

Too true and doubling down.

https://bsky.app/profile/salena.bsky.so ... izrrye222x

WTF is wrong with these people? Leaving aside the partisan perspective, her naked disdain for her constituents is atrocious. The 2026 opposition ads write themselves.

Trumpaloons have short and selective memories. 2024 is proof of that.

[1 CAT FAN]

Healthcare issues

[Vrede too]

Trumpaloons have short and selective memories. 2024 is proof of that.

Good thing we have judges fish-slapping their poor memories.

Judge rules some NIH grant cuts illegal, saying he's never seen such discrimination in 40 years

A federal judge ruled Monday it was illegal for the Trump administration to cancel several hundred research grants, adding that the cuts raise serious questions about racial discrimination.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts said the administration's process was “arbitrary and capricious” and that it did not follow long-held government rules and standards when it abruptly canceled grants deemed to focus on gender identity or diversity, equity and inclusion.

In a hearing Monday on two cases calling for the grants to be restored, the judge pushed government lawyers to offer a formal definition of DEI, questioning how grants could be canceled for that reason when some were designed to study health disparities as Congress had directed.

Opps.

Young, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, went on to address what he called “a darker aspect” to the cases, calling it “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community.”

After 40 years on the bench, “I've never seen government racial discrimination like this,” Young added. He ended Monday's hearing saying, “Have we no shame.” ...

[Vrede too]

As currently written the BB Bill will knock 4M off ACA coverage.

[GoCubsGo]

As currently written the BB Bill will knock 4M off ACA coverage.

Why do Republicans hate the American people?

[Vrede too]

As currently written the BB Bill will knock 4M off ACA coverage.

Why do Republicans hate the American people?

Because they love the rich? It's even worse with a Cult Leader who agrees with them:

Trump administration makes sweeping changes to ObamaCare, ends ‘Dreamer’ coverage

[Vrede too]

Dr. Oz Gets Core Tenet Of Medicaid Wrong In Fox Interview
The Medicaid administrator doesn't seem to understand Medicaid very well.

HuffPo is too generous, Oz is flat out LYING about recipients. It's what MAGA does. Then:

... Oz went on to claim, while providing no evidence, that states like California are draining Medicaid coffers by allowing undocumented migrants to receive medical care, while “places like Mississippi and Virginia are paying extra federal taxes to compensate for that.”

Again, that’s just not true. California is one of 13 states that sends more money to the federal government than it receives. Virginia and Mississippi, meanwhile, are on the opposite end of the spectrum....

Plus, undocumented migrants are NOT eligible for federal Medicaid dollars. California is paying the entire bill for them. MAGA just can't help itself.

Speaking of LIARS:

GOP Rep. Weirdly Lies About Helping His State Survive The Medicaid Cuts He Voted For
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) insists he helped get $1 billion for hospitals in his state hit by Trump’s tax bill. Except his governor and state legislature did that.

Speaking of Weirdly:

Ag Secretary Suggests Replacing Migrant Farm Workers With 'People On Medicaid'
"I'm sure kicking folks off Medicaid and into farm work will go just swimmingly," one person said of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' proposal.

Our food supply is threatened by this MAGA stupidity.

FAFO. The consequences:

Experts Say Trump's Big Bill Will Shut Down This 1 Type Of Hospital — And It'll Impact Multitudes
Whether or not you’re on Medicaid, the cuts will still affect you. Experts explain how.

"Some rural hospitals will be forced to close because of the Medicaid cuts."

Who did most rural Americans vote for? Marginal hospitals are scrambling to learn how to treat leopard injuries.

[Vrede too]

Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums

Great, millions more uninsured swamping our healthcare system. Thanks, TACO.

[supesalemgr2]

Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums

Great, millions more uninsured swamping our healthcare system. Thanks, TACO.

Thanks for reminding us that Obamacare only works with government subsidies.

[O Really]

Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums

Great, millions more uninsured swamping our healthcare system. Thanks, TACO.

Thanks for reminding us that Obamacare only works with government subsidies.

Yeah, neither does Medicare. That's kinda the point of Obamacare (formerly Romneycare) - to make it possible for people without employer-provided coverage to afford private insurance. As a former insurance guy (I think), you'd know that very few people can afford to pay the entire cost of private insurance without employer or subsidy contributions. Ever seen the look on somebody's face when they see what their COBRA bill will be?

[Vrede too]

Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums

Great, millions more uninsured swamping our healthcare system. Thanks, TACO.

Thanks for reminding us that Obamacare only works with government subsidies.

Yeah, neither does Medicare. That's kinda the point of Obamacare (formerly Romneycare) - to make it possible for people without employer-provided coverage to afford private insurance. As a former insurance guy (I think), you'd know that very few people can afford to pay the entire cost of private insurance without employer or subsidy contributions. Ever seen the look on somebody's face when they see what their COBRA bill will be?

The point, indeed. It's adorable when SoupySales thinks he's been clever enough to devise a 'gotcha'.

[Vrede too]

Thanks for reminding us that Obamacare only works with government subsidies.

Yeah, neither does Medicare. That's kinda the point of Obamacare (formerly Romneycare) - to make it possible for people without employer-provided coverage to afford private insurance. As a former insurance guy (I think), you'd know that very few people can afford to pay the entire cost of private insurance without employer or subsidy contributions. Ever seen the look on somebody's face when they see what their COBRA bill will be?

No response from SoupySales. Just like his idol he never admits a flub.


Judge allows Medicaid payments to flow to Planned Parenthood centers


Some judges are ignoring the SCOTUS ban on nationwide rulings. We'll see how it shakes out.

[supesalemgr2]

Thanks for reminding us that Obamacare only works with government subsidies.

Yeah, neither does Medicare. That's kinda the point of Obamacare (formerly Romneycare) - to make it possible for people without employer-provided coverage to afford private insurance. As a former insurance guy (I think), you'd know that very few people can afford to pay the entire cost of private insurance without employer or subsidy contributions. Ever seen the look on somebody's face when they see what their COBRA bill will be?

No response from SoupySales. Just like his idol he never admits a flub.


Judge allows Medicaid payments to flow to Planned Parenthood centers


Some judges are ignoring the SCOTUS ban on nationwide rulings. We'll see how it shakes out.

If the judges' actions have violated any laws they should be prosecuted. Not being a lawyer, thankfully, I do not know the consequences of ignoring SCOTUS rulings.

[Vrede too]

That was fast.

[Vrede too]

Trump Administration to Wind Down mRNA Vaccine Development

... mRNA vaccines have been credited by public health experts with saving millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many infectious disease experts have stressed that years of research have shown the shots are both safe and effective. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, claimed in a statement accompanying HHS’s announcement that “data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” ...

[1 CAT FAN]

Picking you out a spot?

[Vrede too]

https://www.blueridgedebate.com/viewtop ... 20#p218220

It has less meaning 7 months into the admin* after so many have been fired or quit, but this week it's looking better for me winning our bet. Jagoff (O Really, GoCubsGo) has dodged the bullet a few times. We never hear about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (neoplacebo), which is refreshing after Dolt .45's insurrectionist Mark Meadows.

'Endangering Every American's Health': 9 Former CDC Chiefs Sound Alarm on RFK Jr.
Their "astonishing, powerful op-ed," said one professor, "drives home what we are losing and what's already been lost."

Nearly every living former director or acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the past half-century took to the pages of The New York Times on Monday to jointly argue that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "is endangering every American's health."

... What RFK Jr. "has done to the CDC and to our nation's public health system over the past several months—culminating in his decision to fire Dr. Susan Monarez as CDC director days ago—is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced," the nine former agency leaders wrote.

Known for spreading misinformation about vaccines and a series of scandals, Kennedy was a controversial figure long before President Donald Trump chose him to lead HHS—a decision that Senate Republicans affirmed in February. However, in the wake of Monarez's ouster, fresh calls for him to resign or be fired have mounted.

Remember those unanimous RepuQ votes. KINO told us what he would do.

... Monarez was nominated by Trump, and was confirmed by Senate Republicans in late July. As the op-ed authors noted, she was forced out by RFK Jr. just weeks later, after she reportedly refused "to rubber-stamp his dangerous and unfounded vaccine recommendations or heed his demand to fire senior CDC staff members."

"These are not typical requests from a health secretary to a CDC director," they wrote. "Not even close. None of us would have agreed to the secretary's demands, and we applaud Dr. Monarez for standing up for the agency and the health of our communities."

... "To those on the CDC staff who continue to perform their jobs heroically in the face of the excruciating circumstances, we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation. Their ongoing dedication is a model for all of us. But it's clear that the agency is hurting badly." ...

Like my SIL, probably. She's about 60, too young to retire? She's been there 30 years or more, her only professional job. I'm supporting her whatever she decides.

'Shut Up... You Should Be Fired': RFK Jr. Sparks Backlash With CDC Purge, School Shooting Remarks
"He is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and disinformation," said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

... Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was the first Democratic lawmaker to call for Kennedy's firing on Wednesday night, shortly after news broke that he had ousted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez, who had just been confirmed by the US Senate weeks ago.

... "If there are any adults left in the White House, it's well past time they face reality and fire RFK Jr.," she said. "He is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and disinformation—leaving us unprepared for the next deadly pandemic and snuffing out potential cures while he's at it."

GoPattyGo

Kennedy further angered his critics when he appeared on Fox News Thursday morning and not only defended the purge of the CDC, but also baselessly linked this week's mass shooting at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of drugs commonly used to treat clinical depression.

While speaking with the hosts of "Fox & Friends," Kennedy said that "we're launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence" such as the shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday that left two children dead and 17 other people wounded.

This drew the ire of Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who profanely called out Kennedy for peddling misinformation.

"I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don't kill kids, antidepressants do," she wrote in a social media post. "Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired."

GoTinaGo!

She then wrote a follow-up post in which she noted that "there are 400 million guns in this country," which is larger than the entire population of the US.

"In America, we are 10 times more likely to be shot in a school or playground than any other developed nation," she said.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) didn't explicitly call for Kennedy to be fired, although he labeled the HHS secretary's actions "disgraceful."

"What is happening at the CDC is truly a five-alarm fire and not receiving nearly enough attention," he wrote. "RFK Jr.'s undermining of our public health institutions will have disastrous consequences for generations."

Democratic lawmakers weren't the only ones calling for Kennedy's firing. Pradheep Shanker, a radiologist who regularly writes for the conservative National Review, also said he'd seen enough of US President Donald Trump's HHS Chief.

"RFK is a complete failure, and is making Trump's health policy look like a complete circus," he said. "If Trump has any credibility, he'll fire RFK."

Even the National Review. KINO and Dementia Don have the potential to go down in history among the worst mass murderers ever.

It's always worth listening to Bernie!

'No More Conspiracy Theories. Kennedy Must Resign,' Says Sanders Amid CDC Fallout
Make America Healthy Again is "a great slogan," the senator wrote. "The problem is that since coming into office President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have done exactly the opposite."

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, is endangering the health of the American people now and into the future. He must resign."

That's how US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) began a New York Times op-ed on Saturday, amid mounting calls for Kennedy to leave the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), by choice or force, following the ouster of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez....

... "The reality is that Secretary Kennedy has profited from and built a career on sowing mistrust in vaccines. Now, as head of HHS, he is using his authority to launch a full-blown war on science, on public health, and on truth itself," he wrote, warning that in the "short term, it will be harder for Americans to get lifesaving vaccines," including for Covid.

However, "Covid is just the beginning. Mr. Kennedy's next target may be the childhood immunization schedule, the list of recommended vaccines that children receive to protect them from diseases like measles, chickenpox. and polio," the senator continued. He also sounded the alarm over the secretary "defunding the research that could help us prepare for the next pandemic."

Sanders, a leading advocate of Medicare for All, also took aim at the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed last month.

"America's healthcare system is already dysfunctional and wildly expensive, and yet the Trump administration will be throwing an estimated 15 million people off their health insurance through a cut of over $1 trillion to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act," he noted. "This cut is also expected to result in the closing of or the decline in services at hundreds of nursing homes, hospitals, and community health centers. As a result of cuts to the Affordable Care Act, health insurance costs will soar for millions of Americans. That is not Making America Healthy Again."

"Secretary Kennedy is putting Americans' lives in danger, and he must resign," Sanders concluded. "In his place, President Trump must listen to doctors and scientists and nominate a health secretary and a CDC director who will protect the health and well-being of the American people, not carry out dangerous policies based on conspiracy theories."

Doctors, journalists, and others praised the senator's op-ed, with Trauma surgeon Mark Hoofnagle saying that "Bernie nails it."

Pennsylvania State University professor and A Desire Called America author Christian Haines wrote on the social media platform Bluesky that the piece was "clear and incisive, though I wish it didn't need to be said."

Also sharing the post on Bluesky, former Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse said: "It's delusional for anyone to think that RFK Jr. and Donald Trump are making America healthy again. With Kennedy's war against science, truth, and vaccines and Trump's war against Medicaid, their movement should be called MAKING AMERICA UNHEALTHY AGAIN."

GOBernie!GO!

Trump Taps 'Manifestly Unqualified' Peter Thiel Protégé as Acting CDC Director After RFK's Purge
A health researcher for Public Citizen said Trump's interim CDC director has "no medical or public health background and extremist libertarian views."

On Thursday, the president tapped one of RFK's top aides as interim CDC director: biotech investor Jim O'Neill, a man with no medical experience but extensive experience profiting from healthcare while working at billionaire GOP megadonor Peter Thiel's venture capital firm, Mithril Capital.

"A tech investor with no medical or public health background and extremist libertarian views, Jim O'Neill was unfit for the number two position at HHS and manifestly unqualified to lead the CDC," said Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen's health research group, on Friday.

... He has championed unproven cures like ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and vitamin D supplements to protect against Covid-19, and has accused the CDC under the administration of former President Joe Biden of downplaying the vaccine's dangers while railing against mandates.

O'Neill has also praised Kennedy's response to the measles outbreak that swept across the US earlier this year, during which the secretary downplayed the severity and cast unfounded doubt on the effectiveness and safety of the measles vaccine that had virtually eradicated the disease before vaccination rates began to decline.

... In addition to Thiel's ideology, he reportedly brings several conflicts of interest to the CDC director job from his time working at Thiel's venture capital firm.

Accountable.US reported Friday that O'Neill "took money from, helped incubate, or was otherwise linked to at least eight medical industry startups with direct business before the department he could help run." ...

MAGA = Corruption, always

[Vrede too]

KINO reminds me of Pig-Pen, the Peanuts character who always had a cloud of dirt surrounding him.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rfk ... 15193.html

Idk, with Jagoff, Friendly Fire Barbie and the others maybe Dementia Don is Pig-Pen. The only difference is that neither cartoons KINO nor DonOLD are lovable.