I can’t say I know exactly how it all would have played out, but I would much rather live in the alternate universe where the leaders of Columbia University had stood up for the institution and all of its faculty and students.

This week a Medicare beneficiary won a retrospective change of status appeal that granted him coverage of costly hospital services. The appeal was made possible by the Center for Medicare Advocacy’s class action case, litigated with amazing co-counsel @justiceinaging.org & @wilsonsonsini.bsky.social

Great digging by Christina Jewett: Dr. Oz previously acted as a pitchman for iHerb, which sells the vitamin supplement that he promoted as an autism treatment sitting during Trump’s press conference, and which the FDA is moving to approve for that use www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/h...

We can save RFK Jr some time here, because we already know a lot about acetaminophen and autism! There’s no increased risk of autism from use of this drug. This isn’t based on some small study. It’s thanks to a beautiful study of literally millions of children… wapo.st/4nkMdCO

15 years after it passed, we're still debating Obamacare. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

We filed a FOIA request along with @justiceinaging.org, @nilc.org, and @rcusa.bsky.social seeking transparency as the “Big Beautiful Bill” strips thousands of lawfully present immigrants of Medicare, regardless of how long they worked and paid Medicare taxes.

The Pitt has plans to tackle stories next season related to federal health care cuts. I've got some ideas in a new column out in @jama.com. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

“Appealing a coverage denial demands a high degree of health insurance literacy and fortitude that most of us lack, especially in a health crisis….Thus, health care becomes rationed not through a final denial of coverage, but rather through accumulations of inconveniences as patients.”

Well that got fixed quickly Go Massachusetts! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/m...

Judge Sooknanan: As I said at the start of this hearing, I got a call at 2:36 am [last night] because the government chose the wee hours of the morning on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to execute a plan to move these children. That's why we're here.

We will be in court shortly.

BREAKING: We filed an emergency lawsuit to stop the Trump admin from unlawfully expelling hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan children from the U.S. The targeting of children is vile. We will use every tool at our disposal to stop the administration from sending any child to danger.

My Medicare Part D for 2026 is a 50% increase and I’m subsidized through Extra Help. Completely insane. I’ve been on Medicare since 2009 and I’ve never experienced this type of increase.

Health officials under JB Pritzker, who is showing how to take on Trump, are moving forward. They're exploring buying vaccines in bulk themselves. Mass. Gov Maura Healey is in talks with multiple other states about coordinating purchasing of pediatric vaccines. newrepublic.com/article/1998...

Blue states can also buy vaccines in bulk and distribute them via their chief medical officer or via doctors, says @sbagen.bsky.social. The idea would be to make vaccines available to all, including those restricted under RFK lunacy. Great stuff from Sam here: newrepublic.com/article/1998...

“The companies represent ‘a whole new bounty hunter,’ said David A. Lipschutz, the co-director for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, one of the groups that has urged government officials to abandon the program.”

“Americans will die because of your Medicaid cuts.” That’s the warning from a Chicago priest as Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” slashed more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the ACA. #ProtectOurCare

Medicare beneficiaries ages 85+ spend 22% of their income on out-of-pocket health care costs on average, more than double the 9% spent by beneficiaries ages 65-74. The difference is largely due to higher out-of-pocket spending on long-term care. https://on.kff.org/4lL3R0S

Lawyer says the ICE officer who took him did not answer when asked why he was being taken into custody. A new lawsuit has been filed challenging his current confinement and potential deportation. Crowd shouts “Shame! Shame!”

The answer to real-life trolley problems? Return to your first instinct when confronted with a theoretical trolley problem, which is to break the premise. You can't do that in the world of the theoretical. But you can in the real world. Can? Should. Should? Must.

Trump proposes to rescind AIDS funds. Congress rejects the proposal. So Trump and his henchman Russ Vought just refuse to spend the money and try to hide that decision from Congress and the public. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/h...

The outrageous stupidity is outweighed only by the gratuitous cruelty. Read this. www.masslive.com/news/2025/08...

SCOTUS’ decision is wrong & disappointing. Even though the Court did not dispute that the Trump Admin’s decision to cut critical medical & public health research is illegal, they ordered the recipients of that funding – hospitals, researchers & the state – to jump through more hoops to get it back.

The practical upshot is that justice delayed is justice denied; or to be more precise, a lab which had to fire all of its researchers and halt work on groundbreaking research isn't going to be able to ever restore itself to the same position it would have been without a multi-year pause in funding.

Health Costs Consume a Large Portion of Income for Millions of People with Medicare www.kff.org/medicare/hea...

Jackson: “This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins.” @courthousenews.bsky.social

Medicare Advantage (MA) now covers 54% of seniors (up from 26% in 2010) thanks to TV ads, but it costs taxpayers more money and the data are flawed. LDI Executive Director @rachelwerner.bsky.social and @djmeyers2.bsky.social offer 6 steps to sharpen MA data analyses. ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...

Federal judge rejects challenge to Medicare Advantage “star ratings” system. Also, CMS must have some Gen Xers on staff. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Last week, Boston received a letter from AG Bondi threatening to prosecute officials and withhold funds unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations. The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.

Happy birthday, Social Security. As a 90 year old, you are still relevant to Gen Z and beyond - 9% of US children received income from Social Security, and "In 2023, 959,000 children were lifted out of poverty due to Social Security." 1 in 4 Gen Z will become disabled and need Social Security.

Before Social Security was signed into law 90 years ago, "Americans had no meaningful way to plan for an income after work ended." At least half of older adults lived in poverty, and many ended up living in government-sponsored "poorhouses."

Since we passed the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have tried over and over to repeal it. And over and over, they’ve failed — in part because millions of people now depend on the ACA for quality, affordable health care.

Now Republicans are trying something different: quietly weakening the law and hoping you won’t notice. We can’t let them. It’s up to all of us to vote for leaders in every election who will make our healthcare system better, not undermine it. Call your member of Congress and hold them accountable.

The net effect of the changes President Trump and Republicans in Congress are making to health care is a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

We’ve been proud to be part of the amicus coalitions led by @aarpfoundation.bsky.social opposing these lawsuits and explaining why the historic Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiaion Program passed in 2022 is vital for beneficiaries.

Neither of these factors had to happen. Congress could still stop the second if it wanted to. So much needless loss of health coverage.

The HHS statement said it would start “investing in better solutions.” Better solutions?? Eradicating disease and saving millions of lives through vaccination is a pretty damn good solution, right??? (Insert primal scream here)

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” said Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations.”

We appreciated the opportunity to support this important cause

Today, marks the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing #Medicare into law. Before it, half of seniors had no health coverage. Today, nearly all do. It didn’t just change health care, it changed how we age in America. #Medicare60 Read more: www.aarp.org/social-secur...

60 years ago today LBJ signed a law launching the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with Harry Truman at his side. Truman first proposed a national health care plan in 1945. Under JFK, a task force recommended a plan for those over 65. The programs now cover about half of all Americans.

On this day, 60 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Act into law, establishing health insurance programs for elderly and low-income Americans.

Happy 60th birthday Medicare! As we celebrate its accomplishments as a bulwark of financial security and anchor of the medical system, we also must protect it from threats. Let’s hope it’s stronger in 5 years (when Medicare will be old enough to have Medicare!) medicareadvocacy.org/issue-brief-...

Happy 60th birthday Medicare! As we celebrate its accomplishments as a bulwark of financial security and anchor of the medical system, we also must protect it from threats. Let’s hope it’s stronger in 5 years (when Medicare will be old enough to have Medicare!) medicareadvocacy.org/issue-brief-...

Throughout #60YearsofMedicaid, our health system has faced challenges—but it’s resilient, just like us. 💪 In California, Medi-Cal continues to offer care to everyone, including undocumented individuals. ✅ You can still apply ✅ Your doctor is still your doctor ✅ Community clinics are here for you 💙

Read this whole thread. The EO is a huge regressive step. And Brian's not wrong to be worried about this point in particular. The major theme of Trump II social policy is old-style Poor Law thinking, down to the indoor versus outdoor relief distinction.

BREAKING: Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes. Criminalization doesn’t help anyone – we need housing and healthcare, not handcuffs and budget cuts. #HousingNotHandcuffs Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4

UnitedHealth has revealed they're under a DOJ investigation over its Medicare billing practices. Every American deserves answers and insurers need to be held accountable. www.nbcnews.com/busi...

Continued thoughts about being a person of privilege in a supremacist society while trying to oppose supremacy, and the some ideas on how best to avoid becoming an obstacle to that struggle by resisting the supremacist urge to center darkness. www.the-reframe.com/total-eclips...

More than flawed… this irrational WSJ op-ed claims Medicare and Medicaid — bulwarks of health and financial security for 60 years — don’t improve health. So I assume we can remove whatever provides the op-ed author’s access to health coverage?