The GAO has confirmed that AHRQ funding was illegally withheld. $80 million in health services research authorized by Congress never reached researchers, disrupting studies focused on patient safety, access, quality, and affordability. Read our response: buff.ly/k5xJhBS

GAO Finds AHRQ Funds Were Illegally Withheld

AcademyHealth applauds GAO investigation, which validates the intentional collapse of AHRQ grantmaking that AcademyHealth has documented over the last 18 months.

buff.ly

Just noticed @fda.gov has posted new transparency roadmap … and it’s a meaningful step forward. (I particularly appreciate the shout out to the 2009 transparency efforts.) www.fda.gov/news-events/...

Transparency Makes Modern Regulatory Science Stronger

FDA is taking a bold step to reinforce its commitment to transparency by releasing this new FDA Transparency Roadmap.

fda.gov

Vitamin A has saved lives across the globe, but supplementation isn't necessary for most people. A slate of @jhu.edu and @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social experts dive into a history of vitamin A supplementation and how it has shaped global health 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/from-saving-...

Just in case you weren’t already worried about an AI disaster….its worth hearing what Tom Inglesby has to say:

Public Health On Call Podcast@publichealthpod.bsky.social · last wk.

Worries about AI's potential for use in making biological weapons or dangerous new pathogens are intensifying. Tom Inglesby, director of @centerforhealthsecurity.org, covers what AI is currently capable of and what policies could shape responsible use 🔗 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/will-ai-gene...

Joshua, thank you. Hands down, this is one of the best analyses of the topic; I featured it today in The Standing Order. California is writing one of your conditions of use into law this week. nonalgorithmic.com/2026/09/29/s...

Who sets the rules of engagement for AI agents? California’s SB 903 and a regulator’s first principles

California’s SB 903 lets an AI score a screening questionnaire, but not decide what the score means.

nonalgorithmic.com

How should FDA -- if at all -- consider drug pricing in its regulatory actions? Caleigh Propes and I propose a framework in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. This all started with a friendly debate in early 2025 with @scottgottliebmd.bsky.social read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

This week, in @jamahealthforum.com, I tackle the question of regulating AI agents in medicine ... Spoiler alert: I am not calling for treating them like human clinicians. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Overseeing Agentic AI in Medicine From First Principles

This JAMA Forum discusses the use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents in health care, the need for regulation based on risk, and ways to share responsibility and adapt quickly.

jamanetwork.com

More evidence of the (preventable) expense of measles outbreaks. www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/meas... @cidrap.bsky.social

In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion over claims that it harmed children by fostering unhealthy digital habits. @drjthrul.bsky.social and Tamar Mendelson discuss what comes next and what parents should take away from the settlement. 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/meta-settled...

In states with abortion bans, medical providers are hesitating or flat-out refusing to terminate ectopic pregnancies, lawsuits allege. “I genuinely thought I was going to die,” said Kyleigh Thurman, who couldn’t get care in Texas.

Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.

With prompt and appropriate medical care, experts say, people shouldn’t die from an ectopic pregnancy. Women in Texas and Oklahoma have sued over delays in care, which, coupled with our new analysis, ...

propublica.org

Twenty years on from Gardasil vaccine launch, Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer

Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer 20 years on from vaccine launch

Twenty years on from the launch of the world-first vaccine against cervical cancer, Australian Immunisation Register data shows HPV vaccine coverage for girls and girls is dropping.

abc.net.au

Two people have died in Pennsylvania from measles, the state health department said. Both were unvaccinated. These the first deaths related to measles within the state in 35 years, it reports

2 people die from measles in Pennsylvania

Two people have died in Pennsylvania from measles, the state health department said Tuesday.

abcnews.com

My brother weighs in on the housing crisis! We Know How to Solve the Housing Crisis. We Just Have to Remember. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/o...

Opinion | How to Fix the Housing Crisis: Look to WWII

World War II proves the government can intervene directly to fix the housing crisis.

nytimes.com

Pilots and flight attendants can be exposed to dangerous levels of cosmic radiation over their careers. A new report from the @nationalacademies.org urges action, including guidance for airline safety programs and new ways to measure hazards. 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/the-workplac...

In the latest move to alter the childhood vaccine schedule, the president has signed an executive order seeking to restructure routine immunizations. @drjoshs.bsky.social explains what's in the executive order, what it means, and what comes next. 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/the-executiv...

This @drjoshs.bsky.social segment on MS NOW is such a calm, smart and respectful explanation of the science and why vaccines are so important It's kind of thing you can send to friends and family with questions or doubts, as a corrective to [sigh] what they might be hearing from the White House

Joshua Sharfstein@drjoshs.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Thanks to MS Now for the chance yesterday evening to talk about the recent vaccine executive order. @weeknightmsnow.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?si=Z2V...

For more on Trump's promotion of vaccine misinformation -- including thoughts from the very same @drjoshs.bsky.social among others -- you can read my latest at @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/vaccine-li...

Vaccine Lies, Direct from the Oval Office

“Nothing bad can happen,” Trump says—as measles levels keep rising.

thebulwark.com

Thanks to MS Now for the chance yesterday evening to talk about the recent vaccine executive order. @weeknightmsnow.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?si=Z2V...

'Pulled out of thin air': Pediatrician sounds alarm on Trump's dangerous new vaccine guidance

YouTube video by MS NOW

youtube.com

Every parent wants to keep their children safe, and vaccines are among the most powerful tools for doing that, making deadly diseases preventable.

A statement from AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine on today’s executive order on U.S. childhood vaccines: www.aap.org/en/news-room...

At a time when measles outbreaks are already threatening communities across the country, making vaccination more complicated and burdensome risks leaving more children vulnerable. Our response to the vaccine executive order: www.idsociety.org/news--public...

Finally, do you also want the joy of holding a hard copy issue of @jhppl.bsky.social? Did you know you could order all six issues annually in print and online for just $66 (for students is only $39)? WHAT A BARGAIN. Subscribe here: dukeupress.edu/jhppl

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law

dukeupress.edu

The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%. (Published May 2025)

Why Hospital Policies Matter in States That Ban Abortion

Our first-of-its-kind data analysis found that a seismic split emerged in how medical institutions in Texas' two largest metro areas, Houston and Dallas, treated miscarrying patients — and in their ou...

propublica.org

We’ve update our Medicaid enrollment tracker and the news for children isn’t good. Since January 2025 there has been a shocking drop of 2.3 million kids enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP. This means the child uninsured rate is likely going up.

I feel sick

Andy Kostka@afkostka.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Adley Rutschman of the Boston Red Sox

We spend more on health care than any other country yet still reward treatment more than prevention and keeping people healthy. This new @nam.edu report identifies 12 levers to better align financing with prevention, outcomes, and population health. doi.org/10.31478/202...

Anchoring Health Financing on Better Outcomes: System Drivers and Opportunities for Reform

The National Academy of Medicine convened an expert working group to review the landscape of health system financial incentives, identify key drivers of misalignment, and take stock of policy and prog...

doi.org

In June, the FDA convened an advisory committee to discuss whether seven selected peptides should be permitted for legal sale. @drjoshs.bsky.social explains what's happening and what it may mean for consumers and patients. 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/the-peptide-...

To help prevent heat-related deaths, the French government has asked postal workers to check in on older people.

As France’s Elders Swelter in the Heat, Postal Workers Come to the Rescue

To help prevent heat-related deaths, the French government has asked postal workers to check in on older people.

nyti.ms

It is appalling that the State of Tennessee is poised to pull hundreds of children off of ventilators, stop their chemotherapy, etc. as a result of an apparently unintended consequence of state immigration law. Learn what's happening in this podcast @ameracadpeds.bsky.social

Public Health On Call Podcast@publichealthpod.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Children in TN who need essential medical treatments but have no means to pay for them turn to the Children’s Special Services program. As a result of a new state law, hundreds of families were told to withdraw from the program or risk being reported to immigration officials. 🎧 t.jh.edu/nJwnfZ

New: Bipartisan hepatitis C legislation introduced in the House by Reps. Miller-Meeks, DeGette, Johnson, and Bacon. Senate version led by Sen. Cassidy and Sen. Van Hollen. The bill would cure >1 million Americans of a lethal infection and save taxpayers $$$. millermeeks.house.gov/sites/evo-su...