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Isabella Cueto

@isabellacueto.bsky.social

Reporter covering chronic disease, MAHA and more for STAT. 🔗 https://www.statnews.com/staff/isabella-cueto/

182 Posts2088 Follower194 Folgt
Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · 6d ago

For years, Red Bull funded research that showed consuming energy drinks and alcohol together is no more harmful than booze alone. That science became a policy backbone across the globe. The vast majority of independent studies disagree. Worth a read: www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/r...

Is it safe to drink Red Bull and alcohol? Questionable research tied to energy drink giant has shaped policy

Studies tied to Red Bull helped block warning labels about drinking alcohol along with energy drinks. Independent studies report risks in mixing the two.

statnews.com

Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · 6d ago

In Nebraska, the earliest adopter of Medicaid work reqs, low-income people are confused & scrambling to figure out what chronic diseases make them "medically frail," and how to prove they are too sick to work. Millions of Americans face the same situation come Jan. www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/m...

Chronically ill people face confusion over new Medicaid work rules and ‘medically frail’ exemption

Patients, advocates, and experts fear the difficulty in documenting a frailty exemption to Medicaid work requirements will lead to millions losing coverage.

statnews.com

Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · 2w ago

Telehealth company LifeMD has become a go-to for GLP-1s. But ex-employees, including the former COO, say it rushes through basics and skips clinical oversight once patients get on the powerful drugs. Some shocking details in this by @elaineywchen.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/07/20/l...

Telemedicine company touted by Novo Nordisk stressed profits over patient safety, ex-workers say

LifeMD, a popular telehealth company, has been accused by former employees of pressing clinicians to mete out prescriptions more rapidly without sufficient screening and follow-up.

statnews.com

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦@helenbranswell.bsky.social · 3w ago

The nominees for #CDC director & #ASPR head faced tough questioning from the Senate #HELP committee today. Chair Bill Cassidy, who's out of a job next Jan., was especially blunt with the pair, suggesting Erica Schwartz (CDC) spent the hearing trying not to answer Qs. www.statnews.com/2026/07/15/b...

Cassidy grills Trump nominee on past vaccine comments in heated exchange

Sean Kaufman, Trump's pick for a key pandemic preparedness role, has questioned vaccines and criticized the CDC.

statnews.com

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3w ago

RFK Jr. asked the National Institute of Health to dedicate $5 billion (!) to finding a link between vaccines and autism. "That would have dedicated more than a tenth of the NIH’s annual budget to investigating a hypothesis already refuted by scientists worldwide."

Inside RFK Jr.’s push to dismantle decades of U.S. vaccine policy

Insider accounts reveal the scale of the health secretary's ambitions to curb childhood immunizations and unearth a link between vaccines and autism.

reuters.com

Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · 4w ago

At a time when so much attention is given to the crisis of boys and men, here's a joyously normal snapshot: Kids hang out, play, learn together at a city boys' club. With sweet photos to boot! www.statnews.com/2026/07/10/b...

New York boys club has a time-tested recipe to protect members’ mental health

At a time when attention is deservedly being turned to the mental health crisis in boys, the Boys' Club of New York is a shelter from the storm for many of its members.

statnews.com

Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · last mo.

Trump officials have so far deprioritized alcohol, which many public health experts say is low-hanging fruit for addressing America's chronic health problems and eliminating unnecessary deaths. Once again: Alcohol causes more deaths each year in the US than at any point in the opioid crisis.

"To date, the administration’s most noteworthy actions on alcohol have consisted of burying a report that concluded light drinking poses risks; eliminating over half the staff at a federal agency focused on substance use; closing the alcohol program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and altering dietary guidelines to eliminate suggested drinking limits. That erasure is rippling through government: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism removed information about the health risks of moderate drinking from its website in January, according to archived versions of the page."
Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · last mo.

Part 6: Despite MAHA — and leaders who've been personally affected by alcohol addiction — the Trump administration is going soft on booze. It has cut science teams, prevention efforts, research into little-understood areas, and muddied messaging, plus more. www.statnews.com/2026/06/30/m...

dell cameron@dell.bsky.social · last mo.

NEW: The ICE office that customarily probes employee misconduct is being refocused to investigate ICE critics, opening hundreds of "doxing and threat" cases and subpoenaing tech companies to unmask anonymous posters. Detention facility inspections, meanwhile, are plummeting. by @regret.bsky.social

ICE’s Internal Watchdog Is Now Investigating Online Critics

The Office of Professional Responsibility has opened more than 100 cases over what ICE officials call “incidents of doxing and threats” against ICE employees.

wired.com

Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · last mo.

Today we take you inside the alcohol industry's influence. These are just some ways the beer, wine & liquor trades (and their stables of lobbyists) try to shape politics, policy, philanthropy, science. In the face of enormous business troubles, tactics are key: www.statnews.com/2026/07/01/a...

Booze schmooze: The alcohol industry, frazzled by headwinds, wields its power behind the scenes

Demand for alcohol is declining. The industry is fighting harder and more creatively than ever against limits — and winning.

statnews.com