Isabella Cueto
@isabellacueto.bsky.social
Reporter covering chronic disease, MAHA and more for STAT. 🔗 https://www.statnews.com/staff/isabella-cueto/
Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · 6d agoMAHA wants to use nutrition to prevent and cure disease. That's dietitians' bread & butter. But the field is facing a litany of old and new problems that could derail the whole food-as-medicine endeavor. NEW w/ Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
MAHA wants to use nutrition to prevent and cure disease. That's dietitians' bread & butter. But the field is facing a litany of old and new problems that could derail the whole food-as-medicine endeavor. NEW w/ Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
As MAHA champions nutrition, it’s ignoring the experts, dietitians say
A key aspect of the Make America Healthy Again agenda could be hampered by a shrinking and underpaid workforce of registered dietitians.
statnews.com
After 14 years, there are new migraine prevention guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology. They feature many new treatments that have become available for people with 4+ migraine days per month – many of whom go without prophylactic treatment! www.statnews.com/2026/08/31/m...
New guidelines on migraine prevention reflect increasing options for patients
“There has been a wealth of new treatment available” for migraine prevention, said a co-author of new guidelines released Monday.
statnews.com
New documents raise questions about whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about his 2019 trip to Samoa, which he claimed had nothing to do with vaccines. www.statnews.com/2026/08/27/k...
RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian refute that testimony.
statnews.com
Federal government asks for public comment on a proposal that could upend science. Then, it quietly removes some comments. @aniloza.bsky.social scoop: www.statnews.com/2026/08/25/r...
Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website
Some comments on a proposed OMB research rule have been mysteriously removed from a public-facing government webpage.
statnews.com
tiny! 5-year-old! brains! by @mmolteni.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/b...
Brain organoids, kept alive more than five years, matured like human brains
Brain organoids kept alive more than five years continued to develop and mature, and showed molecular and genetic signatures like those of human brains.
statnews.com
How Heidi Overton became Trump's pick to lead the FDA (And what industry leaders, senators, and MAHA activists are saying about the possibility of her leading the agency) w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/h...
How Trump loyalist Heidi Overton became the president’s pick to run the FDA
If she wins confirmation as FDA commissioner, Heidi Overton will face plenty of big challenges.
statnews.com
Exclusive: The American Cancer Society has cancelled its alcohol industry fundraiser, a luxe gala in NYC which was scheduled for the fall. The event came under scrutiny earlier this summer after STAT reported the details of it for the first time. www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/c...
American Cancer Society cancels alcohol industry fundraiser
The American Cancer Society had an optics problem: its annual Wine and Spirits Industry's Gala. It decided to do something about it.
statnews.com
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sued the federal government today over how it rewrote dietary guidelines, including its quickly assembled panel of researchers w/ ties to beef, dairy, and other industries. New: www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/p...
Physician group sues Trump administration over dietary guidelines process
The suit, brought by a nonprofit that advocates for plant-based diets, claims HHS and the USDA used a “secret panel” of scientists to flip the food pyramid.
statnews.com
Extraordinary scenes at the White House today as the president takes the vaccine schedule into his own hands with an executive order. Via @danielpayne.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/10/t...
reposting this story because .... www.statnews.com/2025/09/26/t...
3 burning questions about the MMR vaccine, answered
President Trump has said the MMR vaccine should be broken up. But experts see no medical benefit in separating one shot into three.
statnews.com
Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 4w agoBREAKING — Trump is planning to sign an executive order today that calls for spacing out childhood vaccines, breaking the MMR into three separate shots and making other key vaccine changes. @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social
FDA is announcing new GRAS reforms today, which would give consumers insight into the chemical additives in their foods – some, for the first time. More deets, and reactions from some of the top players in this field, including David Kessler, here: www.statnews.com/2026/08/10/r...
FDA to require notice of additives in food supply for the first time
RFK Jr. is claiming a win with a new proposal on the food industry's GRAS loophole; nutrition advocates give mixed reviews.
statnews.com
Medicaid work rules are sowing confusion over who's sick enough to get health coverage, @isabellacueto.bsky.social reports: 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
In win for RFK Jr., Senate committee sends nominations of Erica Schwartz for CDC director and Sean Kaufman for ASPR to full Senate. www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/s...
Key Senate panel backs Trump’s picks for CDC, pandemic preparedness
In win for RFK Jr., Senate committee sends nominations of Erica Schwartz for CDC director and Sean Kaufman for ASPR to full Senate.
statnews.com
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
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
STAT is hiring a Washington D.C. correspondent! Join our bureau in the nation's capital to cover health policy, the Trump administration, and the money shaping health care. globe.rec.pro.ukg.net/BOS1501BGMP/...
globe.rec.pro.ukg.net
Join us next Weds (7/29) to talk about the US's alcohol problem and how to solve it: www.statnews.com/event/deadli...
Office Hours with Isabella Cueto and Lev Facher
Join the journalists behind STAT’s series 'The Deadliest Drug' at 1 p.m. on July 29 for a discussion on a public health epidemic, alcohol, hiding in plain sight.
statnews.com
People with diabetes are struggling to find refills on a popular long-acting insulin pen as others go off the market: www.statnews.com/2026/07/23/s...
Popular insulin product enters shortage as other pens leave market
The Lantus Solostar insulin pen isn't in official FDA shortage, but patients are having a tough time finding it.
statnews.com
An increasing number of adults hate their jobs but are keeping them solely for the health insurance. Job lock is as bad as ever. An indictment of the labor market and health care costs. www.statnews.com/2026/07/22/g...
More workers hate their jobs, but keep them for the health insurance
A new survey reveals 24% of U.S. workers stay in unwanted jobs to keep health insurance. Experts call it 'job lock.'
statnews.com
A study of locals' health after the Maui wildfires has unexpectedly turned into an innovative model for rural health care. But its future is uncertain. www.statnews.com/2026/07/22/m...
As Maui recovers from devastating fires, a study offers vision for new rural health model
A study of the long-term health impact of the Lahaina wildfires is inspiring a new model for disaster recovery and support.
statnews.com
What's with all the THC drinks everywhere?? @sarah-todd.bsky.social with another banger on the wild west of hemp beverages: www.statnews.com/2026/07/21/t...
THC drinks are sold beside sodas, iced tea, and even chocolate milk, often in violation of state laws
THC drinks, which have exploded in popularity in recent years, are sold in retail stores beside sodas, iced tea, and even chocolate milk, often in violation of state laws.
statnews.com
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
Hate having to re-up this story every year...Please don't go outside if you don't have to while air quality is bad. www.statnews.com/2023/06/07/t...
The Canada wildfires are exposing the harmful effects — and health inequities — of air pollution
"People that have to work outside all day and they already have underlying conditions, or people that cannot protect themselves, these are the ones that have the higher risk."
statnews.com
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
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
Our series, "The Deadliest Drug," captured the American drinking problem. Today we turn to solutions. Here are a dozen ways the U.S. can start addressing excessive drinking and its many harms. (No paywall!) www.statnews.com/2026/07/14/a...
12 ideas for tackling the U.S. alcohol epidemic
The U.S. can save lives from excess alcohol use without taking drastic measures. Here are 12 steps that can help.
statnews.com
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
