Sarah Todd
@sarah-todd.bsky.social
Commercial determinants of health reporter @STAT, previously @qz she/her DM me on Signal: @sarahlizchar.47 newsletter: http://fororagainst.substack.com
A neurologist who was used to delivering ALS diagnoses find himself on the receiving end of one, and takes some important lessons away from the experience. Via @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/08/03/a...
I’m a neurologist. I’ve delivered ALS diagnoses. Then I received one myself
“Losing the ability to speak has taught me how quickly society conflates physical dependence with diminished personhood,” writes Dr. Christopher Campos.
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
For more than a decade, Red Bull been funding research favorable to the idea of mixing alcohol and energy drinks: 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
What to expect from the FDA's advisory committee meeting today and Friday, where peptide enthusiasts and FDA staff will discuss whether to make certain peptides more accessible. W/ @sarah-todd.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/07/23/f...
FDA staff and peptide enthusiasts set to clash at advisory panel
FDA advisers are set to consider whether allowing compounding pharmacies to offer largely unproven peptides is a safer bet than the gray-market versions now in use.
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
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
Lots of grocery stores and delis in NY stock drinks with 5, 10, and even 100 mg of THC — right alongside sodas, lemonade, and chocolate milk, with little in the way of signage alerting customers to their contents. Pediatric ER doctors say it's a real problem: 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
This is such an affecting, upsetting essay -- by a physician whose suicidal husband could have been helped by an inpatient psychiatric facility, but whose insurance company denied him coverage and had him forcibly discharged www.statnews.com/2026/07/20/p...
My husband’s suicide shows there’s something very wrong with the U.S. insurance industry
“My love for Randy and my professional experience were not enough to save him,” a physician writes about her husband’s suicide.
statnews.com
The Trump admin cut 988's LGBTQ+ youth line a year ago today. Now, officials say they're bringing it back, but with a big caveat. It seemed like a good time to talk with the Trevor Project's director of crisis intervention about what actually happens on these calls: www.statnews.com/2026/07/17/t...
Why affirming trans identities can be critical for suicide prevention counseling
Advocates worry that excluding trans youth in some way from LGBTQ+ counseling services provided through the 988 crisis line could be harmful.
statnews.com
Don't miss @hopecorrigan.bsky.social's story about a Texas ban on hardcover and used books in prisons (purportedly to crack down on drug contraband, though it's unclear how big a problem that actually is). That's put Texas's only prison book program in limbo: www.texasobserver.org/prison-crack...
Throwing the Book at Books in Prison
Inside Books Project volunteers have sent used books to Texas inmates for nearly 30 years. A new crackdown is threatening their work.
texasobserver.org
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
Space sugar! apnews.com/article/eryt...
In a sweet discovery, astronomers find sugar lurking in the space between stars
Astronomers have detected a type of sugar in space that’s also found in raspberries. The sugar, called erythrulose, lurks in interstellar space, or the space between stars.
apnews.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
Don't miss this unforgettable story of one father's quest to cure his daughter, from @jasonmast.bsky.social @matthewherper.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/07/09/m...
The quest to save Grace — and clear the way for rare disease patients everywhere
How a father’s quest may shape the future of rare disease gene therapy.
statnews.com
I talked with Studio 2 at WHYY on Zyn and tobacco's cultural comeback: whyy.org/episodes/nic...
Is nicotine back? - WHYY
American smoking rates have reached historic lows, but cigarettes are all over pop culture, as are nicotine products like vapes and pouches.
whyy.org
Longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has autoimmune gastritis: "My stomach is eating itself," he wrote. Experts say this could raise awareness over a chronic disease that's very hard to diagnose, and often missed by gastroenterologists: www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/b...
Bryan Johnson’s chronic disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose
Why longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson’s chronic disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose.
statnews.com
On the return of the presidential fitness test, bane of my middle-school existence and a "double-edged sword": “We can identify children who need intervention … [but] this kind of testing can be embarrassing and can turn people off from physical activity.” www.statnews.com/2026/07/02/p...
The new presidential fitness test is a positive step, not the solution, experts say
Physical activity needs to be fun to keep kids engaged. And the test risks embarrassing them, instead.
statnews.com
Demand for alcohol is declining. The industry is fighting harder and more creatively than ever against limits — and winning. 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
NEW: Many of the new members of an FDA committee who will be advising the agency on peptides are involved with businesses that promote and prescribe peptides. More w/ @sarah-todd.bsky.social here: www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/n...
Longevity, wellness physicians named to panel advising FDA on peptides
The panel will soon consider whether to relax restrictions on certain peptides.
statnews.com
‘"We’re not that kind of ER” may be the most chilling quote in this tour de force from @tarabannow.bsky.social at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/n...
The ERs that can turn patients away — and are reaping millions
The hospital operator Nutex enriched itself by exploiting loopholes in laws meant to protect patients, STAT found.
statnews.com
Imagine showing up to an ER thinking you're having a heart attack — only to be turned away because you don't have insurance. @tarabannow.bsky.social reports on how hospitals like Nurex Health, which don't contract with Medicare, can boot patients from their ERs: www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/n...
The ERs that can turn patients away — and are reaping millions
The hospital operator Nutex enriched itself by exploiting loopholes in laws meant to protect patients, STAT found.
statnews.com
New vid with @lizzylawrence.bsky.social about her reporting on this ~mysterious~ compassionate use application @statnews.com
Lizzy Lawrence@lizzylawrence.bsky.social · last mo.EXCLUSIVE: Eli Lilly gave compassionate use access to retatrutide, their unapproved powerful obesity drug, to a 79-year-old man in April. The application was arranged by a top doctor at NIH, and cleared by the FDA. www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e...
Lots of people want access to the powerful obesity drug retatrutide. One 79-year-old man got it via the FDA's compassionate use program — a highly unusual act that prompted STAT to ask if the person was President Trump. By the great @lizzylawrence.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e...
Eli Lilly gave extraordinary obesity drug access to a 79-year-old patient. Who was it?
Exclusive: STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA allowed a 79-year-old to gain extraordinary access to an experimental obesity drug through the agency’s “compassionate use” program.
statnews.com
A judge strikes down bans on using food stamps for junk food, soda and energy drinks, which had been approved in 20+ states and were among MAHA's biggest policy wins The judge said the Agriculture Dept had exceeded its authority in approving the bans, which required an act of Congress
Judge Blocks Bans on Using Food Stamps for Sugary Drinks and Candy
nytimes.com
Nara Organics has been linked to infant botulism — the second formula brand linked to an outbreak in less than a year, with ByHeart as the first. I wrote about the families affected and how high-end, "natural" marketing tries to convey safety (without evidence): www.statnews.com/2026/06/18/b...
New infant botulism outbreak puts fancy formulas under scrutiny
A new infant botulism outbreak puts fancy formulas that position their products as safer than other options under scrutiny.
statnews.com
California's wave of laws cracking down on ultra-processed foods in schools, additives, & dyes are thanks to legislator Jesse Gabriel. Read about how he came to lead this fight: www.statnews.com/2026/06/15/j...
One California politician’s unexpected crusade against ultra-processed food
Jesse Gabriel "has passed more food policy in three years than most legislators enact in their entire careers," says one supporter.
statnews.com
my latest @consumerreports.org investigation is based on months of reporting and 120+ lab tests of popular snacks over a third of the products had more additives / contaminants in 1 serving than what health agencies have identified as safe to consume daily 🧵 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
These Popular Snacks Contain High Levels of Additives and Contaminants - Consumer Reports
Tests by Consumer Reports and Yuka found high levels of additives and contaminants in popular products from Cheetos, Hostess, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Takis, and more.
consumerreports.org
Better sunscreen woot woot www.fda.gov/news-events/...
FDA Expands Sunscreen Options for the First Time in 20 Years
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added bemotrizinol to the list of permitted sunscreen active ingredients, marking a significant milestone in the agency's efforts to advance sunscreen inno...
fda.gov
NEW: Regulators have linked Mark McAfee’s raw dairy farm to more than a dozen recalls and outbreaks that left hundreds of people ill. “I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital,” McAfee said. “But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer.”
He Profits Off Raw Milk That's Making People Sick. The Government Isn't Stopping Him.
With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that's been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
propublica.org
Evidence is mixed on alcohol's health impacts at low levels. But a new paper, suppressed by the Trump admin, finds that just 1 drink/day = higher risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal and oral cancers, & among females, liver cancer. @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/s...
Alcohol study discarded by Trump officials is published in scientific journal
A government-commissioned study had been meant to inform new dietary guidelines, and found risks associated with even light drinking.
statnews.com