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EVERYTHING
Indiscriminate DOGE Cuts Could Hit Health Insurance for 30% of American Women
What: Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the former head of Medicare and Medicaid for the Biden administration, warned today that cuts made by Elon Musk’s DOGE team could be catastrophic for the massive insurance programs. Medicaid covers 40% of births in the US and Medicare insures 35 million women. Taken together, Medicare and Medicaid provide insurance for roughly 30% of American women.
Key line: “But [Brooks-LaSure] said these programs — which cover the health care of millions of Americans — are intricate and ‘you really have to make sure you understand what you are doing if you make a change to payments’ and ensure you’re not eliminating ‘people’s ability to get care.’”
Source: Politico
FERTILITY
The Trump IVF Executive Order…Just Asks for Policy Recommendations
What: The Trump administration issued an executive order on IVF, claiming to make progress on the president’s campaign promise to make IVF free. But the order simply asks an assistant to the president to compile a list of policy recommendations to reduce costs in the next 90 days.
Key line: “’I see this order as a first step,’ Ms. Collura, the head of [patient advocacy organization] Resolve, said. ‘We want to hold the administration accountable.’ She added that her organization had done a lot of work on this already and could hand proposed policy changes to the administration ‘on a silver platter.’”
Source: New York Times
ONCOLOGY
Breast Cancer Rate Increases Vary by Region
What: A study found that the increase in cancer rates among women ages 25-39 from 2001 to 2020 in the United States varied by geographic region. States in the Western region saw the fastest increase in rates, while states in the Northeast had the highest rate overall for women under 40. The South was the only region where breast cancer rates under 40 did not increase in the time period.
Key line: “The five states with the highest early-onset incidence from 2001 to 2020 were Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Connecticut…. ‘The increase in incidence we are seeing is alarming and cannot be explained by genetic factors alone, which evolve over much longer periods nor by changes in screening practices given that women under 40 years are below the recommended age for routine mammography screening,’ noted [Rebecca Kehm, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School].”
Source: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
CARDIOVASCULAR
Women More Likely to Get Infections After Heart Surgery
What: A study from the University of Michigan found women are more likely to develop an infection after heart surgery. Overall, 1 in 5 older adults developed an infection after surgery, but women had 60% greater odds than men of getting infections like a UTI, pneumonia, or sepsis.
Key line: “’Our investigations highlight persistent disparities in outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery that will require multidisciplinary efforts to correct,’ said J’undra N. Pegues, M.D., M.S., first author of the study on infection disparities.”
Source: University of Michigan
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Botox Resistance Is Rare – But Real
What: The Cut’s Beauty Editor tackles the topic of “botox resistance” – aka when Botox loses its potency for people who get it often. She talks to a dermatologist about how common this is, and how to prevent it.
Key line: “’We know that patients can get antibody formation to neuromodulators, and those antibodies can lead to resistance,’ says board-certified dermatologist Melissa K. Levin, M.D. Generally speaking, the incidence is pretty rare. ‘But it’s hard to give an exact percentage because there are many different types of neuromodulators, and resistance depends on which ones you’re getting and how often you’re getting them.’”
Source: The Cut
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