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-- 2016 --
June 17: ... the Asbestos Disease Awareness
Organization (ADAO).
... has grown into a network made up of thousands of patients, caregivers, and
public health advocates from around the globe. They are responding in a big way
to Donald Trump’s ignorance about the roots of the anti-asbestos movement.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2016/06/17/the-donald-ignorant-on-public-health-too-asbestos-widow-schools-trump-about-the-magic-mineral/
September 28: The mechanical reasons for the
fall of the Twin Towers is well established: When two hijacked airplanes flew
into the towers, the buildings became structurally weakened and eventually
collapsed. Subsequently, fires ignited at impact and exacerbated by the jet fuel
spread during the collision caused the steel structural supports in the
buildings to weaken, eventually resulting in the collapse of both buildings.
Trump has a different idea. He believes that a lack of asbestos caused the
buildings to fall.
https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/staff/asbestos-and-the-dangers-of-a-trump-presidency.htm
September 28: In 2012, Trump doubled down
... in a
tweet, writing, “If we didn't remove incredibly powerful fire retardant
asbestos & replace it with junk that doesn't work, the World Trade Center would
never have burned down.”
https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/staff/asbestos-and-the-dangers-of-a-trump-presidency.htm
-- 2017 --
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February 27:
March 1: Foreign aid, which accounts for roughly 1% of the federal
budget, is expected to be high on the list of areas to cut [from Trump's
budget]. The US was heavily involved in combating the recent Ebola crisis in
West Africa. Had there not been the global response there could have been an
international pandemic ... If we were to significantly recede, it would be a
matter of life and death for a lot of people ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/politics/trump-budget-foreign-aid/index.html
May 11: While conservatives did challenge
many of former President
Barack Obama’s policies on immigration and healthcare, experts say
the sheer number of lawsuits Trump is facing — and the success they are having
so far — is what’s unprecedented.
http://thehill.com/regulation/332858-lawsuits-piling-up-against-trump
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March 23: [Who knew health care was so
complicated?] The 535 members of the 111th congress, and all of their aides, who
spent nearly a full year drafting the Affordable Care Act, that's who.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/23/1646512/-Risk-Corridors-or-How-Marco-Rubio-Broke-Obamacare
October 11: FDA Allows Temporary Saline
Imports to Deal With Shortages Caused by Hurricane Maria ...
The temporary imports are manufactured at Baxter facilities in Ireland and
Australia and the company notes that at this time, "No other entity except
Baxter is authorized by the FDA to import or distribute these products in the
United States."
http://www.raps.org/Regulatory-Focus/News/2017/10/11/28653/FDA-Allows-Temporary-Saline-Imports-to-Deal-With-Shortages-Caused-by-Hurricane-Maria/
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November 13: President Donald Trump on
Monday announced he is nominating Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical company
executive and George W. Bush administration official, to succeed Tom Price as
the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
[Azar became president of Eli Lilly USA in 2012] ... During Azar's tenure
leading Lilly, the company was accused of routinely increasing drug
prices.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/alex-azar-health-and-human-services-secretary/index.html
November 15: Some States Roll Back
‘Retroactive Medicaid,’ A Buffer For The Poor — And For Hospitals ... If you’re
poor, uninsured and fall seriously ill, in most states if you qualify for
Medicaid — but weren’t enrolled at the time — the program will pay your medical
bills going back three months. It protects hospitals, too, from having to absorb
the costs of caring for these patients.
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But a growing number of states are rescinding this benefit known as “retroactive
eligibility.”
Retroactive eligibility has been a feature of Medicaid for decades ...
https://thecaregiverspace.org/some-states-roll-back-retroactive-medicaid-a-buffer-for-the-poor-and-for-hospitals/
November 27: Puerto Rico's Medical
Manufacturers Worry Federal Tax Plan Could Kill Storm Recovery [via] the tax
bill that recently passed the House that would impose a 20 percent tax on goods
made in Puerto Rico and shipped to the U.S. mainland.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/11/27/566771228/puerto-ricos-medical-manufacturers-worry-federal-tax-plan-could-kill-storm-recov
December 15:
Trump
administration officials are forbidding officials at
the nation's top public health agency from using a list of seven words or
phrases ... The forbidden words are: "vulnerable," "entitlement," "diversity,"
"transgender," "fetus," "evidence-based" and "science-based."
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The longtime CDC analyst, whose job includes writing descriptions of the CDC's
work for the administration's annual spending blueprint, could not recall a
previous time when words were banned from budget documents because they were
considered controversial.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/16/health/cdc-banned-words/index.html
December 15: "The reaction of people in the
meeting was 'incredulous,'" [an] analyst said. "It was very much, 'Are you
serious? Are you kidding?' "
They weren't told why the words were banned, but you can draw your own
conclusions.
... who wants the agency responsible for stopping epidemics
from using science-based solutions?
As the Post notes, the CDC is tasked with studying the effects of Zika
on fetuses and stopping the spread of HIV in transgender populations, so it
looks like officials might have to get creative with their language when writing
their reports.
http://mashable.com/2017/12/15/cdc-banned-words-trump/#iglRHDnPhqqX
December 28: Trump fires all members of
HIV/AIDS council without explanation
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/12/28/trump-fires-members-hivaids-council/
-- 2018 --
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January 3: Puerto Rico hurricane contributed
to IV bag shortage at hospitals nationwide
“Since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, the FDA
has been working closely with Baxter and other companies to reduce the risk of
shortages of critically important drugs and to minimize impact on any existing
shortages. In particular, Baxter and the FDA have closely monitored and
identified ways to prevent a significant shortfall of production of Baxter’s
sodium chloride 0.9% injection bags from its Puerto Rico facility. Also known as
mini bags, this product is used to provide fluids and medicines to patients
across the U.S. ..."
https://www.abc15.com/news/national/puerto-rico-hurricane-contributed-to-iv-bag-shortage-at-hospitals-nationwide
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Undated 2018:
Some of the disadvantages of oil are that it is a nonrenewable
resource and creates air pollution. It also is
often produced by countries who are unstable politically, and it can be harmful
if spilled in the ocean or some other wildlife habitat.
Renewable resources are ones that regenerate themselves, such as wind or solar
power. Oil is a nonrenewable resource because there is a limited supply in the
world. When burned, the sulfur in oil turns into compounds that cause acid rain.
Oil spills are both costly and deadly. Cleaning up an oil spill uses resources,
and many animals in the area can be harmed by the spill. Animals can ingest the
oil, and birds' feathers can become coated in oil, causing them to lose
buoyancy.
https://www.reference.com/vehicles/disadvantages-oil-b84e57b9273742c4?aq=disadvantages+of+oil+drilling&qo=cdpArticles#
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April 23: Trump’s State Department Erases
Reproductive Rights From Human Rights Report
“Reproductive rights are human rights, and omitting the issue signals the Trump
Administration’s latest retreat from global leadership on human rights."
The report, titled “Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017,”
is meant to “document the status of human rights and worker rights in nearly 200
countries and territories” and is “used by a variety of actors, including the
U.S. Congress, the executive branch, and the judicial branch as a factual
resource for decision making in matters ranging from assistance to asylum.”
This year’s iteration of the human rights report eliminated sections on
“reproductive rights,”
which, according to
the Washington Post,
had been introduced during the Obama administration in the 2011 report that was
released the following year.
https://rewire.news/article/2018/04/23/trumps-state-department-erases-reproductive-rights-human-rights-report/
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June 25: "There are 70,000 ways the human
body can fail. We've generated 4,000 medical surgical procedures, 6,000 drugs,
and we're trying to deploy that capability town by town in the right way, at the
right time, for everybody alive. It's the most ambitious thing anybody has ever
attempted
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/25/dr_atul_gawande_at_aspen
June 29: Federal Judge Blocks Medicaid Work
Requirements In Kentucky
In
Friday's ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg called the Trump
administration's approval of the program, Kentucky HEALTH, "arbitrary and
capricious."
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/29/624807533/federal-judge-blocks-medicaid-work-requirements-in-kentucky
July 8:
Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution by U.S. Stuns World
Health Officials
[Trump Administration] American officials sought to water down the
resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote
and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to
restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have
deleterious effects on young children.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/health/world-health-breastfeeding-ecuador-trump.html
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July 9: President Donald Trump on Monday attacked a New
York Times story that reported how his administration attempted to weaken a
World Health Assembly resolution to promote breastfeeding, saying women
shouldn’t be denied access to formula.
... The resolution, introduced by Ecuador, did not bar the use of formula.
“The failing NY Times Fake News story today about breast feeding must be called
out. The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should
be denied access to formula. Many women need this option because of malnutrition
and poverty,” Trump said in a tweet.
When attempts to soften language in the resolution were unsuccessful, the U.S.
stunned the global community by threatening retaliatory trade measures against
Ecuador and the withdrawal of military aid, according to the Times report.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/09/trump-new-york-times-breastfeeding-703503
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July 10: Pfizer puts
price hikes on hold after Trump complains
The company said it made the decision "following an extensive discussion with
President Trump."
Pfizer, which hiked prices on nearly three dozen drugs on July 1, said it will
give the administration more time to work on its plan to overhaul the
pharmaceutical supply chain.
https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/10/news/companies/pfizer-trump-price-hikes-deferred/index.html
September 5: Where
'despair deaths' were higher, voters chose Trump
Counties where more people died of so-called
deaths of despair — from alcohol or drug abuse and suicide — voted more
heavily for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, new research shows.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/where-despair-deaths-were-higher-voters-chose-trump-n906631
September 20: The
Trump Administration Intends To Cut Cancer Research Funding To Pay For The Care
Of Immigrant Children
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The number of immigrant children in government custody has skyrocketed from
2,400 in May 2017 to 12,800 as of September this year.
Seeking additional funds to house and feed immigrant children separated from
their parents, the federal government intends to move money from maternal
health, mental health, AIDS, and substance abuse programs, as well as cancer
research.
In a letter sent on Sept. 5 to Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the head of the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar said he plans to shift
$266 million to the Unaccompanied Alien Children program in the Office of
Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/cancer-research-cuts-migrant-children
September
24: [From "why do people love -or
hate- Trump? Here Are The 20 Top Reasons "]
19. He cuts government services.
If you’re looking for work and need food stamps so you don’t starve to death
before you find a job, or if you’re a single mother with a deadbeat husband and
two babies to feed, or if you’re a mentally ill person in desperate need of care
or you very might well harm yourself or others, don’t look to President Trump.
He doesn’t care.
https://thoughtcatalog.com/jeremy-london/2018/07/why-do-people-hate-trump/
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October 22: The Trump administration is
trying to make it easier for states to undermine Obamacare on their own, and it
could reshape the US healthcare landscape
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hhs-cms-regulations-obamacare-aca-healthcare-waivers-2018-10
October 25: 2018 Is The Year Democrats Got
Comfortable Talking Health Care Again
... more than half of pro-Democratic TV ads in the home stretch to Election Day
have mentioned health care, compared to around one-third of Republican ads,
according to the
Wesleyan Media Project.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/25/660281890/2018-is-the-year-democrats-got-comfortable-talking-health-care-again
November 1:
Trump Administration Hands States Another Tool for Dismantling Preexisting
Condition Protections
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Last week, the Trump administration issued long-anticipated guidance regarding
the Affordable Care Act’s Section 1332 “innovation waiver” program. The release rebrands and creatively reimagines the ACA program (they’re now “State Relief
and Empowerment” waivers), breaking dramatically with past policy and, arguably,
with the statute it purports to interpret. In the administration’s view, the ACA
permits states to funnel federal dollars towards insurance products, such as
short-term plans, which do not meet the ACA’s key consumer protections, while
reducing support for consumers who depend on coverage compliant with the ACA’s
rules. Further, the new guidance assures states that they may push forward with
such policies even if they will have a detrimental effect on people with
preexisting conditions, those at lower incomes, or older Americans.
https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2018/11/01/trump-administration-hands-states-another-tool-for-dismantling-preexisting-condition-protections/
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Vast amounts of wetlands and thousands of miles of U.S. waterways would no
longer be federally protected by the Clean Water Act under a new proposal by the
Trump administration.
The proposal, announced Tuesday at the Environmental Protection Agency, would
change the EPA's definition of "waters of the United States," or WOTUS, limiting
the types of waterways that fall under federal protection to major waterways,
their tributaries, adjacent wetlands and a few other categories.
With lawsuits likely and a 60-day public comment period ahead, the
administration's proposal is far from becoming law.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/11/675477583/trump-epa-proposes-big-changes-to-federal-water-protections?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20181211&utm_campaign=breakingnews&utm_term=nprnews
December 14:
Former President Barack Obama released
a video
earlier this week urging people to hurry up and shop for health insurance on the
Affordable Care Act exchange.
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"This year I'm giving it to you straight," Obama says in the video. "It's
important to have health insurance in case, God forbid, you get really sick, or
hurt yourself next year."
"I hate to panic but I do think we're going to come in low on the federal
exchange, says
Rosemarie Day, CEO of Day Health Strategies. Day was the founding COO of
Massachusetts' state
exchange, which launched in 2006, long before the Affordable Care Act became
law.
She blames the lower enrollment on the Trump Administration's decision to slash
the advertising budget for open enrollment. Outreach, she says, is crucial to
making sure that people who need insurance know where and when to get it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/12/14/676526601/aca-sign-ups-have-lagged-for-2019-but-what-does-that-mean
December 15:
A federal judge in Texas said on Friday that the Affordable Care Act's
individual coverage mandate is unconstitutional and that the rest of the law
therefore cannot stand.
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The ruling and expected appeal sets up another cliffhanger in which the fate of
the law, which Republicans have unsuccessfully tried to repeal for years, will
likely once again ultimately lie with the Supreme Court.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/14/politics/texas-aca-lawsuit/index.html
December 15:
Obamacare Will ‘Likely’ Survive Judge’s Ruling, Obama Tweets
He reassures Americans as he reminds people to sign up for the health care
program before the deadline.
As “this decision makes it way through the courts, which will
take months, if not years, the law remains in place and will likely stay that
way,” he added. “Open enrollment is proceeding as planned today. A good way to
show that you’re tired of people trying to take away your health care is to go
get covered.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obamacare-will-likely-survive-judges-ruling-says-obama_us_5c158727e4b049efa752d780
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December 18:
An Epidemic Is Killing Thousands Of Coal Miners. Regulators Could Have Stopped
It
... an NPR/Frontline analysis of federal regulatory data — decades of
information recorded by dust-collection monitors placed where coal miners work —
has revealed a tragic failure to recognize and respond to clear signs of danger.
For decades, government regulators had evidence of excessive and toxic mine dust
exposures, the kind that can cause PMF [Primary Myelofibrosis / black lung
disease], as they were happening.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/18/675253856/an-epidemic-is-killing-thousands-of-coal-miners-regulators-could-have-stopped-it?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20181218&utm_campaign=breakingnews&utm_term=nprnews
December 18: Despite Court Ruling To
Eliminate Obamacare, States Plan To Expand Healthcare For The Poor
Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah recently approved plans to extend health
insurance to 331,000.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/medicaid-aca-healthcare-court_us_5c192b4de4b01954d9b0690a
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December 18: Dr. Leana Wen has only been at
the helm of
Planned Parenthood for a month, but she says the politically-driven attempts
to try and take
away access to their health care services are already a constant.
“We feel repeated attacks from the
Trump administration against reproductive health and women’s health almost
on a daily basis,” Wen, 35, tells PEOPLE. “We are very concerned about the Trump
administration’s efforts to attack science, to attack medicine, to attack the
fundamental right to health care.”
From politicians in Louisiana and Kansas
attempting to stop patients on Medicaid from
going to Planned Parenthood, to the
Trump administration finalizing a rule that would allow employers to deny
women birth control coverage, it’s been a busy few months.
“I mean, it’s 2018, and we’re still arguing over whether women should have
access to birth control,” Wen says. “There are multiple other efforts — I could
go on and on. We at Planned Parenthood won’t stand for that.”
https://people.com/health/planned-parenthood-president-repeated-attacks-trump-administration/
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December 21:
VA Says It Will Stop Arbitrarily Dropping Caregivers From Program
The VA became aware of "continued concerns expressed by Veterans, caregivers and
advocates about inconsistent application of eligibility requirements by VA
medical centers," the department said
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/21/679123976/va-says-it-will-stop-arbitrarily-dropping-caregivers-from-program?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20181221&utm_campaign=breakingnews&utm_term=nprnews
December 21: Deported Mexicans reported
being refused medical care while in US custody
"A man was deported with a broken collarbone protruding from his skin,”
researchers who surveyed deported Mexicans stated
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/deported-mexicans-reported-being-refused-medical-care-while-us-custody-n951121
-- 2019 --
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January 30:
Patients Suffer As Insurers And Big Health Systems Spar For Market Share
Contract disputes between insurers and medical providers have been a regular
feature of the national health industry for a long time. But the stakes have
risen as big players on both sides have expanded to gain market share and
leverage in network negotiations.
Most negotiations are completed before the old contract expires, and consumers
usually don't hear about these behind-the-scenes disagreements.
But when insurers and providers fail to reach an agreement on time, it can force
patients to pay higher prices for care that is no longer covered by their health
plans. At the least, it can cause considerable anxiety.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/30/689543362/patients-suffer-as-insurers-and-big-health-systems-spar-for-market-share?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20190130&utm_campaign=breakingnews&utm_term=nprnews
March 15: Trump’s
Methylene Chloride Rule Leaves Workers Exposed To Deadly Chemical
EPA abandons proposed ban on commercial uses of paint-stripping chemical linked
to dozens of workers’ deaths
n January 2017, EPA acknowledged those risks and proposed a ban on commercial
and consumer uses of methylene chloride paint strippers. Since then, at least
four people — including two workers — have died from methylene chloride
exposure. However, despite repeated promises to finalize that proposal, the
Trump administration reversed course and excluded workers from its final
methylene chloride rule.
The methylene chloride lawsuit filed by LCLAA, represented by Earthjustice, and
the Natural Resources Defense Council is currently pending in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York.
https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/trump-s-methylene-chloride-rule-leaves-workers-exposed-to-deadly-chemical
May 2:
A policy announced Thursday would
finalize broad rules to protect health workers and institutions from having to
violate their religious or moral beliefs by participating in abortions,
providing contraception, sterilization or other procedures.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/441812-trump-administration-creates-new-religious-moral-protections-for-health
May 4: 'Religious
freedom' rule could cause 'significant damage' to LGBTQ health care, advocates
say
“LGBTQ people, and especially transgender people, already suffer
disproportionate levels of discrimination in health care settings.”
The rule,
Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care, revises existing HHS
regulations to ensure “vigorous enforcement of Federal conscience and
anti-discrimination laws” and strengthens health care workers rights so they are
“free from coercion or discrimination” on account of their “religious beliefs or
moral convictions.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/religious-freedom-rule-could-cause-significant-damage-lgbtq-health-care-n1001996
-- 2020 --
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