The New York Times: Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum
Federal health officials are examining the feasibility of taking aluminum salts out of vaccines, a prospect that vaccine experts said would wipe out about half of the nation’s supply of childhood inoculations and affect shots that protect against whooping cough, polio and deadly flu. The review at the Food and Drug Administration began after President Trump listed aluminum in vaccines as harmful during a press briefing about the unproven link between Tylenol and autism. (Jewett, 10/15)

More on vaccines for covid, measles, and flu —

Bloomberg: Pfizer CEO Says Vaccine Approvals Tougher Amid US Policy Overhaul
Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said that vaccines are harder to get approved right now as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks to overhaul the country’s immunization policies. “It’s not harder to get drug approvals right now, it’s harder to get vaccine approvals,” Bourla said Wednesday during a wide-ranging conversation with CNBC that waded into his company’s US investments, deal with the Trump administration and the country’s current regulatory environment. (Peterson and Muller, 10/15)

CIDRAP: Study Finds No Link Between MRNA COVID Vaccines Early In Pregnancy And Birth Defects
mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in the first trimester of pregnancy isn't tied to an elevated risk of 75 major congenital malformations (MCMs) affecting 13 organ systems, supporting the safety of the vaccines in early pregnancy, French researchers write today in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 10/15)

SC Daily Gazette: SC Offering Free Measles Vaccines Amid Growing Upstate Outbreak
Unvaccinated South Carolinians can get a measles shot for free at mobile vaccine clinics rolling across Spartanburg County this week and next amid an ongoing and growing outbreak. The state’s public health agency is offering the free shots as officials urged the unvaccinated to get a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. (Holdman, 10/15)

Atlanta News First: Doctors Warn Flu Season Could Be Especially Dangerous As Vaccination Rates Lag
On a call with reporters Wednesday, former CDC officials Demetre Daskalakis and Debra Houry said the U.S. is heading into flu season underprepared, citing recent staff cuts and the absence of a major public vaccination campaign. In previous years, the agency pushed a “wild vs. mild” message — that a flu shot could turn a severe infection into something much milder. (Kousouris, 10/15)

More on RFK Jr. and MAHA —

The Washington Post: Democratic Governors Form Public Health Alliance To Counter RFK Jr. 
Fifteen Democratic governors on Wednesday announced the formation of a state public health alliance designed to counter turmoil at federal agencies under the Trump administration. Leaders of the Governors Public Health Alliance said it will serve as a hub for governors and public health leaders to monitor disease outbreaks, establish public health policy guidance, prepare for pandemics and buy vaccines and other supplies. (Ovalle and Sun, 10/15)

Stat: GSK CEO Plays Down Role In Bid To Use Leucovorin As Autism Treatment
The CEO of the drugmaker GSK on Wednesday said the company has had a minimal role in the Food and Drug Administration’s effort to update the prescribing information of a long-shelved drug so that it can be used to treat a condition often associated with autism. (Chen, 10/15)

KFF Health News: It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s A Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing At Kennedy's HHS
While plowing a wheat field in rural Washington state in the 1990s, William Wallace spotted a gray plane overhead that he believed was releasing chemicals to make him sick. The rancher began to suspect that all white vapor trails from aircraft might be dangerous. He shared his concern with reporters, acknowledging it sounded a little like “The X Files,” a science fiction television show. (Armour, 10/16)

CNN: Can Casey Means, Trump’s Surgeon General Pick, Convince The Country That RFK Will Make America Healthy Again? 
A series of tumultuous health policy changes seem to have shaken faith in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quest to tackle chronic disease and question science. Fifty-nine percent of Americans now disapprove of the Health and Human Services secretary’s performance, according to a KFF poll released last week. And six surgeons general from Democratic and Republican administrations, including President Donald Trump’s first term, say he is “endangering the health of the nation.” Jerome Adams, Trump’s surgeon general from his first term, even said he should be fired. (Owermohle, 10/15)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Decimates Birth Control Office In Layoffs
The Trump administration has targeted a federal office that oversees a $300 million family planning program for layoffs, raising fears that it is effectively ending an initiative that provides contraception for millions of low-income women, according to three people with knowledge of the events. The decimation of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs — part of a larger effort by President Trump to fire federal employees during the government shutdown — threatens a program that has existed for over 50 years and also offers testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as basic infertility care. (Kitchener, 10/15)

CBS News: After CDC Cuts, Former Officials Say "We're Not Prepared" For Daily Public Health Or Emergencies
Days after hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were laid off, former CDC officials are warning it has left the agency more unprepared to keep Americans healthy and safe. While 1,300 CDC employees initially received reduction-in-force notices on Friday, about 700 were later notified their terminations were revoked, union officials said. Some of the RIF notices had been sent to CDC employees due to a coding error, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said. (Moniuszko, 10/15)

The Hill: Union: Nearly 1 In 4 CDC Staffers Laid Off In 2025
Nearly a quarter of staffers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been removed from the agency through reduction in force (RIF) notices this year, according to the union representing federal workers. With the most recent round of layoffs this past weekend, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2883 estimates roughly 3,000 of the more than 13,000 employees that the CDC had at the start of the year have received RIF notices. (Choi, 10/15)

More on the shutdown and how it's affecting the health industry —

AP: Senate Democrats Ready To Reject Government Funding Bill Again Over Health Care
Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. (Groves and Jalonick, 10/16)

The Hill: John Fetterman Criticizes Democrats Over Government Shutdown
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has criticized Democrats over the government shutdown, adding that discussions on health care subsidies can take place when the government is funded. “I follow country, then party,” Fetterman said at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday night during NewsNation’s live town hall. (Mancini, 10/15)

Stat: CMS Backs Off Pause On Medicare Doctor Payments Amid Shutdown
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Wednesday that it was not pausing all Medicare payments to doctors, after a statement earlier in the day stated it would. Instead, the agency will only wait to process claims that are related to programs that have expired, such as some telehealth or rural services. (Payne and Bannow, 10/15)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid DSH Payments Are Getting Cut. Here's What To Know
Hospitals that treat large numbers of low-income uninsured patients at long last are confronting a Medicaid cut that had been kicked down the road for more than a decade. The government shut down Oct. 1 when Congress failed to enact fiscal 2026 appropriations bills to finance federal operations. Simultaneously, a number of key healthcare policies expired because of the deadlock, including a provision to delay a reduction in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital, or DSH, payments. (Early, 10/15)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital-At-Home Programs, Vendors Seek Workarounds Amid Shutdown
Health systems are seeking workarounds and trying to contain vendor costs as the ongoing government shutdown impacts hospital-at-home programs nationwide. Some health systems are still allowing patients with private insurance to receive acute-level care where they live, while Medicare patients are sidelined from hospital-at-home service until Congress decides the program’s future. Although many providers remain bullish about home-based acute care, others considering launching hospital-at-home could be having second thoughts as the shutdown has entered its third week. (Eastabrook, 10/15)

Related news about the Affordable Care Act —

NBC News: Idaho Kicks Off Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment As Premiums Are Set To Rise Nationwide
On Wednesday, open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans began in Idaho, offering a preview to the rest of the country of how much monthly premiums are set to increase in 2026. Many Idahoans will have to decide whether they’ll be able to afford coverage once the enhanced subsidies that kept premiums lower for many middle-class families expire at the end of the year. (Lovelace Jr., 10/15)

The Hill: If Obamcare Tax Credits Expire, This Is Who Could Lose Health Insurance
The fight over enhanced premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) marketplace drags on in Congress as crucial deadlines draw near and certain groups stand to be hit the hardest if an agreement to extend the subsidies doesn’t materialize. Estimates of how many will be impacted by expiring tax credits have ranged from 3 million to more than 4 million enrollees. Based on early projections, this subsection is likely to be younger. (Choi, 10/15)

USA Today: CVS Takes Over Rite Aid Assets In Bankruptcy Deal
CVS Pharmacy announced it would take over select Rite Aid assets across the United States, including the prescription files from 626 stores, in a news release on Oct. 15. The drugstore chain acquired stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington as well as prescriptions in 15 states, resulting in the company gaining over 9 million former Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs patients. (Powel, 10/15)

More pharmaceutical news —

The New York Times: America Is Heavily Reliant On China For Raw Materials In Medicines 
For years, Democrats and Republicans have sounded the alarm about America’s dependence on China for medicines. An analysis published on Wednesday shows just how deep that reliance is at the earliest stage of the drug manufacturing process: Nearly 700 U.S. medicines use at least one chemical solely sourced from China. As tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent years, experts fear that this reliance could leave American patients vulnerable, especially if a trade war or future pandemic prompts China to curtail exports. Supply shortages for some generic medicines have already grown common. (Robbins, 10/15)

Stat: Baby KJ’S Doctors Will Ask FDA This Winter To OK A Clinical Trial Of Pioneering Gene Editing Approach
It was an ordinary moment, but it meant everything to the father of a little boy with the rarest of diseases. Last month, in the final seconds of a Sunday night football game, as Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis blocked a Los Angeles Rams field goal attempt to lock up a victory for Philadelphia, an exultant Kyle Muldoon lifted his 1-year-old son, KJ, in front of the TV in their living room. KJ, startled by the gesture, started to cry. (Molteni, 10/16)

MedPage Today: Popular Oral Drug For Diabetes May Hold 'Intriguing' Side Benefit
Type 2 diabetes patients starting on SGLT2 inhibitors had a sightly lower risk of autoimmune rheumatic diseases compared with those initiating sulfonylureas, a large retrospective Korean study found. (Monaco, 10/15)

Stat: Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatments At Risk In Funding Cuts 
Macrophages are nicknamed the guardians of the body, known for detecting and then clearing damage from organs and tissues. That can also have a dark side:  By weakening inflammation, they can undermine immune cells that attack tumor cells. (Cooney, 10/16)

The Washington Post: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Provider Directory Mired In Errors
Ahead of the open enrollment period for Medicare Advantage plans that began Wednesday, the Trump administration created a directory to help millions of seniors look up which doctors and medical providers accept which insurance. But the portal frequently produces erroneous and conflicting information, The Washington Post found, setting off a scramble inside the federal government to fix it. Left unaddressed, the problems could confuse older adults as they sift through dozens of options, or force them to foot the bill for regular medical appointments, according to Medicare experts and patient advocates. (Diamond and Johnson, 10/15)

Modern Healthcare: Inside Humana’s Plan For Medicare Advantage Ratings Improvement
Humana has a strategy to rehabilitate its Medicare Advantage star ratings: Steer new members toward its top-scoring products and away from lower-performing ones. Like its rivals, Humana has struggled to secure the highest Medicare Advantage star ratings, costing the company lucrative bonus payments that come with superior quality measurements. The stakes are high for Humana, which gets more than 80% of its insurance premium revenue from Medicare and is second in Medicare Advantage market share to UnitedHealth Group subsidiary UnitedHealthcare. (Tong, 10/15)

MedPage Today: Which States Are Best For Medicare Beneficiaries?
Vermont, Utah, and Minnesota led the nation in ranking Medicare beneficiaries' experiences with the program and its benefits, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund. The three lowest-ranked states were Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky, said Gretchen Jacobson, PhD, vice president of Medicare at the Commonwealth Fund, and co-authors. (Firth, 10/16)

On the fight against health misinformation —

NPR: In Rural America, Scarce Doctors Battle Misinformation As They Practice Medicine
Conspiracy theories about health fill a vacuum created by the lack of doctors in many rural communities. Meanwhile, doctors in these areas say patients have become increasingly distrustful and sometimes hostile. (Noguchi, 10/15)

Stat: Health Creator Doctor Mike Rips AMA Over Misinformation Response 
Mike Varshavski, a family physician and content creator who goes by Doctor Mike on YouTube, has made it his mission to combat medical misinformation. He’s attracted 14 million followers by communicating both clearly and entertainingly. He wishes leaders in medicine like the American Medical Association would do the same, he told attendees at the STAT Summit on Wednesday. (Gaffney, 10/15)

Stat: Former CDC Officials Say It's Up To Doctors To Provide Trusted Advice 
It’s getting harder to trust guidance coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, creating an opening for physician groups to step up and fill the void, two former top agency officials said on Wednesday. (Cirruzzo, 10/15)

AP: This Family Visit To A Military Base Ended With ICE Deporting A Marine’s Dad
Parents of a U.S. Marine were detained by federal immigration officials and one of them was later deported after visiting family members at a California military base, a case that has drawn attention to how the government’s immigration crackdown is touching military families. Steve Rios, a Marine from Oceanside, California, told NBC 7 San Diego that his parents, Esteban Rios and Luisa Rodriguez, were taken into custody late last month while picking up his pregnant sister, Ashley Rios, and her husband, who is also a Marine, at Camp Pendleton. (10/15)

AP: What To Know About Deporting Family Members Of US Troops
Have other military members’ families been detained? Yes. A Marine Corps veteran’s wife, who was seeking a green card, was detained in May in Louisiana but a judge barred her removal. And veterans without citizenship are increasingly worried about deportation. (Bedayn, 10/15)

Capital & Main: People In ICE Custody Face Invasive Strip Searches After Visits With Loved Ones
Some people decide not to participate in in-person visitation because they don't want to take off all their clothes in front of a guard. (Morrissey, 10/14)

More news on race and health —

The New York Times: Gavin Newsom Vetoes Reparations Bills In California 
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed bills that would have provided tangible benefits to those descendants, though he approved a state agency to determine who qualifies for potential reparations. (Rosenhall, 10/15)

Other health news from across the U.S. —

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Drug Overdose Deaths Drop For Second Straight Year 
Drug overdose deaths in Missouri decreased for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to the latest data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The drop in drug-related fatalities — a 26% decrease compared with the previous year — brings the total to its lowest number since 2017. (Fentem, 10/16)

ProPublica and Idaho Statesman: Disabled Idaho Students Lack Access to Playgrounds and Lunchrooms. Historic $2 Billion Funding Will Do Little to Help.
Despite federal law, disabled students can’t access playgrounds, lunchrooms, classes and bathrooms. With added funding, school districts are still unable to make necessary fixes. (Savransky, 10/15)

The CT Mirror: Report: Summer Heat Threatens Health At CT Prisons
High indoor temperatures combined with a lack of cold drinking water and cooling fans in three of the state’s prisons during the summer months is risking the health of incarcerated individuals and may violate their constitutional rights, according to a new report from the correction ombuds. (Otte, 10/15)

Kera News: Texas Rural Hospitals Want A Piece Of $50B In Federal Funds
As Texas develops its application for a new rural health funding program, rural hospital leaders say the priority should be financial stabilization for their facilities. (Ruhman, 10/15)

The Texas Tribune: USDA Rejects Texas Ag Department's Fly Trap To Prevent Screwworm Larvae From Infecting Cattle
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is trading barbs with the Trump Administration over its response to a parasitic pest that continues to make its way north in Mexico, and could potentially threaten the state’s $15 billion cattle industry if it crosses the border. This week, in an interview with a Nashville television network that focuses on rural issues, Miller expressed frustration that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not using a synthetic bait that he has promoted to combat the New World Screwworm, a fly that infects warm-blooded animals and recently has been spotted less than 100 miles from the border. (McGee, 10/15)

The Texas Tribune: How Texas Planned Parenthood Is Surviving Without Public Funds
On Sept. 30, Planned Parenthood’s Gulf Coast branch in Houston, which ran the organization’s largest clinic in the country, shuttered to merge with another affiliate. Anti-abortion groups celebrated this shutdown, saying they were one step closer to pushing the health care provider from the state and, eventually, the nation. (Byman, 10/15)

The Washington Post: No Amount Of Alcohol Is Safe, At Least For Dementia Risk 
For years, the common wisdom and science was that a little bit of alcohol wasn’t bad — and even beneficial — for your health: A toast to moderation. But new research published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine suggests that even light alcohol consumption can increase dementia risk. (Sima, 10/15)

More on dementia and aging —

MedPage Today: Benzodiazepines, Antipsychotics Raise Mortality Risk For Some Dementia Patients
Older adults with Alzheimer's disease or dementia who were newly prescribed benzodiazepines or antipsychotic drugs in hospice had higher mortality than those who didn't get the drugs, a case-control analysis of Medicare claims data showed. (George, 10/15)

NPR: 'Death Fold' Proteins Can Make Cells Self-Destruct. Scientists Want To Control Them 
In Alzheimer's, brain cells die too soon. In cancer, dangerous cells don't die soon enough. That's because both diseases alter the way cells decide when to end their lives, a process called programmed cell death. "Cell death sounds morbid, but it's essential for our health," says Douglas Green, who has spent decades studying the process at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. So researchers have been searching for disease treatments that "modify or modulate the tendency of a cell to die," Green says. (Hamilton, 10/16)

KFF Health News: An Age-Old Fear Grows More Common: ‘I’m Going To Die Alone’
This summer, at dinner with her best friend, Jacki Barden raised an uncomfortable topic: the possibility that she might die alone. “I have no children, no husband, no siblings,” Barden remembered saying. “Who’s going to hold my hand while I die?” (Graham, 10/16)

In other health and wellness news —

AP: Report Suggests US Obesity Epidemic May Be Improving
For the first time in more than a decade, the number of states with rates of obesity of 35% or more dropped, an encouraging sign that America’s epidemic of excess weight might be improving. But cuts to federal staff and programs that address chronic disease could endanger that progress, according to a new report released Thursday. Nineteen states had obesity rates of 35% or higher in 2024, down from 23 states the year before, according to an analysis of the latest data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Aleccia, 10/16)

AP: Indonesia Finds Radioactive Element At Clove Plantation
Indonesia detected traces of radioactive cesium 137 at a clove plantation as it searches for the source of radioactive contamination that forced recalls of shrimp and spices exported to the U.S., a task force investigating the issue said Wednesday. U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials blocked the import of all spices processed by PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia in September after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California. (Tarigan, 10/15)

The Hill: Cinnamon Recall: FDA Warns 16 Brands Have Elevated Lead Levels
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded an existing recall for cinnamon that was found to contain elevated lead levels. Ground cinnamon from HAETAE, Roshni, Durra and Wise Wife have joined a dozen other brands that “may be unsafe” to consume, according to the most recent updates from the FDA. (Kutz, 10/14)

The Washington Post: The Protein Powders Consumer Reports Found To Have Unsafe Levels Of Lead
More than a dozen protein powders tested for toxic metals were found to have unsafe or concerning amounts of lead, the nonprofit watchdog Consumer Reports said Tuesday, adding that the average lead levels in such products appear to be worsening compared to years prior. Of 23 protein powders tested, more than two-thirds contained more lead in a single serving than is considered safe to ingest in a day, Consumer Reports said, citing its own safety standards. (Kasulis Cho, 10/15)

CBS News: Ben's Original Recalls Some Rice Products Due To Possible Presence Of Small Stones 
Ben's Original is recalling a limited number of rice products due to the possible presence of small stones, according to federal health officials. In an announcement shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Tuesday, officials said the stones are naturally occurring and originate from the rice farm, but that they pose possible risk of oral or digestive tract injury if consumed. (Moniuszko, 10/15)

Also —

AP: World Is On Track To Add Nearly 2 Months Of Superhot Days, Study Finds
The world is on track to add nearly two months of dangerous superhot days each year by the end of the century, with poorer small nations hit far more often than the biggest carbon-polluting countries, a study released Thursday found. But efforts to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases that started 10 years ago with the Paris climate agreement have had a significant effect. Without them Earth would be heading to an additional 114 days a year of those deadly extra hot days, the same study found. (Borenstein, 10/16)

CIDRAP: HEPA Purifiers Not Tied To Less Viral Exposure In Elementary Classrooms, Analysis Finds 
A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial of 200 US elementary-school classrooms concludes that portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers were linked with a modest reduction in respiratory virus diversity but not less viral exposure. (Van Beusekom, 10/13)

MedPage Today: In Brain Stim For Depression, Early Heart Rate Changes May Signal Response
Early heart rate changes after starting intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) for major depressive disorder (MDD) could help serve as a predictor of treatment response, a quadruple-blind crossover trial indicated. (Monaco, 10/14)

Fox News: Taking Vitamin D2 Supplements Can Lower Vitamin D3 In Body, Research Shows
Vitamin D is known to be essential to many aspects of human health — but a new study suggests that taking a certain form of it can have a negative effect. The more potent and longer-lasting form, vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is produced naturally when the body is exposed to sunlight and is also found in animal products, while vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) comes from plant or fungal sources, per the National Institutes of Health. (Rudy, 10/13)

MedPage Today: Radiation-Free Approach Promising For Some Locally Advanced Lung Cancers 
In a small phase II trial, radiation-free treatment with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and platinum-based chemotherapy alone proved promising for patients with unresectable, locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and high PD-L1 expression. (Bassett, 10/13)

MedPage Today: Double-Action Lupus Drug Looks Good In Phase III Trial 
A novel drug for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) first developed in China, and approved there since 2021, did well enough in a new placebo-controlled phase III trial that approval in Western countries seems possible. (Gever, 10/15)

CIDRAP: We Owe Parents Real Data Before We Mess With Kids' Vaccination Schedule
In the United States, the childhood vaccination schedule has played a critical role in virtually eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases that once hospitalized and killed thousands of children each year. Now, however, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is led by vaccine skeptics handpicked by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, has created a new working group to examine the schedule, and officials in Washington, DC, are floating changes to how and when children receive vaccines. (Vaccine Integrity Project Staff and Advisers, 10/15)

The Baltimore Sun: How Medicare's Ratings System Misleads Seniors
Medicare’s open enrollment begins this week, and I feel for the millions of seniors who have to navigate a bewildering set of choices. Many want to find the highest-quality plan, but the process isn’t just confusing, it’s misleading. (Andrew Anderson, 10/15)

The New York Times: Kennedy's Comments On Circumcision Are Only Going To Confuse And Shame Parents
About a week ago, I joked to someone that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was going to say that clouds cause autism; he’d been quiet for a week or two, which meant he would be plucking something new out of the sky. It turns out that I chose the wrong C-word. (Jessica Grose, 10/15)

The Baltimore Sun: Our Housing Crisis Is Also A Health Crisis
People who work in health care know firsthand that housing is health. Those experiencing homelessness have higher rates of emergency room visits, and that rate only seems to be increasing, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Bhavya Ancha, 10/14)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Medicare's Proposed Changes Put Rural Wound Care In Jeopardy
Medicare has proposed several changes to coverage and reimbursement for wound care. These changes threaten my ability to treat patients in rural Southeastern Missouri. I personally serve a patient population across a three-hour driving radius, which includes in-clinic, in-facility and in-home care. My patients are often confined to wheelchairs or beds, which makes wound care incredibly challenging. (Sarah Hull, 10/15)