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Last January, I went to fill my son’s ADHD prescription and was handed a bag with an unfamiliar drug name on it. No mistake, the pharmacist tech said, it was just the generic version. I had a sinking feeling. As a former editor for diabetes publications, I knew that insurance companies regularly switched people from one brand of insulin to another, or from a name brand of insulin to a generic. I’ve heard stories from people with diabetes who said the switch completely upended their blood sugar management. However, I had used generic medicine for my blood pressure without a problem, so I hoped for the best with this switch. (Craig Idlebrook, 1/5)

Last year, I put together a top 10 list of medical and public health policy issues I anticipated to dominate the headlines in 2023. Here is my updated list for the topics I expect to cover in 2024. (Leana S. Wen, 1/4)

I’m an emergency room doctor. The patients I treat suffer from a variety of ailments, from asthma and diabetes to heart conditions and poor circulation. Until 2010, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, many of my patients were uninsured, which meant that serious illnesses often went untreated. That’s why, of all the alarming changes former President Donald Trump has threatened if he returns to America’s highest office, none scares me more than his pledge to do away with Obamacare. (Rob Davidson, 1/4)

The perception that our U.S. healthcare system is broken has become nearly fact among healthcare workers and the public alike. Many other countries are facing similar challenges, beyond the recent spotlight on our Canadian and British friends across the pond. The issue remains: Who are we to blame and more importantly, what can we do about it? (Alejandro Badia, 1/4)

In December 2022, Congress repealed the “X-waiver” requirement, which had limited medical providers’ ability to prescribe buprenorphine-naloxone, one of the three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Lawmakers knew that the waiver was a major barrier to providing lifesaving medication that halves the risk of overdose to the millions of Americans needing treatment for opioid use disorder. (Joella W. Adams, 1/5)

Florida pharmacies play an important role in the state’s complex healthcare system. As retail storefronts staffed by trained and certified pharmacy professionals, Florida pharmacies help increase access to care by treating illnesses, offering tools for prevention and promoting health and wellness. (Alexis Calatayud, Shevrin Jones and Gallop Franklin II, 1/4)

From advancements in prosthetics, to support for transition back home, research into veterans’ needs has done more than advance science and policy, it’s helped shape America’s future. But that future is in doubt as we stare down a new dark age in the veteran community. (Chris Andrew Cate, 1/4)