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At the heart of the budget standoff that has shut down the government is Democrats’ insistence on extracting a laundry list of policy changes, including locking in the supposedly temporary, COVID-era expansion of Obamacare premium tax credits (or “Biden COVID credits”). In essence, Democrats think the best way to lower healthcare costs is to direct more funding to insurance companies. This idea could not be more wrong. The credits are costly, poorly targeted and riddled with fraud, and do nothing to stop rising premiums. (Veronique de Rugy, 10/9)

With health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unable to prove his specious claims about the dangers of vaccines, he has pivoted. In a Sept. 29 Instagram post, Kennedy claims vaccines are ineffective, that is they are not the reason deaths from infectious diseases have dropped in the U.S. over the 20th century. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Abe Baker-Butler and Michael T. Osterholm, 10/10)

This week Jim O'Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), posted on X calling for vaccine manufacturers to develop separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines to replace the combined MMR shot. His statement linked to President Trump's similar message but provided no scientific rationale for the proposed change, as Reuters reported. No monovalent (single-strain) vaccines for measles, mumps, or rubella are currently licensed in the United States. (Jake Scott, 10/9)

Recently, an NBC News investigation put a national spotlight on the steep decline in childhood vaccinations in St. Louis. The conflicting information flooding the airwaves has left many families confused about the safety and efficacy of immunizations. (Michael O'Connor and Jamala Rogers, 10/9)

Healthcare is confronting some of its most pressing challenges in modern history, from rising costs and staffing shortages to burnout and an overburdened system. At Geisinger — and across the industry — system leaders see the impact of these pressures daily, yet we also see tremendous promise in a new generation of digital tools. (Dr. Terry Gilliland, 10/6)