PlusInc Survey Highlights Growing Concerns in Connecticut about Health Insurance Costs, Coverage, and Access to Care
For years, the healthcare affordability conversation has focused primarily on the cost of medicines. But a new survey of Connecticut voters suggests many patients are equally concerned about another part of the healthcare system: the growing impact of health insurance companies on the care people receive. Growing evidence suggests that the cost-containment strategies used by insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and other payors are fueling health disparities in the United States.
Drug Repurposing: Often a Lifeline for Patients Living with Rare Diseases
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in May 2026 that it was soliciting public comments on its efforts to find new indications for existing FDA-approved drugs to expand treatment options for rare diseases. The FDA specifically requested information on drugs with sufficient evidence to support repurposing to treat other disease states, those with preliminary evidence supporting further study, and those with preclinical data supporting further study (FDA, 2026).
When Science Illiteracy Comes with Deadly Consequences
In June of 2025, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—a vital panel of experts that advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that reviewed vaccine information and data and then made recommendations on who should be eligible to receive certain vaccines and whether insurers should cover them (Constantino, 2025). This was just the opening salvo fired by politically inspired voices within the Trump Administration determined to dismantle nearly 100 years of progress in the global fight against preventable, crippling, and often fatal diseases.
Research Finds That Clinical Trials Regularly Lack Key Demographic Information
A study published in JAMA Network Open found that clinical trial data regularly exclude geographic and socioeconomic participant data, which may hinder researchers' ability to determine trial generalizability and outcome applicability across diverse populations and locations (Unger, 2026).
Bringing Healthcare to the People
Rural communities face unique challenges, such as geographic isolation, limited healthcare infrastructure, workforce shortages, and diminished access to health insurance options. These challenges drive increasing health disparities, often spanning across multiple generations. Could community health fairs and mobile health clinics finally level the playing field, addressing regional health disparities, often disproportionately impacting 13 states, 423 counties, and 8 independent Virginia cities in what we commonly call the Appalachian region (AL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV)?
New Study Finds Colorectal Cancer Deaths Increased in People Under 50
New Study Finds Colorectal Cancer Deaths Increased in People Under 50
An Argument in Favor of Competence
“Autism is totally out of control,” Donald Trump told reporters on Friday. “I think we, maybe, have a reason why.” (Röhn, Burns, & Paun, 2025).
The reason why, according to the brain trust hired by the arguably least competent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary in American history?
Tylenol.
No…we’re not kidding.
New Report Highlights Difficulties in Assessing and Measuring Health Disparities
A new report from The Commonwealth Fund has found that:
…the lack of standardization across rating and regulatory health equity metrics may undermine efforts to achieve equity. Metrics and methodologies must be aligned to accurately assess health equity progress and drive institutional change and improvements for patient populations (Bonfiglio et al., 2025).
The overarching theme of the report is that the tools used by large organizations, such as the American Hospital Association (AHA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. News & World Report, and Vizient, all use broadly different metrics for measuring health equity and disparities with little overlap, little agreement on what to measure and how, and with little oversight from any agency or authority to establish standardized metrics and assessment tools.
Preparing for One Big Beautiful Disaster
On July 4th, 2025, Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law (H.R. 1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act), a law that is projected to have significant negative impacts on the American healthcare system, healthcare infrastructure, and patients across the United States. While the White House and congressional Republicans are touting OBBBA as a significant success for the average American, virtually every credible analysis, including those by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), indicates that it will have devastating long-term impacts on public health.
Patient Advocacy Groups Circulate Revised Open Letter Against the Use of QALYs
A group of patient advocacy organizations has published a revised version of their 2021 open letter opposing the use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and similar measures that employ fundamentally devaluing metrics to evaluate the impacts of procedures and treatments on the lives of people living with disabilities and older Americans.
Blackout: Draconian Cuts Imperil Health and Safety in the United States
The Trump Administration’s “Skinny Budget,” released on May 2nd, 2025, includes proposals to cut billions in annual federal spending on critical public health and disease data gathering, surveillance, and tracking in the United States, including cuts that will directly impact the lives of many of America’s most vulnerable populations.
Ideological Crusade Against DEI Will Yield Dire Consequences for Medical Research
“The tenets of DEI demand that you discriminate against white people by giving preferential treatment to other races,” said right-wing activist Robby Starbuck on Jordan Peterson’s podcast on February 2nd, 2025 (Jordan B. Peterson, 2025)
This conspiracy theory is the underlying sentiment being used by the current Trump Administration to justify its targeted actions against people of color, women and gender-nonconforming people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people in the United States.
How QALYs Fuel Health Disparities
How Quality-Adjusted Life Years Metrics May Fuel Health Disparities by Negatively Impacting Medication Access