RFK Jr: You Do Not See What You Are Seeing (Do Not Resuscitate #389)

Part of the Trumpian assault is their habit of looking us straight in the eye and saying they are not doing what they are doing. This is “gaslighting,” of course, but I think a better parallel is the cruder, Orwellian variety. In 1984 O'Brien beats Winston Smith until he sees how many fingers O'Briens says he is holding up rather than what Smith sees. Eventually, he sees the number he is told. This week’s Do Not Resuscitate has multiple examples. It's a new variation on how we spend trillions of dollars making intermediaries rich instead of making ourselves healthier. 

Here are the links to all the articles mentioned: 

Rebecca Pifer, “Trump’s CMS dramatically raises payments to Medicare Advantage plans,” Healthcare Dive, Apr 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/3XS8iOp

Arielle Zionts, “Rural hospitals questions whether they can afford Medicare Advantage contracts,” KFF Health News/States Newsroom, Apr 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/4jqVeI1

Nathaniel Weixel, “How Kennedy’s cuts to HHS could curb ‘MAHA’ agenda,” The Hill, Apr 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/3G1Q8nf

Drew Altman, “Decoding the HHS reorganization,” KFF Health News, Apr 01, 2025 https://bit.ly/4joJZj8

Suzanne Gordon, “How vets will fare in Missouri in DOGE’s VA,” VA Champion/St Louis Post Dispatch, Mar 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/42EBQl2

Wendell Potter, “Report shows how UnitedHealth Group is enriching itself at the expense of our nation’s veterans,” Health Care Un-covered, Mar 18, 2025 https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/report-shows-how-unitedhealth-group

Brenda Goodman, “A city responding to a lead crisis in schools reached out to the CDC for help. The agency’s lead experts were just fired,” CNN, Apr 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/4lqid7U

Alexander Tin, “RFK Jr. cuts CDC labs investigating outbreaks of STDs and hepatitis,” CBS News, Apr 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/42Dm1ey

Brett Kelman, “Trump says he’ll stop health care fraudsters. Last time, he let them walk,” KFF Health News/CBS News, Apr 1, 2025 https://bit.ly/4icBSFj

Megan Molteni & Ed Silverman, “Federal advisory panel on ethical, legal issues in human health research disbanded,” STAT, Apr 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/3G1Abxk

Jeremy Faust, “Patient safety network abruptly cut by Trump Administration,” MedPage Today, Apr 1, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EhoL87

Carla K. Johnson, “Trump administration cancels at least 68 grants focused on LGBTQ health questions,” Associated Press, Mar 24, 2025 https://bit.ly/4i5Zv2p

Hayley Smith, “‘Inbox from hell’: Environmental groups outraged after EPA says polluters can email for exemptions,” Los Angeles Times, Mar 29, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EhFmZt

Tara Bannow, “Largest U.S. pension fund claims UnitedHealth cheated investors by concealing Medicare Advantage scheme,” STAT, Mar 26, 2025 https://bit.ly/4cn4Hh6

Wendell Potter, “Not just Democrats anymore. Republicans mounting a crackdown on big health insurers,” Health Care Un-covered, Apr 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/42xq7Uu

Alexander Tin, “RFK Jr.'s layoffs expected to gut worker safety agency NIOSH, officials say,” CBS News, Mar 31, 2025 https://bit.ly/3YqyKyC

Jie Jenny Zou, “Trump’s federal cuts push New York mental health programs to brink of collapse,” New York Focus, Mar 31, 2025 https://bit.ly/3G3ktBT

Lizzy Lawrence, “Makary’s first speech to FDA staff focuses on challenging norms, fighting chronic disease, STAT, Apr 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/3RLMvUM

Kelly Hooper, “Means defends HHS cuts, calls bureaucracy an ‘utter failure,’” Politico, Apr 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FWG5zB

David Lim, “The health industry is starting to express alarm about RFK Jr.,” Politico, Apr 1, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ln3dri

Tim Henderson, “Some measles response plans crash to a halt after Trump cuts,” Stateline, Apr 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/4j4oWTp

You can find the full written digest at my substack and consult the full archive at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news