RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing & more policy updates

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his first congressional appearance yesterday as President Trump’s pick to lead HHS. At the Senate confirmation hearing, which STAT live-blogged, there were discussions about abortion, Medicaid, Covid-19, and onesies.

In an analysis of the hearing, STAT’s Isa Cueto writes that what was missing from Kennedy’s responses to hours of questioning was a concrete plan for how he’d plan to “make America healthy again.” With Rachel Cohrs Zhang and Sarah Owermohle, she also wrote about the seven major topics he did address during the hearing.

Some of STAT’s previous coverage came directly into play during the hearings. Kennedy was asked about a report from Isa and Rachel Cohrs Zhang that showed his presidential campaign was making money off the HHS freeze. “I don’t think my campaign exists anymore,” he replied. But his campaign sent out another fundraising email during the hearing. Kennedy also cited a JAMA study on fluoride and IQ — Anil Oza covered that study, and why many researchers took issue with it.

Keep an eye out today for more coverage — the live blog will be here — of Kennedy’s second hearing today. And in case you missed this puzzling turn of events: Yesterday, the budget office rescinded its memo freezing all spending on federal grants. But to be clear, that’s the memo that was rescinded, not any of the executive orders directed at federal spending on DEI, climate, transgender people, and more. Read the latest.

nutrition

New recs say only water and milk for kids

New dietary recommendations from several major health organizations say that kids ages 5 to 18 should stick to drinking water and plain pasteurized milk. It’s in line with the draft dietary guidelines that an advisory committee created at the end of last year that said we all should mainly just be drinking water.

Some recommendations for kids are unsurprising and uncontroversial, like staying away from sugary drinks. But the guidelines on what types of milk kids should have — skim or 1%, but not plant-based milks — have caused more of a stir. Read more from STAT’s Sarah Todd.

education

How universities and med schools are reacting to Trump’s EO on DEI

Colleges, universities, and medical schools around the country are scrambling to understand exactly what Trump’s flurry of executive actions targeting diversity efforts could mean for their institutions. While orders he made in his first administration targeted education with terms like critical race theory, the plain language of these new orders is sending a chill through campuses.

Federal research grants are the fiscal lifeblood of these academic institutions, a group of STAT reporters write. “If you’re a big institution, you don’t want to be in the crosshairs of the Trump administration threatening to take away your federal funds,” Samuel Bagenstos, a former general counsel for HHS, told STAT.

Read more on how these institutions are — and aren’t — preparing for an apparent plan to leverage federal funding to pressure educational institutions.

science

What our mouths could teach us about stroke risk

Researchers already know that there’s an association between oral infections and stroke. Two study abstracts being presented at the American Stroke Association international conference next week could further that understanding:

One study of more than 6,200 people without a prior history of stroke or atrial fibrillation found that those who flossed were at significantly lower risk of ischemic stroke (when a blood clot blocks an artery in the brain), cardioembolic heart (when the clot starts in the heart then travels to the brain), and atrial fibrillation. The researchers followed up with participants for 25 years and found a significant dose-effect between flossing and ischemic stroke risk, meaning the more they flossed, the lower their chances of stroke.

The other research is in earlier stages — there’s a common mouth and gut bacteria called Streptococcus anginosis that may proliferate in the guts of people who have a stroke. Researchers analyzed the salivary and gut microbiomes of 189 acute stroke patients and 55 people who hadn’t had a stroke. Over two years of follow-up, survivors with this bacteria in their gut had significantly higher risk of death and major cardiovascular events than those without. Overall, having the bacteria in the gut was associated with a 20% higher odds of stroke. The researchers hope that the findings can someday lead to a test for harmful oral bacteria.

mental health

Mental health crisis services faltering after 988

Two and a half years ago, 988 launched as the number anyone across the country could dial in to ask for help with a mental health crisis. It’s one facet of a larger mental health care system, and a key objective of its rollout was to help strengthen an underfunded, patchwork system that left many people alone in times of crisis.

But while calls to the national hotline continue to increase, new research shows that fewer psychiatric facilities are offering emergency psychiatric walk-in services, mobile crisis response units, and suicide prevention services. “If we don’t actually enhance access to care,” physician Ashwini Nadkarni said, “then one wonders how much we’re actually achieving.”

Read more in my latest on the state of the country’s mental health crisis care system.

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What we're reading

Bans on transgender care for minors may complicate eating disorder treatment, NBC News
Major tuberculosis outbreak hits Kansas City area, Reuters
What I learned about health insurance rage as the nation’s first ‘HMO czar,’ STAT
What happens in prison when you can't pee on command, Defector

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