What does MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN really mean? Is a person’s QOL (Quality of Life) part of a person being HEALTHY?
Technically, our President is the head of the LAW ENFORCEMENT branch of our government
The three branches of government are the legislative branch, which makes laws; the executive branch, which enforces laws; and the judicial branch, which interprets laws. This structure helps ensure a separation of powers and a system of checks and balances among the branches.
The president of the United States takes the following oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” This oath is specified in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
42 USC 1395: Prohibition against any Federal interference
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:42%20section:1395%20edition:prelim)
From Title 42-THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE CHAPTER 7-SOCIAL SECURITY SUBCHAPTER XVIII-HEALTH INSURANCE FOR AGED AND DISABLED
§1395. Prohibition against any Federal interference
Nothing in this sub chapter shall be construed to authorize any Federal officer or employee to exercise any supervision or control over the practice of medicine or the manner in which medical services are provided, or over the selection, tenure, or compensation of any officer or employee of any institution, agency, or person providing health services; or to exercise any supervision or control over the administration or operation of any such institution, agency, or person.
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XVIII, §1801, as added Pub. L. 89–97, title I, §102(a), July 30, 1965, 79 Stat. 291 .)
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
For short title of title I of Pub. L. 89–97, which enacted this subchapter as the “Health Insurance for the Aged Act”, see section 100 of Pub. L. 89–97, set out as a Short Title of 1965 Amendment note under section 1305 of this title.
Protecting and Improving Guaranteed Medicare Benefits
Pub. L. 111–148, title III, §3601, Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 538 , provided that:
“(a) Protecting Guaranteed Medicare Benefits.-Nothing in the provisions of, or amendments made by, this Act [see Short Title note set out under section 18001 of this title] shall result in a reduction of guaranteed benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.].
“(b) Ensuring That Medicare Savings Benefit the Medicare Program and Medicare Beneficiaries.-Savings generated for the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act under the provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act shall extend the solvency of the Medicare trust funds, reduce Medicare premiums and other cost-sharing for beneficiaries, and improve or expand guaranteed Medicare benefits and protect access to Medicare providers.”
I remember when Biden was President and he made several EOs and the SCOTUS would declare that the EO was UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and Biden would state that the SCOTUS WAS WRONG and proceed, mostly by giving away some money like forgiving or paying off student loans. Since our President is the head of our executive branch that enforces our laws and our Fed AG basically serves at the pleasure of our President.
Maybe someone should point out to President Trump that the FDA is considering taking long-acting opioids off the market. About 30% of our population is dealing with chronic pain, and long-acting opioids can be the only answer for a chronic pain pt to get a full night of RESTORATIVE SLEEP. Without a full night of RESTORATIVE SLEEP, the chronic pain pt’s QOL (Quality of Life) may go into a spiral downhill.
The question is … that law mentioned above, that has been the law of our land since 1935, 35 years before the Controlled Substances Act was signed into law. If Trump is not interested, maybe Kennedy would be interested in bending some ears.
Many on Capitol Hill keep stating that “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW…”, but they never seem to finish the sentence, “except those who are in charge of enforcing our laws..” This one law seems to be an excellent example of that saying.
How can 30% of the population be HEALTHY AGAIN if certain groups keep pushing for needed medicine to be restricted or taken off the market?
Trump Policies at Odds With ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Push
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/washington-watch/115460
The contradictions raise doubts about the sincerity of Trump’s support for the MAHA agenda
In his March address to Congress, President Trump honored a Texas boy diagnosed with brain cancer. Amid bipartisan applause, he vowed to drive down childhood cancer rates through his “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)” initiative.
A few days later, the administration quietly dropped a lawsuit to cut emissions from a Louisiana chemical plant linked to cancer.
At first glance, Trump appears to have fully embraced the MAHA movement championed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. From proclaiming in his congressional speech a goal to “get toxins out of our environment” to launching a new commission to study cancer and other ailments, Trump has vowed to end what he calls an epidemic of chronic disease.
But even as he extols MAHA, Trump has unleashed a slew of policies likely to make Americans less healthy. He’s slashing 20,000 full time positions from HHS and cutting more than $4 billion in indirect costs related to health research grants, including studies into treatment for Alzheimer’s and cancer. He also supported a GOP plan likely to kneecap Medicaid, a joint federal-state program that covers about 72 million Americans.
The contradictions raise doubts about the sincerity of Trump’s support for the MAHA agenda and his administration’s commitment to making a dent in chronic disease — conditions that afflict about 133 million Americans and account for roughly 90% of the $4.5 trillion spent annually in the U.S. on healthcare.
The administration’s attention to chronic disease is also notable for its lack of focus on expanding health insurance. Research shows people with coverage have lower death rates; insurance provides free or low-cost preventive care that can help manage chronic disease and reduce risks of serious complications.
“The layoffs at HHS, cuts to Medicaid, and reduction in research could all end up resulting in less healthy Americans,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF. “They’re talking about getting at the root causes of chronic disease. Less research and protections will undermine that goal.” KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
HHS leaders have said that they focused personnel cuts at agencies on redundant or unnecessary administrative positions. The administration has said the job cuts will save money and make HHS more responsive.
“Streamlining bureaucracy and eliminating redundancies is how we deliver on the mission of Making America Healthy Again — not by preserving a bloated system that’s failed to improve outcomes despite record spending,” HHS spokesperson Vianca Rodriguez Feliciano said in an email.
Public health advocates say the staffing cuts run counter to the promise of a MAHA agenda dedicated to reducing chronic disease.
“HHS declared that their mission is to Make America Healthy Again,” said Sharon Gilmartin, MPH, executive director of Safe States Alliance, on a press call. The alliance is a nonprofit focused on preventing injury and violence. “How can we do that when the people who have spent decades of their life combating the health issues of our nation are being tossed out with no notice?”
The HHS workforce reductions decimated divisions focused on chronic disease.
Gone is most of the CDC’s population health division, which conducted research and developed public health programs on chronic disease. Gone, too, are staffers at the NIH who focused on Alzheimer’s research. After HHS staffers working on Alzheimer’s projects were put on administrative leave, the Alzheimer’s Association sounded the alarm about the cuts, saying in an April 1 statement that the reductions “could cause irreversible damage.”
And gone is the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health which worked to protect the public from the harmful effects of tobacco use. The administration also gutted the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, which enforces advertising restrictions. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the country.
“Cuts to CDC and FDA tobacco control programs are devastating,” Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, who served as director of the CDC from 2009 to 2017, said April 18 on the social media platform Bluesky.
According to administration fact sheets and press releases, the staffing cuts will save $1.8 billion a year and shrink HHS’ workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. HHS will be retooled to focus on “safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins,” according to a March 27 press statement The restructuring will improve Americans’ experience with HHS by making the agency more responsive and efficient, the statement said.
Roger Severino, a lawyer who led the HHS Office for Civil Rights during the previous Trump administration, said the job cuts are necessary because the HHS budget has grown while American health has declined.
“If you want to Make America Healthy Again, you have to make HHS healthy again. You have to trim the bureaucratic fat,” said Severino, who is now vice president of domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy group. “We haven’t seen chronic disease go down or obesity go down, while autism rates are up. If this were a private company, it would have gone bankrupt years ago.”
But many public health experts question how the federal government will be able to respond to existing problems, as well as new health issues, with fewer employees and resources.
Infectious diseases are one area of concern.
Trump, on the first day of his second term in office, withdrew the nation from the World Health Organization (WHO), which detects, monitors, and responds to emerging health threats. The U.S. has been the largest financial contributor to the organization.
Without membership, the U.S. may remain in the dark if the WHO identifies an emerging threat that could ultimately spread and become global. Spillover can happen: In 2014, an Ebola outbreak in West Africa led to 11 reported cases in the U.S. The WHO played a central role in developing infection-prevention protocols and provided logistical support to affected countries.
The evisceration of the U.S. Agency for International Development could also leave the nation more vulnerable because the agency worked with countries such as Vietnam on early detection of diseases including bird flu. The agency typically would have aided in the response to a current Ebola outbreak in Uganda, providing support that doctors say helped prevent spread in past outbreaks.
The staffing reductions and frozen or canceled grants are having an immediate impact on the ability to respond to infectious outbreaks . Right now, for instance, Texas is in the throes of a measles outbreak, with more than 500 confirmed cases.
But the administration’s funding cuts forced the Dallas County health department to lay off 11 full-time workers and 10 part-time staffers responsible for responding to such outbreaks, Philip Huang, MD, MPH, director and health authority for the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, said at a press event.
The administration has also imperiled ongoing research, including studies and trials related to chronic disease.
Trump ended hundreds of research projects at the NIH totaling more than $2 billion, including projects on HIV prevention drugs and Alzheimer’s disease research.
“Patients enrolled in NIH studies led by Plaintiffs face abrupt cancellations of treatment in which they have invested months of time with no explanation or plan for how to mitigate the harm,” according to a federal lawsuit filed in Massachusetts by scientists and researchers.
The research being cut could potentially have supported Trump’s pledge, when he honored the boy with brain cancer, to drive down rates of the disease. In the weeks since, however, Trump’s administration announced plans to weaken automobile tailpipe emission standards. Trump slashed more than 400 grants to Columbia University, including millions earmarked for a cancer center.
“It’s making people sicker again. Now that would be a more honest bumper sticker,” said Leslie Dach, a former Obama administration official who is the executive chair of Protect Our Care, which advocates for the Affordable Care Act. “They’re stopping research on vaccines and gutting healthcare programs that keep 100 million Americans healthy. It’s all show. It’s a bunch of junk.”
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