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Myra Batchelder

@myrabatchelder.bsky.social

4.4K followers 7.4K following 870 posts

Policy. Advocacy. Public Health. Health Equity. SRHRJ. COVID-19. Consultant to nonprofits and social impact organizations. Harvard MPA. New Yorker. Midwesterner. She/her.

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Myra Batchelder @myrabatchelder.bsky.social · Sep 2

"Husband wins Ohio lottery scratch-off, plans to cover wife's cancer treatment"

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and should provide universal healthcare.

No one should have to win the lottery to afford cancer treatment.

www.freep.com/story/money/...

Husband wins Ohio lottery scratch-off, plans to cover wife's cancer treatment

A husband who won a $500,000 scratch-off ticket in Ohio, and said he planned to pay off his wife's medical debt for her cancer treatment.

www.freep.com

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Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 2h

The first reports of what would eventually be called AIDS and its causative agent identified as HIV were published in the MMWR in 1981 alerting health care and public health systems across the country. A tremendous loss for public health.

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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 4h

PORTLAND, Ore. — A small group of federal agents in camouflage and face masks watched from atop the immigration processing center Thursday night as a unicorn, peacock, dinosaur and raccoon danced to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Costumed protesters in Portland defy description of the city as a 'war zone'

Dancing frogs, peacocks and unicorns outside the federal immigration building present a joyful contrast to the Trump administration's portrait of the Oregon city, they say.

www.nbcnews.com

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 3h

A 15-year-old autistic, intellectually disabled, and often non-verbal boy in Houston has been held in ICE custody for the past week without his family knowing where he was.

I confirmed this video is real with local news reports:

LongTime🤓FirstTime👨‍💻 @longtimehistory.bsky.social · 5h

ICE secretly kidnap autistic boy during bathroom break—never notify parents.

Mother reported him missing a week ago—turns out ICE had him detained the whole time.

He was helping sell fruit and asked to go to the restroom—by the time she was done helping a customer he was gone.

Houston, Texas

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Elana Levin @levin.bsky.social · 15h

I cannot stop the mass firings overnight. But I can wear a mask to protect myself and those around me

Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 17h

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

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Physicians for a Healthy Democracy @physiciandemocracy.medsky.social · 1d

#medsky

911hs.org

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 17h

A diseased population is easier to control

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 18h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 18h

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 7h

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 3h

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 1d

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 1d

None of us can do everything but each of us can do SOMETHING.

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 2d

“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.

We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’

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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 2d

President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

www.reuters.com

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 2d

“In 1961, when I was just eight years old, I contracted measles. There was no vaccine available at the time. Like many of my classmates, I suffered through dangerously high fevers — mine reached 106 degrees — and nearly died. The disease left me almost totally deaf.” cc @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Commentary: A plea to protect our children

Vaccination requirements kept our communities safe. Do not listen to anti-vaccine rhetoric. Do not gamble with your child’s health.

www.orlandosentinel.com

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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 2d

I just scheduled a procedure for December because I don’t know if I will be able to afford health insurance in January.

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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

"A practice that would have been unthinkable under past administrations is becoming normalized: sending ICE detainees, without due process, to far-flung prisons in countries with notorious human rights records."

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

ICE is sending people to a prison in Africa’s only absolute monarchy

Inside the “legal black hole” in Eswatini, where Trump is sending detainees.

www.motherjones.com

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Myra Batchelder @myrabatchelder.bsky.social · 2d

More than half of older adults in New York State (56%) have difficulty accessing affordable, quality food, according to a new report by the New York Health Foundation. nyhealthfoundation.org/resource/no-...

No One Should Age Hungry: Addressing Food Insecurity Among Older Adults in New York State - New York Health Foundation

This NYHealth report examines driving factors of food insecurity among older adults across New York State, using interviews with New Yorkers over the age of 60 to illustrate financial trade-offs, mobi...

nyhealthfoundation.org

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Community Catalyst @communitycatalyst.org · 5d

NEW: According to @kff.org, 70% of voters, including most Republicans, want to keep the enhanced ACA tax credits that make health care affordable.

But unless Congress acts soon, these credits will expire & millions will face higher costs or lose coverage. It's time to make them permanent.

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Weighs Political Consequences of Health Policy Legislation | KFF

KFF's Health Tracking Poll finds that more than three-quarters of the public say they want Congress to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year. If th...

bit.ly

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Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 6d

"We're seeing increases in premiums because health care costs are going up, but when you also take away these subsidies, you're pulling the rug out from people. You're looking at a family that was paying $800 a month for their health insurance and that jumps to $3,000."
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Time is short for an ACA premium fix in the shutdown fight, says GOP insurance leader

After warning Congress for months about premium spikes, the leader of the country's insurance commissioners — a Republican from North Dakota — says he's hopeful there could be a last minute fix.

www.npr.org

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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 6d

More Retirees Are Living on Less, and Losing a Means of Help to Pay for Medicare

The budget bill signed by President Trump suspended an effort to enroll more low-income older Americans in programs that assist them with rising health care costs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/b...

Millions of Poor Retirees Have Lost an Easier Path to Help With Medicare

www.nytimes.com

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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 4d

👀 Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks with Republicans on Obamacare funding, saying she’s not a fan of the law but demands action to prevent a premium hike. “I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.” She says GOP leaders don’t have a plan.

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Elisha Brown @elishabrown.bsky.social · 11d

More than 400 people were charged with pregnancy-related crimes during the two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a new report shows. Most of the charges involved child welfare laws based on allegations of substance use during pregnancy. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/pros...

Prosecutors charged hundreds with pregnancy-related child abuse crimes post-Dobbs, research shows

More than 400 people were charged with pregnancy-related crimes during the two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights, research released Tuesday shows.

www.newsfromthestates.com

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Bangor Daily News @bangordailynews.bsky.social · 10d

That comes after Congress denied Medicaid reimbursement to Maine Family Planning and other providers who also offer abortion care. www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/01/s...

Maine Family Planning is closing its primary care practice

Maine Family Planning to close primary care practice due to defunding of Medicaid. That will affect thousands of patients in Maine.

www.bangordailynews.com

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The Commonwealth Fund @commonwealthfund.org · 16d

🌪️🌫️ Extreme weather and air pollution are straining hospitals and putting patients at risk.
Our new Scorecard is the first to compare all 50 states + DC on climate risks and explore the policies that can address them.

Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard on Climate, Health, and Health Care

This scorecard evaluates states for vulnerability to and contribution to environmental factors affecting health care systems and highlights ways to reduce impacts.

www.commonwealthfund.org

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Kelcie Moseley-Morris @kelciemmorris.bsky.social · 10d

Cervical cancer has a known path of prevention with the HPV vaccine. But that also means it falls at the intersection of three cultural issues that are facing strong political opposition — broad access to low-cost or free reproductive health care, access to vaccines for children, and sex education.

Cervical cancer could be eradicated, experts say. But not with Medicaid cuts and anti-vax politics.

Third in a five-part series.It had been a decade since Jess Deis’ last women’s wellness exam when Kentucky expanded Medicaid and she finally qualified for the state insurance program.

www.newsfromthestates.com

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