Dania Palanker
@ipersist.bsky.social
Health insurance, disability equity, pain policy. I will not sit quietly while they try to take health care and health research away from us.
Never share a screenshot of text w/out the entire text in alt text so it's actually accessible.
Never share a screenshot of text w/out the entire text in alt text so it's actually accessible.
Pinned
Dania Palanker
@ipersist.bsky.social
· Jun 13
My grandmother was a young pregnant Jewish woman alone on a train in Poland during WWII when a German soldier told her to get off at the next stop because there wouldn't be any soldiers waiting at the station. She survived because, in that moment, a soldier chose the right thing over obeying orders.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Health insurance researchers, send us your stuff!
If you have questions about this special issue, please feel free to reach out to me or Miranda.
If you have questions about this special issue, please feel free to reach out to me or Miranda.
2. "The Politics of Private Health Insurance." Guest editors: @mirandayaver.bsky.social and @adrianna.bsky.social.
Deadline to submit: February 1 (can be full research articles, commentaries, or "tracking health reform" pieces)
We look forward to reviewing your work!
Deadline to submit: February 1 (can be full research articles, commentaries, or "tracking health reform" pieces)
We look forward to reviewing your work!
December 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Health insurance researchers, send us your stuff!
If you have questions about this special issue, please feel free to reach out to me or Miranda.
If you have questions about this special issue, please feel free to reach out to me or Miranda.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
The death of Lia Smith shook many in the trans community to their cores, while online it seemed like the top priority of non-trans people was to insist there's no proof that the 21-year-old's ban from her beloved swim team caused her suicide.
Re-sharing as it was one of our top stories this year.
Re-sharing as it was one of our top stories this year.
Transgender Student-Athlete Lia Smith Remembered as a Friend and Fierce Advocate — Assigned
Lia Smith, a 21-year-old trans student-athlete in Vermont, took her own life last week. Her friends, family and community mourn, and remember her as a bright young woman who spoke on behalf of her com...
www.assignedmedia.org
December 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
The death of Lia Smith shook many in the trans community to their cores, while online it seemed like the top priority of non-trans people was to insist there's no proof that the 21-year-old's ban from her beloved swim team caused her suicide.
Re-sharing as it was one of our top stories this year.
Re-sharing as it was one of our top stories this year.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B saves lives. Why might a CDC panel stop recommending it?
The universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 90,000 childhood deaths since 1991, but a federal vaccine advisory group may vote to end the practice.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
The universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 90,000 childhood deaths since 1991, but a federal vaccine advisory group may vote to end the practice.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
December 3, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B saves lives. Why might a CDC panel stop recommending it?
The universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 90,000 childhood deaths since 1991, but a federal vaccine advisory group may vote to end the practice.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
The universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 90,000 childhood deaths since 1991, but a federal vaccine advisory group may vote to end the practice.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...
We have monsters leading our nation's public health agencies.
FDA's big change to how vaccines will get approved is, essentially, a way to delay and refuse approval with little justification, by @ddiamond.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/dandiamo...
FDA's big change to how vaccines will get approved
We obtained an internal email laying out the planned shift in strategy.
open.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
We have monsters leading our nation's public health agencies.
We are past the point when advocates need to think long and hard if they are complicit in legitimizing current HHS leadership by participating in agency promotion of policy changes. Advocates shouldn't give any legitimacy to Prasad, Makary, Kennedy & others by sharing a microphone.
Big change: FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements under RFK Jr ally
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements, claiming child covid shot deaths
Vinay Prasad, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, said his team concluded that coronavirus shots were linked to children’s deaths, necessitating a new approach.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:41 AM
We are past the point when advocates need to think long and hard if they are complicit in legitimizing current HHS leadership by participating in agency promotion of policy changes. Advocates shouldn't give any legitimacy to Prasad, Makary, Kennedy & others by sharing a microphone.
Prasad is making sure that the FDA can no longer be trusted to share truth and to follow actual medical evidence. People, including kids, will die because of Prasad leading the FDA into pseudoscience and grift.
In a new leaked memo, the FDA outlined plans to make it much harder to get new vaccines approved, claiming, without sharing evidence, that the COVID vaccines have killed at least 10 children.
This is so reckless. The science shows us that COVID vaccines have saved millions of lives.
This is so reckless. The science shows us that COVID vaccines have saved millions of lives.
November 29, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Prasad is making sure that the FDA can no longer be trusted to share truth and to follow actual medical evidence. People, including kids, will die because of Prasad leading the FDA into pseudoscience and grift.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Don’t miss the news the Trump administration quietly made late Friday of a holiday weekend 👇🏾
Big change: FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements under RFK Jr ally
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements, claiming child covid shot deaths
Vinay Prasad, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, said his team concluded that coronavirus shots were linked to children’s deaths, necessitating a new approach.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Don’t miss the news the Trump administration quietly made late Friday of a holiday weekend 👇🏾
I am dropping a doctor who was instrumental in eliminating some of my most severe pain because of her participation in the process & PR rollout of this FDA decision. She is helping legitimize RFK Jr, Makary & a process that will be used to take away access to evidence based medication.
The FDA bypassed its typical process and overstated the science behind menopause hormone therapy, experts told me – with troubling implications for future drug decisions
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Doctors respond to ‘data-free’ decision over menopause hormone therapy: ‘It’s not true’
Physicians say FDA panel conflated two issues and made baseless claims about unproven health benefits
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I am dropping a doctor who was instrumental in eliminating some of my most severe pain because of her participation in the process & PR rollout of this FDA decision. She is helping legitimize RFK Jr, Makary & a process that will be used to take away access to evidence based medication.
We have seen & heard enough from RFK Jr. for me to confidently predict the Long COVID Consortium will
- be driven by pseudoscience & lie
- spend a disproportionate amount of time on post-vaccination syndromes, &
- promote fringe treatments that have poor evidence or are known to cause harm
- be driven by pseudoscience & lie
- spend a disproportionate amount of time on post-vaccination syndromes, &
- promote fringe treatments that have poor evidence or are known to cause harm
It's now been over two months, and we still don't have any updates from the federal government on RFK Jr.'s Long COVID Consortium. During the meeting the head of ARPA-H stated they would have plans within "weeks".
thesicktimes.org/2025/10/21/i...
thesicktimes.org/2025/10/21/i...
It’s been a month. And we still don’t know much about Kennedy’s Long COVID consortium. - The Sick Times
Preliminary meetings are occurring amid the ongoing government shutdown, while some advocates call for Health Secretary Kennedy’s removal
thesicktimes.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:15 PM
We have seen & heard enough from RFK Jr. for me to confidently predict the Long COVID Consortium will
- be driven by pseudoscience & lie
- spend a disproportionate amount of time on post-vaccination syndromes, &
- promote fringe treatments that have poor evidence or are known to cause harm
- be driven by pseudoscience & lie
- spend a disproportionate amount of time on post-vaccination syndromes, &
- promote fringe treatments that have poor evidence or are known to cause harm
I guess I'll put dressing better in the eyes of Sean Duffy on the list of ways to be patriotic along with not being chronically ill and eating carrots instead of carrot cake
Duffy on his demand that air travelers not wear slippers or pajamas: "It honors our country ... don't take your shoes off and put your feet on the chair ahead of you"
November 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I guess I'll put dressing better in the eyes of Sean Duffy on the list of ways to be patriotic along with not being chronically ill and eating carrots instead of carrot cake
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of soy—and farms—and Russia's war—
Of fentanyl—and kings"
"To talk of many things:
Of soy—and farms—and Russia's war—
Of fentanyl—and kings"
“To that end, President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted, and I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a State Visit in the U.S. later in the year.”
November 24, 2025 at 5:55 PM
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of soy—and farms—and Russia's war—
Of fentanyl—and kings"
"To talk of many things:
Of soy—and farms—and Russia's war—
Of fentanyl—and kings"
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Our new policy explainer examines the implications of Republican proposals to repeal and replace some or all of the ACA premium tax credits, which currently help make Marketplace coverage more affordable, with federal contributions to HSAs or the like.
https://on.kff.org/4a9fZGB
https://on.kff.org/4a9fZGB
The New ACA Repeal and Replace: Health Savings Accounts | KFF
Proposals from some Republicans in Congress would effectively repeal some or all of the ACA premium tax credits and replace them with contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or something simil...
on.kff.org
November 21, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Our new policy explainer examines the implications of Republican proposals to repeal and replace some or all of the ACA premium tax credits, which currently help make Marketplace coverage more affordable, with federal contributions to HSAs or the like.
https://on.kff.org/4a9fZGB
https://on.kff.org/4a9fZGB
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Cheers to the person who leaked the initial changes www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
In reversal, Coast Guard again classifies swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The new order came hours after The Post reported the service would instead classify such symbols as “potentially divisive” under guidelines set for release next month.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Cheers to the person who leaked the initial changes www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Dania Palanker
NEW: The Court has ruled that the National Guard deployment to DC is illegal and granted a preliminary injunction.
As we made clear from the beginning: the US military should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
This is a victory for DC, Home Rule, and American democracy.
As we made clear from the beginning: the US military should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
This is a victory for DC, Home Rule, and American democracy.
November 20, 2025 at 8:49 PM
NEW: The Court has ruled that the National Guard deployment to DC is illegal and granted a preliminary injunction.
As we made clear from the beginning: the US military should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
This is a victory for DC, Home Rule, and American democracy.
As we made clear from the beginning: the US military should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
This is a victory for DC, Home Rule, and American democracy.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Wow, Bill Cassidy voted to confirm RFK Jr and all he got was this shitty asterisk
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Wow, Bill Cassidy voted to confirm RFK Jr and all he got was this shitty asterisk
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Just a reminder that I'm happy to speak to any journalist, or to recommend other scholars to do so, about why prejudice and "potentially divisive symbols" like swastikas (!) are so harmful to morale and cohesion in militaries
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Just a reminder that I'm happy to speak to any journalist, or to recommend other scholars to do so, about why prejudice and "potentially divisive symbols" like swastikas (!) are so harmful to morale and cohesion in militaries
RFK Jr. is doing exactly what those of us paying attention said he was going to do. The amount of death and suffering he is causing is phenomenal.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:36 AM
RFK Jr. is doing exactly what those of us paying attention said he was going to do. The amount of death and suffering he is causing is phenomenal.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
OBBBA includes provisions that will harm people with disabilities by limiting State Directed Payments, leading to fewer and slower services. This brief outlines the impacts and advocacy pathways. https://healthlaw.org/resource/obbba-harms-people-with-disabilities-limits-on-state-directed-payments/
OBBBA Harms People with Disabilities: Limits on State Directed Payments
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes many provisions that will harm people with disabilities. In this brief, we explain how the bill limits State Directed Payments (SDPs), discuss how these cuts will lead to slower and fewer services for disabled people, and offer potential avenues for future advocacy.
healthlaw.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:02 PM
OBBBA includes provisions that will harm people with disabilities by limiting State Directed Payments, leading to fewer and slower services. This brief outlines the impacts and advocacy pathways. https://healthlaw.org/resource/obbba-harms-people-with-disabilities-limits-on-state-directed-payments/
Hubris
Ignorance
Privilege
Audacity
Ableism
Ignorance
Privilege
Audacity
Ableism
Markwayne Mullin: "Reward people for being healthy. Think about this. Healthcare is the only industry that you're not rewarded for taking care of your responsibility. If you think about homeowners insurance, if you're within 500 feet of a fire hydrant, your insurance goes down."
November 19, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Hubris
Ignorance
Privilege
Audacity
Ableism
Ignorance
Privilege
Audacity
Ableism
Reposted by Dania Palanker
Disability education should not be put into HHS because it's not a health issue, it's an education issue. The idea that disability = health is dehumanizing and, frankly, simply wrong.
November 18, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Disability education should not be put into HHS because it's not a health issue, it's an education issue. The idea that disability = health is dehumanizing and, frankly, simply wrong.
Reposted by Dania Palanker
To add to the pile of Alice Wong's work (that we should continue reading for years and years to come), here's an archival link to an digital Bitch Media Access Issue that Alice co-edited back in 2021 (apologies for access issues on this archival link) web.archive.org/web/20211104...
Why We’re Running a Series About Access
Access is still treated as if it’s a privilege, a burden, or a form of special treatment.
web.archive.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM
To add to the pile of Alice Wong's work (that we should continue reading for years and years to come), here's an archival link to an digital Bitch Media Access Issue that Alice co-edited back in 2021 (apologies for access issues on this archival link) web.archive.org/web/20211104...
Btw, he won't stop with vaccines
So many of us have been warning the public that RFK Jr. is going to take away access to as many vaccines as he can.
The December ACIP meeting is dedicating an entire day to reviewing “the safety” of the childhood vaccine schedule.
There’s not a shred of credible evidence that warrants this.
The December ACIP meeting is dedicating an entire day to reviewing “the safety” of the childhood vaccine schedule.
There’s not a shred of credible evidence that warrants this.
November 17, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Btw, he won't stop with vaccines
Does this sound familiar?
"We should only be taking stuff—we should only be giving our kids stuff—if it's actually necessary, safe & effective"
This is right out of the anti-vax & anti-abortion playbooks
And it's very dangerous that Vance uses this strategy to talk about ibuprofen
"We should only be taking stuff—we should only be giving our kids stuff—if it's actually necessary, safe & effective"
This is right out of the anti-vax & anti-abortion playbooks
And it's very dangerous that Vance uses this strategy to talk about ibuprofen
JD Vance calls ibuprofen "useless medication" and implies it's not "necessary, safe and effective."
November 13, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Does this sound familiar?
"We should only be taking stuff—we should only be giving our kids stuff—if it's actually necessary, safe & effective"
This is right out of the anti-vax & anti-abortion playbooks
And it's very dangerous that Vance uses this strategy to talk about ibuprofen
"We should only be taking stuff—we should only be giving our kids stuff—if it's actually necessary, safe & effective"
This is right out of the anti-vax & anti-abortion playbooks
And it's very dangerous that Vance uses this strategy to talk about ibuprofen
Reposted by Dania Palanker
And a third possibility is that they actually mean some sort of new individual health reimbursement account (HRA), not HSAs.
My point is, if Republicans don't actually know what acronym they're planning to use, maybe news outlets shouldn't be credulous about Republicans having a "plan."
My point is, if Republicans don't actually know what acronym they're planning to use, maybe news outlets shouldn't be credulous about Republicans having a "plan."
This is neither here nor there, but the distinction between a FSA and a HSA is actually pretty monumental — FSAs are use-it-or-lose-it, HSAs are not — and I don't think we actually know which one Trump(/Rick Scott/Bill Cassidy) is talking about in his new concepts of a plan
November 10, 2025 at 9:22 PM
And a third possibility is that they actually mean some sort of new individual health reimbursement account (HRA), not HSAs.
My point is, if Republicans don't actually know what acronym they're planning to use, maybe news outlets shouldn't be credulous about Republicans having a "plan."
My point is, if Republicans don't actually know what acronym they're planning to use, maybe news outlets shouldn't be credulous about Republicans having a "plan."