Becca Thorsness
@beccathorsness.bsky.social
outdoor enthusiast and health services researcher, personal account (she/her)
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Longer statement from Brown University:
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Five years after the VA launched a new computer system in Spokane, Desmond Butler and I found the $10 billion Oracle EHR is still beset with problems, as the Trump administration gears up to launch it at 13 more hospitals in 2026.
1/
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
1/
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
VA staff flag dangerous errors ahead of new health records expansion
A multibillion-dollar electronic system seeks to boost medical care for veterans across VA’s network. Some users say glitches and errors put patients at risk.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Five years after the VA launched a new computer system in Spokane, Desmond Butler and I found the $10 billion Oracle EHR is still beset with problems, as the Trump administration gears up to launch it at 13 more hospitals in 2026.
1/
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
1/
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
if you are insured, in all likelihood.. you got a SUBSIDY to buy health insurance.
WE ALL GET TAX SUBSIDIES TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE
Those with employer insurance (60% of us) get subsidies TEN TIMES higher than the costs of the ACA subsidies.
So why only attack the ACA/Obamacare subsidies?
WE ALL GET TAX SUBSIDIES TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE
Those with employer insurance (60% of us) get subsidies TEN TIMES higher than the costs of the ACA subsidies.
So why only attack the ACA/Obamacare subsidies?
A complaint: extending ACA/marketplace enhanced premium tax credits would be expensive.
It would cost $35 billion/year to extend marketplace credits.
In contrast the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance cost $299 billion/year in 2022
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
It would cost $35 billion/year to extend marketplace credits.
In contrast the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance cost $299 billion/year in 2022
taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-boo...
November 8, 2025 at 9:21 PM
if you are insured, in all likelihood.. you got a SUBSIDY to buy health insurance.
WE ALL GET TAX SUBSIDIES TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE
Those with employer insurance (60% of us) get subsidies TEN TIMES higher than the costs of the ACA subsidies.
So why only attack the ACA/Obamacare subsidies?
WE ALL GET TAX SUBSIDIES TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE
Those with employer insurance (60% of us) get subsidies TEN TIMES higher than the costs of the ACA subsidies.
So why only attack the ACA/Obamacare subsidies?
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
The VA is down 600 doctors and about 1,900 nurses so far this year, the first time the agency has seen net losses in years.
At several facilities, more than a third of the positions for doctors are unfilled.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social
At several facilities, more than a third of the positions for doctors are unfilled.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social
Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals
Amid concerns about the stability of the agency, records show nearly 40% of the doctors offered jobs at the VA from January through March of this year turned them down — quadruple the rate of rejectio...
www.propublica.org
September 19, 2025 at 1:30 AM
The VA is down 600 doctors and about 1,900 nurses so far this year, the first time the agency has seen net losses in years.
At several facilities, more than a third of the positions for doctors are unfilled.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social
At several facilities, more than a third of the positions for doctors are unfilled.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social
I am not a podcast person, but Tested carried me driving across the midwest last summer, and Reo's evidence-driven reporting on the absurdity of sex testing in women's sports remains too relevant, unfortunately.
I wrote up what the new World Athletics policy actually means, who is exempt, and what might come next, along with a little *hot take* about the financial piece of this. buttondown.com/tested/archi...
World Athletics is indeed going back to mandatory sex testing.
In unsurprising, but still pretty unfortunate news: Yesterday, World Athletics announced that it would indeed be bringing back genetic sex testing for all...
buttondown.com
August 1, 2025 at 2:39 AM
I am not a podcast person, but Tested carried me driving across the midwest last summer, and Reo's evidence-driven reporting on the absurdity of sex testing in women's sports remains too relevant, unfortunately.
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
I will never forget @davidepstein.bsky.social's incredible 2016 story on the DIY scientist, the Olympian, and the mutated gene. www.propublica.org/article/musc...
You won't want to miss the postcript posted today. Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles
You won't want to miss the postcript posted today. Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles
The Most Interesting Email I Ever Received: Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles
In 2013, ProPublica reporter David Epstein was contacted by a woman with a wild story and a batch of photos she believed were clues to the mystery of her condition. Turns out, she was right.
www.propublica.org
July 18, 2025 at 3:13 PM
I will never forget @davidepstein.bsky.social's incredible 2016 story on the DIY scientist, the Olympian, and the mutated gene. www.propublica.org/article/musc...
You won't want to miss the postcript posted today. Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles
You won't want to miss the postcript posted today. Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Rümeysa is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I have ever met. Many of you came to know her first and foremost as an ICE abductee, seized by a state that wanted to strip her of her humanity. I would like for you to know her in her own words, which are resoundingly human.
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women’s Prison
Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up about her 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility—and the generous and compassionate women she met.
www.vanityfair.com
July 17, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Rümeysa is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I have ever met. Many of you came to know her first and foremost as an ICE abductee, seized by a state that wanted to strip her of her humanity. I would like for you to know her in her own words, which are resoundingly human.
My few followers are all very familiar with the science and scientists we're losing with NIH and other federal cuts, but take the time to read about Dr. López's path and her work. Spectacular profile of an incredible clinician and scientist.
An Interview With A Psychiatric Nurse Whose Research Funding Was Cut By The Trump Administration | Defector
Laura Mata López was born and raised in a low-income community in San José, Costa Rica. Some of her earliest memories were of the impact poverty and a lack of support for mental health had on her neig...
defector.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:17 PM
My few followers are all very familiar with the science and scientists we're losing with NIH and other federal cuts, but take the time to read about Dr. López's path and her work. Spectacular profile of an incredible clinician and scientist.
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
If you’re in Minneapolis for @academyhealth.bsky.social ‘s #arm25, come see PEPReC presentations on methods, the health care workforce, and more
June 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM
If you’re in Minneapolis for @academyhealth.bsky.social ‘s #arm25, come see PEPReC presentations on methods, the health care workforce, and more
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Just wondering if you knew that kids too young for COVID vaccines have COVID hospitalization rates that are similar to people 65-74?
Just wondering if you knew over 1000 people a week died from COVID while we were celebrating winter holidays and the New Year?
Does FDA Administrators know?
Just wondering if you knew over 1000 people a week died from COVID while we were celebrating winter holidays and the New Year?
Does FDA Administrators know?
May 20, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Just wondering if you knew that kids too young for COVID vaccines have COVID hospitalization rates that are similar to people 65-74?
Just wondering if you knew over 1000 people a week died from COVID while we were celebrating winter holidays and the New Year?
Does FDA Administrators know?
Just wondering if you knew over 1000 people a week died from COVID while we were celebrating winter holidays and the New Year?
Does FDA Administrators know?
Public health's shift to using person-first language is an improvement over past ways, but when communities tell us how we should refer to them we need to listen (otherwise, we're still being paternalistic). And the autistic community has been clear and consistent about this.
People posting about RFK:
For many years, autistic people have discussed what we want people to call us.
In endless surveys, about 90% of autistics prefer being called autistic or autistic people, not "people with autism."
It's not a trivial matter. "Person with autism" subtly implies... 1/x 🧵
For many years, autistic people have discussed what we want people to call us.
In endless surveys, about 90% of autistics prefer being called autistic or autistic people, not "people with autism."
It's not a trivial matter. "Person with autism" subtly implies... 1/x 🧵
April 22, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Public health's shift to using person-first language is an improvement over past ways, but when communities tell us how we should refer to them we need to listen (otherwise, we're still being paternalistic). And the autistic community has been clear and consistent about this.
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
A friend (and disgruntled former HHS staffer) just summed up the situation at HHS as best as I've heard so far:
"They are just systematically committed to ruining anyone’s ability to understand anything."
"They are just systematically committed to ruining anyone’s ability to understand anything."
April 2, 2025 at 7:56 PM
A friend (and disgruntled former HHS staffer) just summed up the situation at HHS as best as I've heard so far:
"They are just systematically committed to ruining anyone’s ability to understand anything."
"They are just systematically committed to ruining anyone’s ability to understand anything."
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Viewpoint from former VA employees, including former Veterans Health Administration Undersecretary for Health and former director of the Health Services Research program
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Veterans Affairs Research Under Threat
This Viewpoint discusses the critical importance of continued funding for the intramural research program in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
jamanetwork.com
March 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Viewpoint from former VA employees, including former Veterans Health Administration Undersecretary for Health and former director of the Health Services Research program
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
The reason the current federal administration wants to cut the VA is because it’s the closest thing to universal healthcare in the US -publicly funded, government-run, no insurance middlemen. In fact, racial health inequities, though still present, are less in the VA than in the private sector.
March 9, 2025 at 7:32 PM
The reason the current federal administration wants to cut the VA is because it’s the closest thing to universal healthcare in the US -publicly funded, government-run, no insurance middlemen. In fact, racial health inequities, though still present, are less in the VA than in the private sector.
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Literally all they’re doing is a private equity play. They need these offices so they’ll have to rent them back putting further strain on the budget and justifying further cuts (while their friends make money on the deal)
NEW: The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.
The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings
The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.
www.wired.com
February 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Literally all they’re doing is a private equity play. They need these offices so they’ll have to rent them back putting further strain on the budget and justifying further cuts (while their friends make money on the deal)
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
We've allowed "regulation" to become a dirty word in common parlance, but federal rules are essentially just the "how to" guides for implementing federal legislation.
This is like IKEA packing up their furniture without assembly instructions, except with livelihoods and lives on the line.
This is like IKEA packing up their furniture without assembly instructions, except with livelihoods and lives on the line.
“Regulations, basically, should be default gone,” Musk said. “Not default there, default gone. And if it turns out that we missed the mark on a regulation, we can always add it back in.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-m...
www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-m...
Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call
"If it's not possible now, it'll never be possible," Musk said of his proposal to simply ignore all federal regulation as a baseline.
www.huffpost.com
February 3, 2025 at 10:18 PM
We've allowed "regulation" to become a dirty word in common parlance, but federal rules are essentially just the "how to" guides for implementing federal legislation.
This is like IKEA packing up their furniture without assembly instructions, except with livelihoods and lives on the line.
This is like IKEA packing up their furniture without assembly instructions, except with livelihoods and lives on the line.
How long does it take a new attending physician to get up to speed?
My awesome colleague Yufei Li explored this question among attending physicians in the Veterans Health Administration, now in JGIM. 1/3
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
My awesome colleague Yufei Li explored this question among attending physicians in the Veterans Health Administration, now in JGIM. 1/3
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Physician Tenure and Clinical Productivity for Internal and External Hires: A Retrospective Cohort Study - Journal of General Internal Medicine
Background New employees generally demonstrate lower productivity than experienced colleagues in non-healthcare sectors, but there is limited evidence on how tenure affects physician productivity. Obj...
link.springer.com
January 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
How long does it take a new attending physician to get up to speed?
My awesome colleague Yufei Li explored this question among attending physicians in the Veterans Health Administration, now in JGIM. 1/3
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
My awesome colleague Yufei Li explored this question among attending physicians in the Veterans Health Administration, now in JGIM. 1/3
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
My street goes hard for Halloween. Trying to fit in, I sewed a Halloween wreath. Except its vibes are more "cluster of monarch butterflies" than "spooky season." Alas, I still like it!
October 24, 2024 at 3:08 PM
My street goes hard for Halloween. Trying to fit in, I sewed a Halloween wreath. Except its vibes are more "cluster of monarch butterflies" than "spooky season." Alas, I still like it!
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
What heartbreaking news. “Brown University Professor Emerita Lundy Braun died Friday after she was struck by a car and killed walking on her Cranston street… She dedicated her life to studying racism in public health and medicine”
Brown University Professor Emerita dedicated life to researching race and medicine
Brown University Professor Emerita Lundy Braun died Friday after she was struck by a car and killed walking on her Cranston street.
turnto10.com
August 14, 2024 at 11:25 AM
What heartbreaking news. “Brown University Professor Emerita Lundy Braun died Friday after she was struck by a car and killed walking on her Cranston street… She dedicated her life to studying racism in public health and medicine”
I keep coming back to this article from March, about how conservative-backed misinformation on social media targets health-conscious women and convinces them hormonal birth control is unnatural and actively harmful. If your socials are full of it too, please read & share this.
wapo.st/3WZDlrg
wapo.st/3WZDlrg
Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion
Misinformation about birth control has exploded because of algorithms that feed young women a stream of videos reinforcing messages divorced from scientific evidence.
wapo.st
August 14, 2024 at 1:45 AM
I keep coming back to this article from March, about how conservative-backed misinformation on social media targets health-conscious women and convinces them hormonal birth control is unnatural and actively harmful. If your socials are full of it too, please read & share this.
wapo.st/3WZDlrg
wapo.st/3WZDlrg
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
you will never guess what ad accompanies my column today about hating soul-crushing AI www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | I hate the Gemini ‘Dear Sydney’ ad more every passing moment
You’re missing it! You’re missing all of it!
www.washingtonpost.com
July 31, 2024 at 3:51 PM
you will never guess what ad accompanies my column today about hating soul-crushing AI www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
Patient: “I can’t start dialysis, I won’t be able to keep my job.”
Doctor: “Let’s see if your insurance will pay for home dialysis modalities.”
Insurance: “Lol, no.”
Doctor: “Sorry, you’ll have to do in-center dialysis.”
Patient: “But then I’ll lose my job AND my insurance.”
Insurance: “Byee!”
Doctor: “Let’s see if your insurance will pay for home dialysis modalities.”
Insurance: “Lol, no.”
Doctor: “Sorry, you’ll have to do in-center dialysis.”
Patient: “But then I’ll lose my job AND my insurance.”
Insurance: “Byee!”
February 13, 2024 at 5:54 PM
Patient: “I can’t start dialysis, I won’t be able to keep my job.”
Doctor: “Let’s see if your insurance will pay for home dialysis modalities.”
Insurance: “Lol, no.”
Doctor: “Sorry, you’ll have to do in-center dialysis.”
Patient: “But then I’ll lose my job AND my insurance.”
Insurance: “Byee!”
Doctor: “Let’s see if your insurance will pay for home dialysis modalities.”
Insurance: “Lol, no.”
Doctor: “Sorry, you’ll have to do in-center dialysis.”
Patient: “But then I’ll lose my job AND my insurance.”
Insurance: “Byee!”
There are lots of people sharing very important articles about the state of our world which you should definitely read, but if you need a break and a smile then please read this article about a dog who ate $4k (gift link)
wapo.st/3RLVzIT
wapo.st/3RLVzIT
‘This is Cecil. He has never done anything bad in his life until he ate $4,000.’
“We looked at each other and said, ‘What are we going to do?’” said Clayton Law about his goldendoodle who chewed up a stack of cash.
wapo.st
January 3, 2024 at 9:30 PM
There are lots of people sharing very important articles about the state of our world which you should definitely read, but if you need a break and a smile then please read this article about a dog who ate $4k (gift link)
wapo.st/3RLVzIT
wapo.st/3RLVzIT
Reposted by Becca Thorsness
a related thought i have to all of these skeets is that i wonder if people have been hollywood-brained to believe that when autocracy comes it will be dramatic and that preventing or stopping it will be equally dramatic, rather than the boring work of ordinary politics.
it is unfortunate that americans learn about jim crow as the product of prejudice and not as a nearly 75-year-long reversal of democratic fortune in which a very large number of americans lived under violent authoritarian rule
for all of the pessimism about the present many americans basically believe that we exist outside of contingent history and that nothing could possibly get worse than the present. but, uh, that’s not the case.
November 30, 2023 at 3:13 PM
a related thought i have to all of these skeets is that i wonder if people have been hollywood-brained to believe that when autocracy comes it will be dramatic and that preventing or stopping it will be equally dramatic, rather than the boring work of ordinary politics.