Looking Back to Move Forward As the United States marks its semiquincentennial, public health has its own story to tell: a story of discovery, public action, hard-won trust, and imperfect but unmistakable progress. APHA’s 250-year public health celebration rightly frames this anniversary as both a moment to honor what has been achieved and a charge… Read More: 250 Years of Public Health Progress » Author information Ben King Assistant Professor at University of Houston, Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine Ben King is an Editor for the Medical Care Blog. He is an epidemiologist by training and an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston's Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine, in the Departments of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences & Behavioral and Social Sciences. He is also a statistician in the UH Humana Integrated Health Systems Sciences Institute at UH, a Scientific Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the President of Methods & Results, a research consulting service. His own research is often focused on the intersection between poverty, housing, & health. Other interests include neuro-emergencies, diagnostics, and a bunch of meta-topics like measurement validation & replication studies. For what it's worth he has degrees in neuroscience, community health management, and epidemiology. | LinkedIn | The post 250 Years of Public Health Progress appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

By now most of you have heard of the Office of Management and Budget’s proposal to dramatically revamp the federal grantmaking process. While this proposal appears to turn Federal support of research into a mechanism for driving ideologically-driven pseudoscience, it is in fact much broader and more dangerous than that. It goes well beyond science to encompass nearly… Read More: How to Fight OMB’s Proposal on Federal Funding » Author information Ken Kobayashi ​Dr. Kobayashi is an accomplished oncologist, clinical pharmacologist, and senior global life sciences executive. He has a deep background as a clinician scientist, regulator, scientific diplomat and drug developer across the US, Europe, Latin America, and Japan/Asia. As a senior executive in top-tier pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novartis, he has successfully overseen the introduction of more than 28 investigational agents and been directly involved with 60 programs, including in the areas of signal transduction inhibitors, epigenetic modifiers, and inflammation/immunotherapy. His experience also includes roles at the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration. He is active in the climate change advocacy space, especially as it intersects with cancer outcomes. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his AB from Washington University, St. Louis, MO. his MD from Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, and trained in internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and in medical oncology at the University of Chicago, Chicago IL. He now works in the biotech space and is President of Small Woods Biopharma Consulting, LLC. | LinkedIn | The post How to Fight OMB’s Proposal on Federal Funding appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

Final Rules for Medicaid Work Requirements Are Out. Here’s What You Need To Know. The Trump administration has issued final rules on how states should ensure that millions of Medicaid enrollees prove they’re working or completing other activities, such as job training, volunteering, or being enrolled in an educational program. The Centers for Medicare &… Read More: Medicaid Work Rules » The post Medicaid Work Rules appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

As we move through 2026, our blog theme “Health in All Policies” continues to drive our public health discussions. This framework reminds us that well-being isn’t just about medicine or insurance. Instead, it is shaped by where we live, work, and age—our social, economic, and environmental conditions. A study recently published ahead-of-print in Medical Care… Read More: Diabetes and state Medicaid policy » Author information Lisa M. Lines Senior health services researcher Lisa M. Lines, PhD, MPH is an independent consultant, senior health services researcher, and Assistant Professor in Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Her research focuses on drivers of health, quality of care, care experiences, and health outcomes, particularly among people with chronic or serious illnesses. She is co-editor of TheMedicalCareBlog.com and serves on the Medical Care Editorial Board. She served as chair of the APHA Medical Care Section's Health Equity Committee from 2014 to 2023. Views expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of UMass Chan Medical School. | Twitter | LinkedIn | The post Diabetes and state Medicaid policy appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

In two earlier posts, we explored what the research tells us about screen time and adolescent health — from physical effects to the mental health mechanisms behind them. This final post turns to action. What can individuals, families, schools, and policymakers do to protect adolescent mental health in a world where screens are unavoidable? How… Read More: Teen Screen Time and Mental Health: What We Can Do » Author information Stephanie Chhea Stephanie Chhea, BS, MPH (candidate) is a public health researcher and writer specializing in adolescent health and epidemiology. She is an MPH candidate in Epidemiology at San Diego State University and a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. | The post Teen Screen Time and Mental Health: What We Can Do appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

Medical Care enters a new chapter with the arrival of its new Editors-in-Chief, Drs. Amresh Hanchate and Deepak Palakshappa. The journal has long shaped health services research. It has advanced work on health policy, care delivery, equity, and methods. As the flagship journal behind The Medical Care Blog and a close partner of the APHA… Read More: A Conversation with the New Editors-in-Chief of Medical Care » The post A Conversation with the New Editors-in-Chief of Medical Care appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

Teen screen time has become one of the most studied topics in adolescent health — and for good reason. In our first post, we covered three areas that screen time affects: physical health, mental health, and social development. This post takes a closer look at the mental health evidence — the research findings and the… Read More: Screen Time and Adolescence: A Deeper Dive on Mental Health » Author information Stephanie Chhea Stephanie Chhea, BS, MPH (candidate) is a public health researcher and writer specializing in adolescent health and epidemiology. She is an MPH candidate in Epidemiology at San Diego State University and a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. | The post Screen Time and Adolescence: A Deeper Dive on Mental Health appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

“What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual…In our oldest stories, we are reminded that…when we rely deeply on other lives, there is an urgency to protect them.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass When Federal Safety Nets Fail, Communities Step Up Public health… Read More: Mutual Aid and Public Health » Author information Alison T. Brill Alison T. Brill (she/her), MPH, is a public health expert specializing in equity-based training and technical assistance, capacity building, and cross-sector collaboration within health departments and community organizations. She develops collaborative and effective strategies to improve community health and create systemic change. Alison also serves as the Chair of the APHA Medical Care Section's Health Equity Committee. She holds a Master's of Public Health from Boston University, and a BA in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Iowa. | The post Mutual Aid and Public Health appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

Screen time is now a central part of adolescent life, and it is nearly unavoidable. Adolescents complete schoolwork online, watch video clips and television, play video games, engage in social media—all on devices. This begins a three-part series on screen time and adolescence. We review evidence and explore what we might do about it. In… Read More: Screen Time and Adolescence: Why It Matters More Than Ever » Author information Stephanie Chhea Stephanie Chhea, BS, MPH (candidate) is a public health researcher and writer specializing in adolescent health and epidemiology. She is an MPH candidate in Epidemiology at San Diego State University and a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. | The post Screen Time and Adolescence: Why It Matters More Than Ever appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.

A consistent pattern in medical training is hard to ignore: many students enter wanting to work in primary care with underserved groups, yet later choose to pursue specialty careers. I’d like to think these intentions are sincere, but something during training redirects them. That pattern isn’t about greed or moral failure–it’s a signal that we… Read More: Undervalued to In-Demand: Rethinking Incentives in Primary Care » Author information Margaret Lister Third year PA (physician assistant) student at USC Keck School of Medicine. Passionate about health policy and primary care. | The post Undervalued to In-Demand: Rethinking Incentives in Primary Care appeared first on The Medical Care Blog.