Jess McAllen
@jessmcallen.bsky.social
Reporting on healthcare, especially mental health, chronic illness, and care inequalities
not sure if it's worth announcing since social media is a mess now BUT: I have left the baffler and furthermore the US of A and am back home in new zealand for the foreseeable. After nearly seven years, one pandemic, three surgeries etc it's a big change but one i was ready for by the end
February 9, 2026 at 10:58 PM
not sure if it's worth announcing since social media is a mess now BUT: I have left the baffler and furthermore the US of A and am back home in new zealand for the foreseeable. After nearly seven years, one pandemic, three surgeries etc it's a big change but one i was ready for by the end
Reposted by Jess McAllen
It seems clear Alex Pretti, a healthcare worker, was murdered for engaging in the exact kind of community care we hope all care workers to embody: the kind that doesn’t stop at the threshold of the hospital, the clinic, but that aims to care for and support the community where and how they can
January 24, 2026 at 7:05 PM
It seems clear Alex Pretti, a healthcare worker, was murdered for engaging in the exact kind of community care we hope all care workers to embody: the kind that doesn’t stop at the threshold of the hospital, the clinic, but that aims to care for and support the community where and how they can
Reposted by Jess McAllen
remember that when Israel bombed the first hospital in Gaza, they dissimulated, lied, and argued, expending tremendous resources to "complicate" the "narrative." a month later, it was the new normal
January 24, 2026 at 11:06 PM
remember that when Israel bombed the first hospital in Gaza, they dissimulated, lied, and argued, expending tremendous resources to "complicate" the "narrative." a month later, it was the new normal
this kitten is sooo cute www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifesty...
Traveller hikes three days with abandoned kitten on Te Araroa trail
Carrying the black kitten with one hand, Katie Evans clambered over fallen trees and navigated a swinging bridge over the Hurunui River to reach the nearest hut.
www.rnz.co.nz
January 22, 2026 at 7:33 PM
this kitten is sooo cute www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifesty...
ppl will be like it's about class, not race or gender and then not even discuss class
January 14, 2026 at 9:35 PM
ppl will be like it's about class, not race or gender and then not even discuss class
My sister was face timing me her new bathroom and I asked if that was mold on her bath and she was like "no it's black" and it turns out she thought mold was just green
January 7, 2026 at 3:18 AM
My sister was face timing me her new bathroom and I asked if that was mold on her bath and she was like "no it's black" and it turns out she thought mold was just green
Reposted by Jess McAllen
We're launching a new newsletter, Good Medicine, on a simple premise: These are chaotic times, with so much distrust and confusion around our health and our health care system.
So our goal is to help all of us navigate through the cacophony, together:
www.vox.com/pages/good-m...
So our goal is to help all of us navigate through the cacophony, together:
www.vox.com/pages/good-m...
Sign up for the Good Medicine newsletter | Vox
Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters expl...
www.vox.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
We're launching a new newsletter, Good Medicine, on a simple premise: These are chaotic times, with so much distrust and confusion around our health and our health care system.
So our goal is to help all of us navigate through the cacophony, together:
www.vox.com/pages/good-m...
So our goal is to help all of us navigate through the cacophony, together:
www.vox.com/pages/good-m...
A moustache is like eyeliner for the lip
January 3, 2026 at 8:15 PM
A moustache is like eyeliner for the lip
Sometimes I feel like I could write a whole novel about the social and political implications of the heart react
January 2, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Sometimes I feel like I could write a whole novel about the social and political implications of the heart react
sorry if this is an obvi question but does the manage my health nz data breach mean that our passwords are also compromised?
January 1, 2026 at 11:04 PM
sorry if this is an obvi question but does the manage my health nz data breach mean that our passwords are also compromised?
Gimme gimme gimme a mayor after midnight
December 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Gimme gimme gimme a mayor after midnight
They did surgery on a grape voice: they put an egg on my pizza
December 29, 2025 at 4:11 AM
They did surgery on a grape voice: they put an egg on my pizza
Reposted by Jess McAllen
if vaccines were free and widely available, if people got paid time off to get them, if testing was free and widely available, if masks were free and widely available… this has always been about layered protection, and masks are just one layer left that people can see from the outside
December 27, 2025 at 9:06 PM
if vaccines were free and widely available, if people got paid time off to get them, if testing was free and widely available, if masks were free and widely available… this has always been about layered protection, and masks are just one layer left that people can see from the outside
Trifle - the thinking man's lasagne
December 26, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Trifle - the thinking man's lasagne
i can't believe paddington did NOT go to new zealand
December 26, 2025 at 4:10 AM
i can't believe paddington did NOT go to new zealand
Sometimes I think pistachios are too expensive but then I eat a pistachio and have to respect that she knows her worth
December 22, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Sometimes I think pistachios are too expensive but then I eat a pistachio and have to respect that she knows her worth
i've been in a cute upstate town this week and every time i make prolonged eye contact w a fellow early thirties person i feel like we are cosplaying small home town return for xmas movie except this is not my hometown and i am not open to love
December 17, 2025 at 10:44 PM
i've been in a cute upstate town this week and every time i make prolonged eye contact w a fellow early thirties person i feel like we are cosplaying small home town return for xmas movie except this is not my hometown and i am not open to love
can someone create an extension like adblocker but for AI??
December 16, 2025 at 9:22 PM
can someone create an extension like adblocker but for AI??
"I want the way I was born to be treated with as much dignity as my body after an accident."
Being disabled is not linear, not clear-cut, and not without many things to unlearn - I've always been careful about how I exist as both a disabled person and as someone who has a platform. At times, it's meant people have criticised me for not talking about my own experiences.
So here they are.
So here they are.
Moral Injury: A Crash Course
Navigating our public health system in search of dignity, care, and humanity
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:24 AM
"I want the way I was born to be treated with as much dignity as my body after an accident."
$59 is so evil
Over the last decade, a community health center in Virginia filed more than 7,000 lawsuits for unpaid bills.
It sued one couple for $59 last January, an amount that ballooned more than 600% within months due to interest, court costs and lawyer fees.
It sued one couple for $59 last January, an amount that ballooned more than 600% within months due to interest, court costs and lawyer fees.
These Health Centers Are Supposed to Make Care Affordable. One Has Sued Patients for as Little as $59 in Unpaid Bills.
Federally funded community health centers receive grants in exchange for serving patients regardless of their ability to pay. But ProPublica found at least five across the country garnishing patients’...
www.propublica.org
December 11, 2025 at 1:00 AM
$59 is so evil
writers being sad about AI using em-dashes meanwhile real BRACKET HEADS sitting smugly (as ever)
December 10, 2025 at 10:30 PM
writers being sad about AI using em-dashes meanwhile real BRACKET HEADS sitting smugly (as ever)
Reposted by Jess McAllen
It's not just about leave but about what we are producing when we are working, says Toss Grumley.
December 3, 2025 at 10:04 PM
It's not just about leave but about what we are producing when we are working, says Toss Grumley.
it's my first day back at work post-surgery and my close friend and furthermore 2-door-down neighbor dropped off some banana bread to mark the occash
December 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
it's my first day back at work post-surgery and my close friend and furthermore 2-door-down neighbor dropped off some banana bread to mark the occash
Reposted by Jess McAllen
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked for his ulcerative colitis, UnitedHealthcare decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs.
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked, the insurance giant decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs. His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for r...
www.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:00 AM
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked for his ulcerative colitis, UnitedHealthcare decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs.
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
In just over two weeks I can lift weights again. I've never lifted weights but it's nice to know it's an option.
December 1, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In just over two weeks I can lift weights again. I've never lifted weights but it's nice to know it's an option.