Charlotte Huff
charlottehuff.bsky.social
Charlotte Huff
@charlottehuff.bsky.social
Texas-based medical journalist reporting on science, policy, and ethics.
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
The second Trump administration’s deep federal spending cuts, including at the NIH, have halted at least 383 clinical trials, affecting more than 74,000 patients, according to a new analysis.
www.fiercebiotech.com/research/nih...
NIH grant cuts have disrupted hundreds of clinical trials, study finds
The second Trump administration has been defined by widespread cuts to federal spending, including at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). | The second Trump administration has been defined by wid...
www.fiercebiotech.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
"...Georgians browsing the state website are seeing estimated monthly costs double or even triple, depending on their incomes, as lower subsidy thresholds resume." (96% of current enrollees are subsidized):
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
October 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Here's an interesting indicator about how ordinary folks are feeling about the economy.
State Fair of Texas sees 400,000 drop in attendance compared to 2024, with cost cited as key factor by families
The 2025 State Fair of Texas drew about 2 million visitors, roughly 400,000 fewer than last year, as many families cited affordability concerns.
www.cbsnews.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"Like Wong and Wallace, roughly half of Obamacare enrollees work for small businesses, including the self-employed, according to KFF." (Chiropractors, real estate agents, musicians, farmers, ranchers, etc.)
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Who Gets Healthcare Subsidies Under the Affordable Care Act
The ACA marketplace health plans now cover more than 24 million people, many of them reliant on enhanced subsidies to keep costs down.
www.wsj.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Per article: "millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached hungry people because of the administration’s cut."

All of us who are able should donate to our local food bank.
October 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Many American families struggle to put food on the table ...but we won't know how many after this year.

🍎 Food insecurity is apolitical
🍎 The fight against hunger is not a 🔴 or 🔵 issue, it's a human issue

@hcwvshunger.bsky.social @tmprowell.bsky.social
@shematologist.medsky.social
USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food
The Department of Agriculture said it will end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey. Experts say the move will obscure the effects of recent changes that will lead to people losing food aid.
www.npr.org
September 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Kids are going to die. Needlessly. Because some other kid's parents are listening to these people. It's monstrous.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo criticized school vaccine mandates, which every state has, and likened them to slavery.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Research posts on Bluesky are more original — and get better engagement www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Research posts on Bluesky are more original — and get better engagement
Bluesky posts about science garner more likes and reposts than similar ones on X.
www.nature.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Another print newspaper to cease publication and shift entirely to digital: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/b...
Atlanta Journal-Constitution to Quit Print Cold Turkey
www.nytimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Brutal honesty re: heat as a "predatory force," with a massive inequality impact @jeffgoodell.bsky.social "Nights are also growing hotter, which is particularly risky for people who work in the heat, since it limits the time the body has to recover from daytime heat." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/o...
Opinion | The New American Inequality: The Cooled vs. the Cooked
www.nytimes.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
PS- If you’re a #SeattleWorldCon attendee who is not *yet* a Knowable fan, here is a shameless plug:

If you’re looking for research-backed, accessibly written, paywall-free science journalism to inform your worldbuilding… we’ve got you.

For example, some articles relevant to the Hugo finalists 🧵
Any Knowable fans at #SeattleWorldCon2025? We’ve stashed some Knowable Magazine (and Knowable en español) stickers in the freebies lounge. Be sure to pick one up while you’re hunting for ARCs!
August 15, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
🚨🚨🚨 Yesterday I promised I'd post my full analysis of how much gross 2026 #ACA premiums are expected to increase in #TEXAS.

As promised, here it is: 4 MILLION Texans are looking at avg. *gross* rate hikes of 31% starting in January:

acasignups.net/rate_changes...
2026 Gross Rate Changes - Texas: +31.1%; ~4 MILLION enrollees are in for a hell of a shock this fall
Overall preliminary rate changes via the SERFF database, Texas Insurance Dept. and/or the federal Rate Review database. Access to Care Health Plan: (Access to Care Health Plan is a division of Sendero...
acasignups.net
August 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
ICYMI: A must-read from ‪@tedalcorn.bsky.social‬, looking at strides made by Kentucky in rural cancer treatment, in a state that stands to lose the most in Medicaid cuts under a recently passed federal bill, via ‪@statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/07/23/c...
Kentucky’s campaign to improve rural cancer care is a national model. Federal cuts threaten its progress
Improvements in rural cancer care in Kentucky could be imperiled by President Trump's tax and domestic policy bill.
www.statnews.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on weather data collected and processed by Department of Defense satellites. The Navy has decided to stop sharing the data.
Defense Department will stop providing crucial satellite weather data
Hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on weather data collected and processed by Department of Defense satellites. The Navy has decided to stop sharing the data.
n.pr
July 5, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.
July 4, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Per ‪@reuters.com‬, who interviewed someone about why fellow workers are scarce:

"If they show up to work, they don't know if they will ever see their family again," he said. ‪(California grows 1/3 of U.S. vegetables & more than 3/4 of fruits and nuts.)

www.yahoo.com/news/immigra...
Immigration raids leave crops unharvested, California farms at risk
OXNARD, California (Reuters) -Lisa Tate is a sixth-generation farmer in Ventura County, California, an area that produces billions of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables each year, much of it hand-p...
www.yahoo.com
July 1, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
How do you encourage #Writers?
1. Buy their #books.
2. If you read a book, share it on social & book review sites.
3. Bring #authors to speak at events or schools.
4. Ask your library to carry the book.
5. Follow authors on social media.
6. Show up at local book signings.
jurassicgirl.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
This is a travesty & a nightmare. The US was a founder of @gavi.org. It lowers global vaccine costs, has vaccinated 1B children, & averted 19M deaths. This pull out will cost 100s of thousands of children's lives a year - and RFK Jr will be personally responsible.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
RFK Jr. says US won’t donate to global vaccine effort
Kennedy ripped into Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a video address at its pledging summit.
www.politico.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Medicaid cuts could result in more than 16,000 preventable deaths annually www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/m... via @statnews.com
Medicaid cuts could result in more than 16,000 preventable deaths annually
Health care proposals in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could lead to more than 16,000 preventable deaths, a new analysis finds.
www.statnews.com
June 24, 2025 at 7:34 PM
"A climate has been created in which it is hard for people to tell the difference between a fake ICE agent and a real ICE agent," the district attorney said at a news conference.

www.phillyvoice.com/philly-robbe...
Man who allegedly posed as ICE agent to rob Northeast Philly auto shop charged with false imprisonment
Prosecutors say Robert Rosado, 54, zip-tied a woman at the Mayfair business and stole $1,000 in cash.
www.phillyvoice.com
June 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
ICYMI: potential ripple effects, such as: "Kevin Stansbury, the CEO of the Lincoln Community Hospital, a 25-bed rural hospital in Hugo, Colorado, said his business is unlikely to survive under the proposed changes." www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
What is the provider tax? How the Senate’s proposed Medicaid cuts could deepen the rural hospital crisis
All states except Alaska have at least one provider tax. A significant proportion of the revenue the taxes generate goes toward supporting rural hospitals.
www.nbcnews.com
June 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Charlotte Huff
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
Exclusive: Climate.gov, which supports public education on climate science, will soon no longer publish new content
www.theguardian.com
June 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This headline reads like out of The Onion.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

From article:
Doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity, documents reviewed by the Guardian show.
‘Extremely disturbing and unethical’: new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans
Trump order allows VA staff to decline providing healthcare to patients based on political affiliation or marital status
www.theguardian.com
June 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Closer look @propublica.org about what NIH cuts mean for scientific progress & for patients:

"In addition to jeopardizing data, terminating a grant in the middle of an active study may worsen participants’ conditions and put them at higher risk of death."
projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...
projects.propublica.org
June 13, 2025 at 4:29 PM