Health
RFK Jr. Appears Unfamiliar With Key Elements of Medicare and Medicaid
In a tense exchange with Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. displayed a surprising lack of familiarity with Medicare and Medicaid, the government programs responsible for covering more than 150 million Americans.
At times, Mr. Kennedy seemed to confuse the two programs. Medicare is a federal program that provides coverage to older and disabled Americans, while Medicaid is a state-federal program that covers low-income people.
When he first described Medicare, he seemed to ignore the half of the Medicare program that relies on private insurance plans to provide care. Later, he acknowledged that he was enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage plan and said he thought “more people would rather be on Medicare Advantage because it offers very good services.”
Medicare Advantage plans have been heavily criticized by lawmakers, including by federal regulators Mr. Kennedy would oversee if confirmed and by public advocacy groups. They have accused the plans, including those offered by the nation’s biggest insurers, of overcharging the government, delaying and denying access to care. Regulators have penalized some insurers for overbilling.
Mr. Kennedy described Medicaid as “fully paid for by the federal government.” In fact, Medicaid, which provides health insurance coverage to nearly 80 million low-income Americans, is financed through a combination of state and federal funds.
Mr. Kennedy also claimed that many Medicaid enrollees were frustrated by high costs they face with their public insurance coverage.
“Most people who are on Medicaid are not happy,” Mr. Kennedy claimed. “The premiums are too high. The deductibles are too high.”
He repeated a similar argument later in the hearing, facing questioning from Senator Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico. “The premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high, and everybody’s getting sicker,” he said.
But the vast majority of Medicaid enrollees do not pay any premiums or deductibles for their coverage. Federal law specifically prohibits premiums for the lowest-income Medicaid enrollees. Patients typically do not have to pay anything when they go to the doctor, aside from a handful of state-based experiments that have tested out small fees.
Recent research on Medicaid does not support Mr. Kennedy’s contention that “everyone’s getting sicker.” Studies generally find that increased Medicaid enrollment improves people’s access to health care. Some studies have also found that Medicaid improves health outcomes, although that is a more limited body of research.
Senator Cassidy asked Mr. Kennedy to describe how he would reform the Medicaid program. While other Trump nominees have offered concrete policy proposals — Russell Vought, the nominee to run the Office of Budget and Management, suggested a work requirement for the program in his confirmation hearing last week — Mr. Kennedy described vaguer changes.
He said he supported changes to “increase transparency” and “increase accountability.”
When Mr. Cassidy pressed him to be more specific, Mr. Kennedy responded, “I don’t have a broad proposal for dismantling the program.”
Mr. Kennedy did seem prepared, however, to be asked about the enrollment figures for Medicaid, accurately telling senators that the program covers about 72 million people through the traditional public insurance program and an additional seven million through a targeted benefit, the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
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The Trump administration is taking another look at ending biannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time (DST), or the “summer clock,” permanent.
On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in a 48-1 vote, part of a largely bipartisan push to end twice-yearly clock changes.
Although gaining extra winter evening daylight might seem like a win, health experts say permanent daylight saving time could disrupt people’s natural circadian rhythms.
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In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Wendy Troxel, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND based in Utah, said science is being “misconstrued” in this decision.
“Ending the biannual clock change is something most sleep scientists and the public would welcome,” she said. “The disruption of springing forward every March is associated with real, measurable harm — spikes in car crashes, heart attacks and sleep deprivation.”
The Trump administration is taking another look at ending semiannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time, or the “summer clock,” permanent. (iStock)
However, Troxel noted, implementing permanent daylight saving time is “not supported by science.” Instead, evidence “strongly supports” permanent standard time, or the “winter clock,” according to the expert.
Major sleep medicine organizations, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have previously supported adopting permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time.
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“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadian biology, meaning the relationship between light, darkness and our internal clocks remains intact,” Troxel said.
“Permanent DST simply shifts an hour of morning sunlight to the evening, and there are significant health and safety costs of that trade.”
“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadian biology,” the expert said. (iStock)
The U.S. attempted permanent DST in the early 1970s, but the plan was aborted in part due to these “morning consequences,” according to the sleep expert.
“Within a year, the law was repealed amid public displeasure with commuting to work and school in the dark and increases in morning car crashes, and with no demonstrable impact on energy savings,” Troxel told Fox News Digital.
Why morning sunlight matters
Human circadian rhythms are primarily “anchored” by morning light, Troxel said. Under permanent DST, most people waking up for work or school would be rising before the sun, which forces a “chronic misalignment between the body’s internal clock and the external world.”
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“You cannot override that biology by simply shifting external clocks forward,” the expert said. “What you get instead is a population that is effectively waking up in the middle of their biological night, every single day.”
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The public has typically supported having more daylight in winter evenings, which could alleviate mental health conditions such as seasonal depression.
Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that later evening daylight could encourage outdoor activity, recreation and consumer spending after work or school.
Morning light is “crucial to regulate sleep, [boost] alertness and support mental health,” according to a sleep expert. (iStock)
Troxel agreed that light is a “powerful regulator” for sleep and moods, but noted that not all types have the same benefits.
“Morning light is crucial to regulate sleep, alertness and support mental health, and this would be sacrificed with permanent daylight saving time,” she noted.
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In some areas of the country, like Utah, Americans wouldn’t see the sunrise until about 9 a.m. in the winter, which some research has linked to higher rates of depression and seasonal mood challenges.
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“More evening light may feel enjoyable, in part because we equate it with lovely summer evenings, but permanent daylight saving time does not mean permanent summer,” Troxel emphasized. “It just means we will get less morning sunlight and more evening sunlight.”
“Exposure to light in the evening further pushes circadian rhythms later, making it more difficult to fall asleep and harder to wake up in the morning.”
Risks for vulnerable groups
Permanent daylight saving time can intensify people’s habit of “bedtime procrastination,” deepen sleep deprivation and contribute to the widespread public health issue of insufficient sleep already identified by the Institute of Medicine, according to Troxel.
Teens are most at risk of mental health complications if permanent DST extends darkness in the morning. (iStock)
Various studies have shown that people typically sleep less in summer compared to winter. Troxel said this is particularly concerning in a society where one in three people are already getting insufficient shuteye.
“This is especially alarming for teenagers, a population the U.S. surgeon general has identified as being in a mental health crisis,” she cautioned.
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For example, a teen waking up at 6:30 a.m. for an 8 a.m. school start time under permanent DST would be rising biologically at 5:30 a.m., Troxel noted, which is “in the middle of their biological night.”
“Framing permanent DST as a fix for seasonal depression gets the science exactly backwards,” she added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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People who quit smoking may reduce their risk of developing dementia later in life, according to new research.
A team of researchers at a university in China analyzed data from more than 32,000 adults over a 25-year period and found that former smokers had a lower risk of dementia compared to people who continued smoking.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology.
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During the study period, researchers documented 5,868 cases of dementia.
Participants who quit smoking during the study had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia than current smokers. Their risk was similar to people who had quit smoking before the study began and those who had never smoked.
New research suggests that quitting smoking may lower the chance of developing dementia later in life. (iStock)
The researchers also found that dementia risk continued to decline the longer a person remained smoke-free, approaching that of never-smokers after about seven years.
The benefits appeared strongest among people who gained little or no weight after quitting.
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“Our findings suggest that quitting smoking may support long-term brain health, but they also highlight that what happens after quitting matters,” lead researcher Hui Chen said in a statement.
The reduction in dementia risk was most pronounced among people who experienced little or no weight gain after they stopped smoking. (iStock)
Zaid Fadul, a Harvard-trained physician and chief medical officer of Bespoke Concierge MD who was not involved in the research, said the findings add to growing evidence that quitting smoking can help protect long-term brain health.
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“The key takeaway is that the brain appears to benefit from smoking cessation at virtually any stage,” Fadul told Fox News Digital.
“Smoking contributes to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and damage to blood vessels that supply the brain, all of which are associated with cognitive decline and dementia risk.”
Fadul said the findings should encourage smokers who may feel it is too late to quit.
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“Importantly, it is rarely ‘too late’ to quit,” he said.
“While earlier cessation offers the greatest benefit, the body and brain begin recovering soon after smoking stops.”
Experts say it is almost never too late to quit smoking, as the body and brain start to recover soon after a person stops, although quitting earlier provides the greatest health benefits. (iStock)
Improvements in circulation, reduced inflammation and better cardiovascular health can help preserve cognitive function later in life, according to Fadul.
“Every year without tobacco is a step toward lowering future dementia risk and improving overall health,” he said.
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While the findings were encouraging, the study does have limitations.
Researchers identified an association between quitting smoking and a lower risk of dementia, but the study was not designed to prove that ending smoking directly prevents the condition.
Other health, lifestyle and environmental factors may have also influenced participants’ outcomes.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for further comment.
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