Limiting gender affirming interventions: Trump administration targets Texas even though it already bans youth access Lindsey Dawson | June 4, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/06/04/limiting-gender-affirming-interventions-trump-administration-targets-texas-even-though-it-already-bans-youth-access/ Since early 2025, the Trump Administration has sought to limit youth access to gender-affirming care, taking a comprehensive approach to impose and enforce limitations. The administration has implemented or initiated dozens of actions with this aim, some of which have been challenged in court. In response to these actions, at least 40 health care institutions have walked back the provision of gender-affirming care over the last year and a half. This attrition has occurred in waves and in direct response to policy making – first following an executive order laying out the administration’s approach to limiting this care in January 2025, and then several times since in response to subpoenas (see below), proposed rulemaking, and a (now vacated) “declaration” from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, among other efforts. Over this period, when providers shut down services, they have generally said they were doing for reasons such “external pressures beyond our control,” “new federal orders targeting such procedures,” and “mounting pressure from the federal government”, not because they had concerns about safety, medical indication, or effectiveness. At times state Attorneys General have pushed providers to reopen or maintain services, stating that failing to do so would put them in potential violation of state non-discrimination laws and some have expressed frustration that pulling back on this care has at times preempted formal policy making. Pressure from the federal government to end care, oppositional pressure from states to provide care, and institutional barriers to providing best practice care, have left clinics and clinicians in a challenging position.

In first of more than 1300 cases, Google, Meta, and TikTok to pay $27 million to settle school district lawsuit claiming their products are dangerously addictive Legal Examiner | June 4, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/06/04/in-first-of-more-than-1300-cases-google-meta-and-tiktok-to-pay-27-million-to-settle-school-district-lawsuit-claiming-their-products-are-dangerously-addictive/ A Kentucky school district reached a $27 million settlement with the owners of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Breathitt County is one of the first of more than 1,300 school districts in the U.S. to settle with the tech conglomerates. They allege social media platforms are addictive and caused youth mental health crises that depleted school resources.

Viewpoint: Can mRNA research survive the Trump administration? Shelby Bradford | June 3, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/06/03/viewpoint-can-mrna-research-survive-the-trump-administration/ In December 2020, mRNA vaccines leapt into the limelight as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, millions of people have received at least one mRNA vaccine, and researchers estimate that the shots have prevented more than two million deaths in the US alone.

Viewpoint: Double standard—Why does the wellness industry get a free pass while Big Healthcare is treated as morally suspect? BJ Saylor | June 5, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/06/05/viewpoint-double-standard-why-does-the-wellness-industry-get-a-free-pass-while-big-healthcare-is-treated-as-morally-suspect/ Despite public opinion, the wellness industry is profoundly and almost absurdly commercial. It sells, among its products and services, supplements, programs, retreats, coaching, devices, courses, books, subscriptions, and, perhaps most importantly for this distinction, therapeutic identities. Capitalism with yoga is still capitalism.

Challenging anti-GMO disinformation: Why genetically-tweaked crops offer bushels of benefits Dirt To Dinner | June 4, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/06/04/challenging-anti-gmo-disinformation-why-genetically-tweaked-crops-over-bushels-of-benefits/ GMOs are one of the most controversial topics within our global food system. There are many misconceptions regarding what a GMO is and what the technology is designed to do. GMOs provide a wide array of benefits for our global food system and world.

Inside CMS: How Medicare Innovation Models Are Working to Lower Costs & Scale Digital Health Rob LottandAbe Sutton June 2, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hp20260601.623051/full/?utm_campaign=podcast&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--3lJwbS2ZVKBOO8rR3TNjDAStmysXqrbcS6wIzdsLoh9g-6BK_ZXVq0TzStfUmdLVC-dQzvVhRHNKJ2wYwu8vyIpGGeQ&_hsmi=422471333&utm_content=ahp&utm_source=hasu Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Abe Sutton, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, about the ACCESS model and broader efforts to test payment and delivery reforms aimed at improving affordability, expanding digital health, and generating real-world evidence in Medicare.

Will the Rural Health Transformation Fund Deliver? Jeff ByersandSarah Jane Tribble June 5, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hp20260604.16483/full/?utm_campaign=podcast&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9L2QemSwmyIVw_sxuDixKdNOOC6kg38k3FYwffzj7lIqPLa7nqiSp0LoIjkgegm47SbR6cHy2nvR-wTzNi06ivorxMHQ&_hsmi=422471333&utm_content=hatw&utm_source=hasu Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News to the pod to discuss the Rural Health Transformation Fund, highlighting how it aims to improve infrastructure and access in rural communities amid ongoing challenges like hospital closures, workforce shortages, and Medicaid cuts.