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We tend to associate the word “brutality” with physical violence, especially violence at the hands of the state. It calls to mind police shootings, torture and war. But there is another form of brutality that is less apparent to the naked eye — the brutality of policy. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has announced policy proposals that appear to serve little purpose other than cruelty. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, 5/15)

There’s something almost eerie about the unwavering nature of the Republican system of belief. The nationalists who propelled President Trump into office may appear locked in an existential battle with the party’s pro-trade globalists. In truth, the Republican Party is still driven by the two propositions that have guided it for decades: cutting government aid will free poor Americans to shake dependency and get ahead, and cutting taxes on the well-to-do will bring prosperity to all. (Eduardo Porter, 5/15)

In Virginia, an insurer wants to hike rates by as much as 64%. In Maryland, it’s as much as 91%. And unfortunately, more double-digit increases in premiums for 2019 are expected to be announced over the coming weeks and months. It’s clear why this is happening — because President Trump and Republican leaders made it happen. Since day one, Trump and Republicans have put partisan politics and special interests ahead of patients in desperate attempts at fulfilling the Tea Party promise to "repeal Obamacare." (Sen. Patty Murray, 5/15)

In the past year, Hollywood’s uncomfortable look in the mirror has shown a place where inequity is profound, sexism is rampant, and gender bias and the subjugation of women are the norm. Women have not been equals in the entertainment industry, and the reckoning is now. However, the passion for equity that I have carried throughout my life extends into the world of science and discovery, particularly when it comes to the inequitable research funding and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women. Just as women have been undervalued in Hollywood, we aren’t adequately represented in the lab, or in research, when it comes to heart health. Today in America, women are being sent to early graves because our country has failed to combat a disease that kills more of us annually than all forms of cancer combined. (Barbra Streisand, 5/15)

The public, media, and Congressional reaction to these numbers is going to be huge,” a White House staffer wrote in a newly revealed email, calling the release of a new Department of Health and Human Services study a “potential public relations nightmare.” After the White House forwarded the staffer’s email to the Environmental Protection Agency, which also oversees the chemical industry and consulted with HHS, the study was suppressed and remains unpublished. Meanwhile, communities across the country may be exposed to unhealthful levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, chemicals linked to thyroid conditions, weakened immune systems, developmental defects and other health problems. (5/15)

Sen. John McCain has not announced a decision to stop treatment for his brain tumor — but his public actions indicate that he has transitioned from “being sick” and hoping for a cure to “dying” and hoping for the best possible quality of life in the time remaining. (Susan Ducharme Hoben, 5/15)

Joe Petrini is a hero. He faithfully served his country during the Vietnam War, where he suffered shrapnel wounds throughout his body. His injuries were so severe that he was treated for eight months in military hospitals before being medically retired. Joe’s frequent medical issues and chronic pain became a normal part of life for him and his wife, Diane. (Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Delphine Metcalf-Foster)

Theranos had a product almost everyone could get behind: a revolutionary blood test that would allow individuals to quickly and easily access information about their health. Startups like Theranos rely on cutting-edge innovation, then leverage that innovation to attract investors. Now the company’s downfall is a signal to innovators, the public, and the media that we need more transparency and credibility built on peer-reviewed publications. (Kevin Hrusovsky, 5/16)

The sudden success of an e-cigarette called JUUL—pronounced “jewel”—is causing a backlash. Sales of JUUL, invented by two Stanford engineers, have exploded 30-fold since early 2016. JUUL doesn’t burn tobacco. It heats a nicotine-containing liquid held in replaceable pods, and, like other vaping devices, delivers nicotine far less dangerously than cigarettes. But instead of cheers for a blockbuster of American ingenuity that’s saving lives, JUUL has sparked a moral panic. A Harvard pediatrician likened teen use of JUUL to “bioterrorism . . . a massive public-health disaster.” Last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer demanded that the Food and Drug Administration douse the “fire of e-cig addiction among New York adolescents.”Everyone agrees that teens shouldn’t vape. But the consensus cannot end there, because there is no adult activity that some kids won’t do. (Sally Satel, 5/15)

Medicare for All would establish a single, public, universal health insurance system where everyone, regardless of their employment or immigration status, will have insurance. This means comprehensive health care that is free at the point of service, paid for not on the backs of the sick but through taxes on the rich: no fees, no copays and no deductibles. (Benjamin Fong, 5/15)

Advocates of a single-payer healthcare system in California have struggled to come up with a realistic and feasible way to pay for it, so this year they're pushing for more incremental steps toward universal health insurance coverage. The most far-reaching of these would be to expand Medi-Cal, the joint federal and state insurance program for poor and disabled Californians, to cover low-income residents who are living in the country illegally. Now is not the time to take that step, however. (5/16)

Across the country, states like Ohio and Kentucky are trying to reel in their failed ObamaCare Medicaid expansions. But as those states are moving forward with enrollment freezes and work requirements to roll back expansion, Virginia’s governor and House leadership are moving backwards by trying to implement ObamaCare. Less than six months ago, the same Virginia House leadership decried Medicaid expansion, saying “free and guaranteed money from D.C. isn’t always free and guaranteed.” The facts on the ground have not changed. So why have they? If anything, the facts look even worse for expansion states, given that President Trump’s budget repeals and defunds ObamaCare expansion. (Christie Herrera, 5/15)

According to David Ropeik, a Harvard scholar who studies risk, the chance of a child being shot and killed in school is far lower than the chance that he or she will have an accident on the way to or from school, catch a potentially fatal disease while in school, or suffer a potentially deadly injury playing sports at school. Of course that doesn't mean that school shootings shouldn't worry us, or that we shouldn't take serious steps to prevent them. But it does suggest that, despite the attention and news coverage they get, these events are relatively infrequent and not imminent at any given school — and that we should be tactical and thoughtful about the best way to prevent them. That's not the case with Assembly Bill 2067, which would mandate that an armed security officer be posted at every publicly funded school in California, including elementary schools and charter schools. The state would pick up the tab, estimated at $1 billion per year, according to the office of the bill's author, Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City). (5/16)

At a time when California is leading the nation by expanding health care coverage, our state’s elected leaders must work to help, not hurt, the progress we’ve made over the last decade. That’s why legislators should reject Assembly Bill 3087, which would lead to drastic cuts in health care services, eliminate thousands of health care jobs and harm patient access to care throughout the state. (Cal Knight, 5/15)

This week, the California Department of Public Health released a new report showing STD rates have hit an all-time high in California, with 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and early syphilis reported – a 45 percent increase compared to five years ago. ...With this year’s budget showing a projected surplus, it’s time for the governor and our elected lawmakers to make STD funding a priority in this year’s state budget, and provide the leadership and resources needed to get the job done. (Julie Rabinovitz, 5/15)