United States healthcare system – Page 8 – watercress words by Dr Aletha

update February 13, 2025

The Senate voted to confirm Kennedy’s nomination as health secretary.

The Senate voted 52 to 48, with all Republicans except Kentucky Senator and former majority leader, Mitch McConnell, supporting the environmental lawyer. Kennedy was sworn in today by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

As I researched Robert Kennedy for this post, I realized he and I are about the same age. We were both grade school kids when his uncle, President John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

His was the first presidential election I understood. My parents liked JFK, so I did too. I listened to his inaugural speech where he spoke words I’ve never forgotten.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
President John F. Kennedy

His brother Robert served as the Attorney General, although I’m sure I didn’t know what that meant. I don’t remember much about him until he ran for president when Robert Jr. and I were teenagers. It seemed impossible that he too was shot, and killed while campaigning.

Some years later, their younger brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, ran for president. However, he lost the Democratic nomination against incumbent President Jimmy Carter. So, at least for then, there wouldn’t be another President Kennedy—at least not until Robert Jr. ran last year.

There still isn’t another President Kennedy but President Trump nominated Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate is expected to confirm him.

This is his official bio on the White House website. I’ve added comments in parentheses and links for more information.

from WhiteHouse.gov

Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s career of public service began in 1985 as an attorney for the environmental nonprofit RiverKeeper. He eventually became one of the most influential environmentalists in the United States, receiving TIME Magazine’s “Hero of the Planet” (1999) and the Sartisky Peace Award. (I could not find a link for Sartisky Peace Award.)

Bobby Kennedy Jr. comes from an illustrious political family. The son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Jr. was a lifelong Democrat but became increasingly estranged from the party in the 2010s as it drifted away from its traditional values.

He made his final break on October 9, 2023, when he announced his candidacy as an independent for President of the United States. (He eventually suspended his election campaign, instead endorsed and supported Trump.)

Bobby has spent nearly 40 years fighting corrupt corporations and government agencies. During his tenure at RiverKeeper, he successfully sued dozens of municipalities to force compliance with the Clean Water Act.

He won cases against corporate giants too, including a suit against General Electric for toxic runoff from its corporate jet hangar and a court order against ExxonMobil mandating they clean up tens of millions of gallons of spilled oil in Brooklyn, NY.

Building on the success of the local Riverkeeper model, Bobby co-founded the WaterKeeper Alliance and served as its President for 21 years. Under his direction, it became the world’s largest nonprofit devoted to clean water and now protects 2.7 million miles of waterways with over a million volunteers in the United States and 46 other countries. (According to its website, he does not seem to be involved with the company now.)

end of quoted text

Department of Health and Human Services

As Secretary, Kennedy will oversee a vast agency with a huge budget.

What does HHS do? Per the website, the mission is

to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans,

by providing for effective health and human services and

by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.

man sitting in front of computer monitor at the CDC. — photos and graphic from the Public Health Image Library, CDC

a scientist in a lab working on covid antibodies — photos and graphic from the Public Health Image Library, CDC

The proposed budget for FY 2025 includes $130.7 billion in discretionary and $1.7 trillion in mandatory proposed budget authority.

(Mandatory spending is required by law, also known as entitlement spending. Examples are Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, and interest on debt. Discretionary spending is approved by Congress each year. )

You can review the organizational chart here but you’ve probably heard the most about these agencies

CDC-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
FDA-Food and Drug Administration
CMS-Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
NIH-National Institutes of Health

I reviewed the appointees to some of these in this post

Trump’s Key Health Appointments: HHS, FDA, CDC Leadership Changes

President-elect Trump has appointed key figures for health leadership, including Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Three physicians—Dr. Marty Makary for the FDA, Dr. Dave Weldon for the CDC, and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as Surgeon General—were also nominated. However, their nominations faced changes and withdrawals.

Keep reading

December 30, 2024May 25, 2025

Featured Image-National Institutes of Health campus

The featured image for this post is of the James H. Shannon Building (Building One), NIH campus, Bethesda, MD Credit: Lydia Polimeni, National Institutes of Health.

“Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Bethesda campus from the front steps, Building 1 has been the focal point for NIH leadership.”

Exploring the HEART of Health

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Dr. Aletha

The Surgeon General has released a new report about alcohol use– Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity.

Alcohol use has caused nearly 1 million preventable cancer cases over 10 years in the U.S. While most of these deaths per year occur at levels above current U.S. Dietary Guidelines (2 drinks daily for men, 1 drink daily for women), 17% occur at levels within those recommended limits.

I’ll write more about that in a subsequent post, but here I want to answer the question

Who is the Surgeon General?

Since March 2021, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy has served as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States. As the Nation’s Doctor, the Surgeon General lays the foundation for a healthier country, based on the best scientific information available.

Dr. Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States

A renowned physician, research scientist, entrepreneur, mango aficionado, and author of the bestselling book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Dr. Murthy is a trusted voice in America on public health. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two children.

Read or listen to a sample of the book at this affiliate link.

Social connection is like a garden, nurturing your connections can improve your garden's health! — Humans are wired for social connection, but we’re becoming more isolated over time. Loneliness and social isolation represent significant threats to individual and societal health and well-being. Social connection can lead to healthier, more prosperous and resilient individuals and communities.

Dr. Murthy’s U.S. Public Health Actions

As the Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Murthy commands a uniformed service of over 6,000 dedicated public health officers, serving the most underserved and vulnerable populations here and abroad.

As the 21st Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy addressed several critical public health issues, including health misinformation, the youth mental health crisis, well-being and burnout among health professionals, and social isolation and loneliness. He is a key advisor to President Biden’s COVID-19 pandemic response operation.

While serving as 19th Surgeon General, under President Obama, Dr. Murthy helped lead the national response to the Ebola and Zika viruses, the opioid crisis, and the growing threat of stress and loneliness to Americans’ physical and mental well-being.

Substances in e-cigarette aerosol-flavorings, ultrafine particles, nicotine, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals

Dr. Murthy continued the office’s legacy of preventing tobacco-related disease, by releasing a report on e-cigarettes and youth. He issued the first Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, challenging the nation to expand access to prevention and treatment and recognize addiction as a chronic illness, not a character flaw.

Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body.
You can quit. for free help
1-800-QUIT-NOW

Dr. Murthy’s International Projects

Before entering government service, Dr. Murthy co-founded VISIONS, a global HIV/AIDS education organization; the Swasthya Project, training women in South India to become community health workers and educators; TrialNetworks, a technology company improving collaboration and efficiency in clinical trials; and Doctors for America, a nonprofit mobilizing physicians and medical students to improve access to affordable care.

Raised in Miami, Dr. Murthy received his BA from Harvard, and his MD and MBA from Yale. His scientific research has focused on vaccine development and clinical trials involving women and minorities.

Dr. Murthy cared for thousands of patients and trained undergraduates, medical students, and medical residents at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School.

He will leave office when the new Surgeon General appointed by President-elect Trump takes office.

Exploring the HEART of Health

This blog’s “Featured Image” is an AI depiction of Dr. Murthy. I welcome your comments about it.

You can also find Dr. Murthy’s books at my online bookstore, on Bookshop.org.

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you transform challenges into opportunities for learning and growth.

Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Category: United States healthcare system