Ruth

Good morning, I wrote something exceedingly personal for @nytimes on the scam that is romance nytimes.com/2019/03/22/sty…

On the lack of compelling evidence that medical AI is improving patient care, and what to do about it, a @NatureMedicine editorial nature.com/articles/s4159…

@dreece11 @chrissyfarr Would love to take a look at that

@chrissyfarr @RuthReader One sided indeed! Reminds me of Anthropic’s BAA

Second Opinion just published its first scoop: And it's a look inside Epic's confidential vendor services agreement. A source shared it with @RuthReader to give us a sense of why it's so hard out there for healthcare innovators. View in full here: secondopinion.media/p/an-inside-lo…

Massive number of companies enrolled as participants for the CMMI ACCESS model. Way more than I expected, especially given comments around price being too low. Full list here: secondopinion.media/p/cms-announce…

DOJ says telehealth platform Zealthy "presents itself as providing legitimate telehealth services but is in fact engaged in systemic improper and dangerous telemedical practices." In a motion filed today, DOJ says Zealthy engaged in "routine ordering of prescriptions by ... non-clinicians with no medical license." Zealthy allegedly misused the names of doctors "to order many thousands of prescriptions for patients they did not actually treat." Separately, Zealthy "is bilking thousands of consumers each month through unauthorized charges ... and even after consumers cancel."

Interesting perspective on AI prescribing and what we lose when patients don't go to their doctor for a refill. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

Medvi was sued today in data privacy class action. Plaintiffs allege that Medvi represents that user information is "never shared" and is "protected by HIPAA." "In reality, Mevdi secretly transmits users’ information—including identifying information such as email addresses and details reflecting their participation in a medical intake process— to third parties..."

Longevity influencer Peter Attia had a deeper relationship with Jeffrey Epstein than he publicly acknowledged last month, @politico found. Including: - He asked Epstein for patient referrals - Epstein introduced him to a foreign-born model, whom he interviewed for a job

After four years at POLITICO I'm making some moves: I'm joining @chrissyfarr's Second Opinion Media, to bring more tech policy coverage, analysis, and scoops to the great work she is already doing there AND I'll be taking on some long term projects @hntrbrkmedia Send tips!

@michaelkruse @nytimes @LachCartwright @politico Congrats!!

Start March 23. Ready to get to work. tinyurl.com/64pw8fau

Much of MAHA feels betrayed by the Trump admin's actions on the pesticide glyphosate. Democrats see an opening to win them over. politico.com/news/2026/03/0… with @RuthReader

EXCLUSIVE: As @CaseyMeansMD awaits Senate HELP committee vote for Surgeon General, a @RollingStone review shows at least 5 of her newsletter sponsors stood accused of selling products w hazardous ingredients, unsafe levels lead/cadmium or traces of PFOAs: rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump’s plan to boost U.S. herbicide production threatens MAGA-MAHA alliance dlvr.it/TR6zNY

The changes in staffing come under new director Alicia Jackson, who I spoke with last month. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…

Scoop: this week ARPA-H laid off at least 15 staff, impacting the commercialization office. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…

Unlike many in the Kennedy family, Patrick Kennedy has decided against shunning his cousin RFK Jr. In teaming up, he says, he has an opportunity to support mental health care access politico.com/news/magazine/…

Though these kinds of letters can be unremarkable, this one is an interesting escalation in a long brewing fight over how to make patient data more accessible while also keeping it safe. More on this soon

The letter follows a recent lawsuit from Epic, that alleges several companies misrepresented themselves on two data networks — Carequality and The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement— in order to get rapid access patient data.

Last night some 60 health systems wrote a letter to the CEO of the Sequoia Project, a nonprofit that influences governance for two large health data sharing networks, asking for concrete actions to counter fraud. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…

For those who are familiar with Epic’s dispute with Particle Health over Integritort, this lawsuit represents another argument in favor of tighter restrictions over health data. But there's also increased pressure to find a middle ground.

Epic is not the only plaintiff in this suit. It is joined by OCHIN, a nonprofit that supports technology for federally qualified health centers, as well as by health systems Reid Health, Trinity Health, and UMass Memorial Health.

This morning, Epic filed a lawsuit against Health Gorilla, a platform that connects health institutions with health data, along with several smaller telehealth companies, for fraudulently accessing patient data. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…