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Aaron Richterman

@draaron.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.3K following 62 posts

Penn HIV/ID physician-scientist — Poverty/Food Insecurity and Health — Social Protection Policies ldi.upenn.edu/fellows/fellows-direc…

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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
How do primary care patients use cash transfers to improve their health? A qualitative pilot study in a Philadelphia clinic by LDI Fellows suggests that cash payments can have a range of positive impacts on health behaviors among patients with chronic diseases.
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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
NEW: In @theatlantic.com, LDI Fellows Aaron Richterman (@draaron.bsky.social) and Harsha Thirumurthy (@hthirumurthy.bsky.social) share four ways to design cash transfer programs that can reduce poverty and improve health in the U.S. Read more here: www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
theatlantic.com
Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives
The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
NEW: Our latest brief covers research from LDI Senior Fellows @draaron.bsky.social @hthirumurthy.bsky.social and Jere Behrman that provides the first population-level evidence that cash transfer programs substantially reduce mortality. Read more here: bit.ly/47gpGkl
bit.ly
Cash Transfer Programs Can Help Health Outcomes
Using data from 37 low- and middle-income countries, the research provides evidence that these programs substantially reduce mortality rates population-wide.
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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
theatlantic.com
Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives
The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 01/03/2026
Most cash-transfer programs have failed to produce health gains in the U.S.—except for SNAP, Aaron Richterman and Harsha Thirumurthy argue. They examine the conditions that make SNAP work, and how it may provide a road map for other programs:
bit.ly
Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives
The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Why does cash save lives in Tanzania but barely move the needly in Texas? New piece in @theatlantic.com with @hthirumurthy.bsky.social: We break down the conditions that make cash transfers improve health, and why SNAP gets closets to what works globally. www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
theatlantic.com
Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives
The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
From research to policy impact 📊➡️🏛️ In 2024, LDI Fellows Aditi Vasan, @draaron.bsky.social & George Dalembert briefed PA lawmakers & Gov. Shapiro's office on the health benefits of tax credits—helping shape the new Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, recently signed into law. bit.ly/4qvTQb8
bit.ly
LDI Research Shapes Pennsylvania Tax Credit
Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit (WPTC) offers a tax benefit to low-income workers.
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
Aaron Schwartz @aschwartz.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
🚨New Paper🚨 US doctors are paid very different amounts for treating different patients—even when providing identical services. How much less are physicians paid for treating non-White patients? In @jamahealthforum.com, we offer the 1st national estimates. (1/7) jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Payments to Physician Practices and Incentives to Serve Different Racial and Ethnic Groups
This study measures disparities across patient racial and ethnic groups in per-visit payment to physician practices from health insurers and other sources, adjusted for visit content, geographic marke...
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Philadelphia is at risk of losing vital support for people living with HIV as funding cuts ripple through programs that address not just treatment but education, housing, and food security. Check out this piece from Billy Penn on what’s at stake ➝ billypenn.com/2025/11/18/h...
billypenn.com
Funding cuts threaten people in Philly living with HIV
Organizations that provide services like HIV education and living recommendations are being forced to cut programming after funding cuts
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
New in @thelancet.com: a follow-up to our @nature.com paper on cash transfers and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. This studies explores *why* cash transfers reduce death, tracing effects on determinants of survival. free access 🔗: kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
New in @thelancet.com: a follow-up to our @nature.com paper on cash transfers and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. This studies explores *why* cash transfers reduce death, tracing effects on determinants of survival. free access 🔗: kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Within a few years after giving birth, many women with HIV fall out of care. In our new paper from rural Haiti, we explore why this happens—and what might help prevent it link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Money, Medicine, and Motherhood: Developing a Cash Transfer for Pregnant Women with HIV in Rural Haiti - AIDS and Behavior
Improving perinatal engagement in HIV care is critical to prevent disease progression and transmission. In Haiti and other low-resource settings, poverty contributes substantially to poor perinatal HI...
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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
SNAP benefits may resume—but deep cuts are still coming. Court rulings may soon restart payments, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashes SNAP by $187 billion. LDI Fellows discussed how this will impact food insecurity, worsen health outcomes, and more. bit.ly/4hJLKbl
ldi.upenn.edu
Deep Food Cuts are Coming for Millions of Americans
But what many lawmakers, journalists, and Americans fail to recognize is that SNAP is also a hugely successful public health operation.
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This is a good write up on the unfortunate and likely health consequences of upcoming SNAP cuts. Not to mention the desperation being experienced by many people now experiencing a delay in Nov benefits. ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...
ldi.upenn.edu
Deep Food Cuts are Coming for Millions of Americans
But what many lawmakers, journalists, and Americans fail to recognize is that SNAP is also a hugely successful public health operation.
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Three major respiratory viruses COVID-19, RSV & flu still drive hospitalizations yearly. A new review of 511 studies shows current vaccines work. COVID-19 mRNA shots targeting XBB.1.5 cut hospitalizations by ~46–50%; newer KP.2-adapted vaccines reached 68% effectiveness. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
Updated Evidence for Covid-19, RSV, and Influenza Vaccines for 2025–2026 | NEJM
Changes in the vaccine advisory process in the United States have disrupted immunization guidance, which reinforces the need for independent evidence review to inform decisions regarding immunizati...
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Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Thank you, @cidrap.bsky.social, for covering our new @nejm.org review of Covid-19, RSV, and influenza immunizations. Check it out: cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/meta-analysis-covid-rsv-flu-vaccines-fall-provides-sea-data-showing-efficacy-safety
cidrap.umn.edu
Meta-analysis of COVID, RSV, flu vaccines for fall provides 'sea of data' showing efficacy, safety
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
👇🏻 our new paper on updated evidence for respiratory virus vaccines
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
“The evidence-based processes used by the ACIP were adopted to prevent exactly what happened at the first 2 meetings this year: presentation of anecdotes, selective quoting of single studies, and a lack of in-depth evaluation of some of the evidence presented.” jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
share.google
ACIP Standards for Assessing Evidence
This Viewpoint discusses Institute of Medicine (IOM) standards for clinical guideline development and measures taken by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to bring ACIP in line wi...
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Reposted by Aaron Richterman
CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
📢 Important update! Join the Vaccine Integrity Project live stream TOMORROW 8/19 at 2pm ET. We'll review flu, COVID & RSV vaccine data—focused on safety & efficacy during pregnancy, and for kids & the immunocompromised. Watch here:
youtube.com
From Data to Decisions: The Evidence Base for 2025 Fall/Winter Immunizations
Join the Vaccine Integrity Project for an expert presentation on the latest publicly available data regarding the safety and efficacy of flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines. In this recorded live stream, the scientific research team will highlight key findings on the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Tomorrow at 2pm the Vaccine Integrity Project through @CIDRAP will host a live webinar, From Data to Decisions: The Evidence Base for 2025 Fall/Winter Immunizations. The panel will break down evidence on vaccine safety and effectiveness followed by a Q&A. youtube.com/watch?v=lSuvGl…
youtube.com
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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Of every 1,000 children born in Kenya, 32 don’t make it to their first birthdays. A new stumbled onto a straightforward solution: Giving $1,000 to poor families lowered infant mortality rates by nearly half, and deaths in children under 5 by 45 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/h...
nytimes.com
A New Way to Reduce Children’s Deaths: Cash
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NPR @npr.org · 18/08/2025
To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another. n.pr/4fKcjw3
n.pr
Researchers discover a secret weapon that saves babies' lives. And it's not medical
To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
IMPORTANT UPDATE IMPORTANT UPDATE Regarding APHU/ACLU et al. vs. NIH Lawsuit
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of a man and a dog with the words now 's the time for action written on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon of a man and a dog with the words now 's the time for action written on the bottom
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Aaron Regunberg @aaronregunberg.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
I wrote a letter to my mom about Gaza. It's personal, but I wanted to share, in case it can be useful to anyone else who’s decided it’s time to have this discussion with their parents, or any parents who’ve decided it’s time to understand their children. aaronregunberg.substack.com/p/a-message-...
aaronregunberg.substack.com
A message to our Jewish parents on Gaza
You taught us to say "Never Again." We need you to say it now.
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
1. The pediatric death toll from #flu for 2024-25 continues to climb, with #CDC informed of 5 more deaths last week. That brings the season's total so far to 266, which is only 22 fewer than during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic! Of kids eligible for vax & for whom vax status is known, 90% weren't vaxed.
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Bill Gates @billgates.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
To me, this is the most remarkable thing about global health: With a relatively small amount of money, you can do a great deal of good for a great many people. This is money well spent, and we should go back to spending it—now.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
A new study estimates that USAID saved 92 million lives from 2001 to 2021, and that its demolition could kill 14 million people in only five years through 2030. That would make the end of USAID by far the most impactful action Trump has taken this year. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths over the next five years, researchers say
An analysis published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet projects that cuts to the agency will lead to more deaths from diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
11 minutes: watch and share www.cbsnews.com/news/when-is...
cbsnews.com
"When is cancer political?" Medical researchers, patients decry Trump admin's layoffs, budget cuts
Scientists conducting medical research are facing an existential crisis: Layoffs and budget cuts pushed by President Trump that, they say, jeopardize finding a cure for cancer.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics @ameracadpeds.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Hepatitis B can be passed from parent to baby at birth - and when that happens, the consequences can be deadly. It is unscientific and dangerous to intentionally ignore the success of U.S. vaccination programs or argue that the U.S. should not vaccinate babies for hepatitis B at birth.
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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
New from me and the great @hana-kiros.bsky.social reporting on the devastation caused by the USAID cuts Musk championed, Musk’s troubling obsession with “western civilization” and which lives he believes are worth saving (it’s not kids in South Sudan)
theatlantic.com
Who Does Elon Musk Believe Is Worth Saving?
The tech billionaire wants to shape humanity’s future. Not everyone has a place there.
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Pranay Sinha @tbtakenseriously.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
We know that undernourished persons with TB are at higher risk of mortality, but why? My incredible mentee Dr. Alexa Tabackman tries to understand why in this new paper: tinyurl.com/2jc76v8c A thread 🧵 @buceid.bsky.social @bostonmedical.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social @meganmurray.bsky.social
ingentaconnect.com
Impact of premorbid nutritional status on TB severity: Ingenta ConnectBACKGROUNDMETHODSRESULTSCONCLUSIONS
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Annie Waldman @anniewaldman.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
NEW: The Trump administration said their research did not "enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness." Thousands of scientists disagreed. We heard from +150 researchers impacted by the NIH grant terminations on what is being lost in the cuts. 🧵👇 projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
projects.propublica.org
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...
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Hensley Lab @scottehensley.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Anyone that has been around a lab knows that the trainees really drive the research, while most professors just sort of guide the ship. Most innovation comes from our trainees. Old professors like me will be able to survive these cuts, but our young scientists and our future will be destroyed.
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Just published: our commentary on a new study adding to the growing evidence showing how anti-poverty programs improve population health. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
The health dividend of cash transfer programmes
Cash transfer programmes have expanded rapidly across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), from eight countries with programmes in 1960 to 134 countries in 2019, and have demonstrated effec...
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Population Aging Research Center @pennaging.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
The Future of Health and Health Care Conference May 1 | Jordan Medical Education Center Atrium Features 5 Research Associates @scotthalpernmd.bsky.social, Kevin Volpp, Atheendar Venkataramani, @draaron.bsky.social, @hthirumurthy.bsky.social REGISTER: d197nivf0nbma8.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025...
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Eh ?? www.statnews.com/2025/04/23/l...
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
When Dorcas would get home from school, she'd often play house, pretending to prepare nshima. "I'm thinking she'll be very family-oriented when she grows up.” When NPR met with the family, it had been eight days since Dorcas and her mom took the last of their HIV meds. www.npr.org/sections/goa...
npr.org
Portraits: A 10-year-old, a house painter and a mom who are running out of HIV pills
HIV medications were supposed to be exempt from U.S. aid cuts. In Zambia, for example, those on the ground say otherwise.
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Kevin Hall @kevinh-phd.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Specifically, I experienced censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency’s leadership about ultra-processed food addiction.
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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Last month, the CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis found the source of a Hepatitis C outbreak in Florida that state officials had been unable to solve since December. Now the entire Division has been fired, leaving investigations of outbreaks in OR, PA, MA, NM, WI, WV and GA, unsolved in addition to FL
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Aaron Schwartz @aschwartz.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Ah yes. Let's stop research on perhaps the most brutal disease in existence, the one without any really good treatments.
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Eric Meyerowitz @ericmeyerowitz.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Simple answer - kids who receive the MMR vaccine do not die from measles The MMR vaccine is safe and effective and does not cause autism
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Aaron Richterman @draaron.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
I have sent patients to the NIH for *life saving* treatments. I don’t use that term lightly. The public value of this institution is beyond doubt. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
washingtonpost.com
NIH scientists have a cancer breakthrough. Layoffs are delaying it.
A big step forward in cancer therapy has been slowed by layoffs and new restrictions at the National Institutes of Health, where it was developed.
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Josh Barocas, MD ⭕️ @jabarocas.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
For what it’s worth, Jeanne Marrazzo is a national treasure. RFK Jr is a national embarrassment.
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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
NEW FINDINGS: Simple visual aids, such as bead-filled bottles, may change attitudes and improve intent to take medication among people with HIV. Read our research brief here: ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...
ldi.upenn.edu
Visual Tools Improve Understanding of HIV Medication
Bottles filled with beads representing the HIV virus in the body can improve understanding of living with HIV and the intention to take medication.
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Eric Meyerowitz @ericmeyerowitz.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
“For decades, members of our profession have cared for people marginalized by society – immigrants, gay and bisexual men, transgender and gender diverse individuals, women, and people of every race or spoken language.”
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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
A friend drove two hours today for her breast cancer chemotherapy only to learn it was canceled due to NIH cuts. Clinical trial ended midstream. No treatment, no restart, no plan, no information. Her bro-in-law's chemo was also canceled.
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Yuri Quintana @yuriquintana.com · 19/03/2025
See list of grants recently terminated. What great crime did these people commit to get their grants canceled? Was their work hurting or helping make America healthier, kinder, smarter? Where are we if science funding is not by peer review but by political affiliation? taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data...
taggs.hhs.gov
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Aaron Schwartz @aschwartz.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Multiple sources tell me AHRQ is about to be destroyed. A terrible loss for our country.
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