Opinion | ‘He Is Not a Comic Book Super-Villain’: What We Heard This Week

“He is not a comic book super-villain.” — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) discussing Anthony Fauci, MD, and the House subcommittee investigation on COVID-19’s origins.

“I was pretty replaceable in their eyes.” — Jason Liebowitz, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, after a physician-owned practice where he was formerly employed was acquired by a private equity group.

“We’re building the airplane while we’re flying it.” — John Hertig, PharmD, of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the risks and benefits of midomafetamine (MDMA) for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“There are games being played at the payer level.” — Julie Gralow, MD, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), discussing prior authorization to get testing for FDA-approved cancer therapies.

“Other countries have been able to achieve zero or close to zero maternal deaths a year.” — Munira Gunja, MPH, of the Commonwealth Fund’s International Program in Health Policy and Practice Innovation, on U.S. maternal mortality.

“We physicians get this question a lot — ‘what should I do about vitamin D’?” — Anastassios Pittas, MD, of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, on the Endocrine Society’s new vitamin D supplementation guideline.

“One teenager delivered a baby while clutching a teddy bear.” — Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) discussing the effects of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.

“The word I would use is complacency.” — Marilyn Serafini, director of the Health Project for the Bipartisan Policy Center, discussing problems posed by Medicare Advantage.

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