5HT #101: The MAHA report card

It seems like the Trump administration has been hyper-focused on health lately, and I thought it’d be worth taking stock of where we’re at.

Last month alone: 

That's one freakin’ month.

They’ve been busy. And my honest read after 20+ years in the health space is that much of this is good. Yes, some of it is press release theatre. And some of it looks like straight-up favors for friends, which is bizarre (but also, er, consistent with this administration). 

Still, am I glad they’re doing some good things? Absolutely. Some of these wins are things public health folks have wanted for decades, and you have to give credit where it’s due. Are they a little sloppy? Sure. AI did, after all, hallucinate citations in MAHA’s 2025 report 😅. 

My take is that we should judge MAHA move by move, not as a package. MAHA, after all, is a movement—not a monolith. Worth saying I get the sense recent momentum is getting warped by midterm anxiety and MAHA was probably feeling like it needed more points on the scoreboard.

So I thought we should give them one 😌. 

But first, here’s where I’m coming from: I’m politically independent and have voted for presidents from both parties. My bias here is pretty simple: I like people trying to make health better, and I dislike sloppy science, cronyism, and vibes masquerading as policy. Call me crazy 🤷‍♂️.

Now, let’s get into it.

Green (real wins)

🟢 Red dye No. 3: Revoking authorization for Red No. 3 use in food and ingested drugs.
🟢 Synthetic food dyes: Pressuring industry to phase out eight petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026.
🟢 Hospital prices: Requiring hospitals to post real, usable prices (not bogus estimates) in standardized formats patients can actually understand.
🟢 Self-affirmed GRAS: Taking on the loophole that lets substances sneak into the food supply without FDA approval. WIP, but directionally promising.
🟢 School meals: Launching a pilot to help schools serve healthier meals. Great idea, though scale is TBD as critics point to a lack of funding and the gutting of a program that previously helped schools buy from local farmers.
🟢 Hospital food: Pushing hospitals to improve dietary standards. Because in a place where we’re supposed to heal, why is the food so gross?
🟢 SNAP restrictions: Eighteen states blocked SNAP purchases of soda and candy (though, yes, we also need to make healthy food more affordable). 
🟢 Food pyramid: Updating federal nutrition guidance. (I was initially bullish on this, and got some backlash, but I still think this is headed in the right direction.)

Yellow (a li’l press release > policy)

🟡 Psychedelics: The EO didn’t actually approve any psychedelics, and it tells the FDA to use priority vouchers it already had, which means the big announcement could just be a nothingburger. But directionally, I’m into it.
🟡 Microplastics: Adding them to the EPA’s draft drinking water list sounds good, buuuut a watch list is not regulation (yet). Again, directionally good.
🟡 Peptides: The announcement made a big splash, but right now all that’s planned is a panel discussion… which may not result in actual changes, even if I assume it will.
🟡 Anti-depressants: Helping people get off antidepressants through new training, reimbursement mechanisms, clinical guidelines, and nudging clinicians to consider nonpharmaceutical interventions is mostly good, but some sources say RFK is looking at banning certain SSRIs, which could ultimately hurt a lot of people.
🟡 TrumpRx: If this actually gets cheaper drugs to people who need them, great. But at one hearing, Sen. Warren noted that TrumpRx listed Protonix at $200 while its generic version is available at Costco for $16. 

Red (kind of weird and icky)

🔴 Glyphosate: The MAHA movement has spent years railing against glyphosate. So an EO critics say could shield Bayer/Monsanto from lawsuits feels like a bizarre own goal. Even MAHA moms revolted over the inconsistency.
🔴 Cuts, cuts, cuts: Proposing cuts across USDA, DHS, NIH, and tons of programs meant to help with addiction, mental health, and food assistance. It’s really hard to justify some of these.
🔴 Fertility data: Improving fertility is a conversation we absolutely need to be having. But the conversation Dr. Oz and RFK Jr., and several media pundits are having is about declining fertility rates…of teens. The focus on teen sperm count is weird, and so is pointing to data that shows fewer teen pregnancies??
🔴 Moms: Dr. Oz also announced the launch of Moms.gov on Mother’s Day, and while the intention is good it seems political. One of the biggest criticism is that it touts “Pregnancy Centers” which are largely run by pro-life organizations. 
🔴 Pet causes: The peptide and psychedelic agenda maps suspiciously well onto RFK’s own interests. Ibogaine also gets named twice in the psychedelic EO, which feels very Joe Rogan-coded. (I still can’t get over the text exchange.)
🔴 Vaccines: RFK Jr. keeps pushing anti-vax views and stacking committees with people who share them. Vaccines are a tricky subject, and I tend to have a more balanced stance, but the measles outbreak almost certainly could’ve been prevented.
🔴 E-cigarettes. The FDA commissioner resigned because of pressure from Trump to authorize fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Obviously infuriating.

Bottom line: MAHA is not one thing. It’s a messy coalition shipping a mix of overdue public-health wins, symbolic announcements, industry favors, and some truly questionable science.

So yes, let’s celebrate the real wins. Let’s call out the weird stuff. And let’s judge the movement by outcomes, not vibes.

Because making America healthier is a great mission. The question is whether MAHA can do the boring, rigorous, unsexy work required to actually make it happen.

👋 Who are you again? I’m Derek Flanzraich—founder of two venture-backed startups in Greatist (👍) and Ness (👎). I’ve worked with brands like GoodRx, Parsley, Midi, Ro, NOCD, and Peloton. I now run Healthyish Content, a premium health content & SEO agency (among other things).

Every Thursday (and now Sunday!), I share healthyish things I feel strongly about. (Disclaimer: I’m more your friend with health benefits. None of this is medical advice.) Also some links are affiliate links, but they influence my decisions zero.

Oh, you also feel strongly about some health things? Hit reply—I’d love to hear it.