CANCELLED: What is happening to healthcare in America?
- arishaashraf
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 10
4/10/25 Brown Club OC regrets to announce that Dr. Ashish Jha has had to cancel his May visit here due to the recent federal government funding cuts and their impact on Brown. All ticket sales will be fully reimbursed, and the Club hopes to reschedule the event at a future date. Our sincere apologies to all for the disappointing news. Our club schedule will be otherwise unaffected, and we look forward to welcoming you to future events. For the BCOC Board, -Scott Westerfield, Co-President
Significant changes are unfolding in the U.S. healthcare system under Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including a sweeping restructuring of federal health agencies. According to a recent HHS press release, these changes have been instituted to "Make America Healthy Again."
The plan consolidates 28 HHS divisions into 15 and slashes approximately 10,000 jobs across key institutions like the FDA, CDC, and NIH. These consolidations and cuts raise serious concerns about the future of pandemic preparedness—especially the erosion of scientific autonomy in public health decision-making. These shifts are happening in real time, which makes it all the more timely to host one of the nation’s foremost public health leaders, Dr. Ashish Jha.
Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown School of Public Health, has been at the forefront of pandemic preparedness and response—from advancing research on Ebola to leading the nation’s COVID-19 strategy. Appointed by President Biden as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator in 2022, Dr. Jha oversaw expanded access to treatments, updated vaccines, and helped build the infrastructure for future outbreak response. He also played a key role in shaping the national COVID-19 preparedness plan. Dr. Jha has authored over 200 original research publications. He was also born in Bihar - the same East Indian state as my father - confirming my bias that Biharis are awesome!
Brown Club OC will be hosting Dean Jha's talk in Newport Beach on May 13 from 6:30-8:00 pm. Please click here to learn more about the event and purchase tickets. Dinner is included.
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