What We're Reading: Meals on Wheels Becomes the "Eyes and Ears" of Healthcare Systems

Meals on Wheels is hoping to play a vital role in healthcare. The service, which delivers homemade meals to seniors, has a campaign called “More Than a Meal” that includes health and safety checks during daily visits to seniors, according to California Healthline. Meals on Wheels is partnering with insurers, hospitals, and health systems to be the “eyes and ears” for the healthcare system. Volunteers with the organization can report physical or mental changes they observe to providers and help reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and nursing home placements.

Some hesitation about repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a replacement is brewing among Republicans. Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has expressed reservations about scrapping the law without a replacement, and now he claims that the president-elect feels similarly, reported AP. The senator said he has had several conversations with Donald J. Trump, who supports repealing the ACA only when a replacement has been created. However, Trump and his aides have not taken a stance publicly. Senator Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, has also called for having a replacement at the time of repeal.

A doctor at the Cleveland Clinic who wrote a column promoting anti-vaccine rhetoric will face disciplinary action. According to STAT, the clinic requested the column be taken down 2 days after it was published. The commentary included the discredited theory that the ingredients in vaccines are dangerous and have likely caused the increase in autism. The Cleveland Clinic released a statement noting that it is “committed to evidence-based medicine” and called the theory tying vaccines to autism a harmful myth that has been “scientifically debunked in rigorous ways.”