The MAHA Wave (in the states)/ Politico

While the federal government is slow to adopt MAHA policies, the states may not be

IN THE STATES — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign to combat chronic disease is reshaping state legislatures, with hundreds of bills introduced this year echoing his agenda in both red and blue states, POLITICO’s Amanda Chu reports.

A POLITICO analysis of state legislatures found more than 130 pieces of legislation aimed at limiting access to ultraprocessed foods and improving nutrition, over 60 measures restricting the use of pesticides and other chemicals and more than 130 measures expanding vaccine exemptions or prohibiting mandates were introduced this year. Lawmakers also introduced dozens of bills to promote the use of psychedelics, authorize sales of raw milk and the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and ban the fluoridation of drinking water.

The advances seen in state capitols, often considered laboratories for federal rulemaking, offer a glimpse into how a Kennedy-run Department of Health and Human Services might turn MAHA priorities into regulation. The White House is set to release a final MAHA report, which will include recommendations to fight chronic disease.

Details: POLITICO tracked nearly 900 measures on MAHA-aligned subjects that were introduced in 50 states this year — a 45 percent increase from the previous year and measures introduced in 2023 among the four states that meet every two years. Measures ranged from banning the use of food dyes to limiting children’s access to social media over mental health concerns to restricting the use of mRNA, the technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.

The surge in state activity underscores the growing political clout of the MAHA base, which cuts across party lines, and offers MAHA supporters a chance to secure policy wins outside a White House navigating competing interests. Following intense pressure from agricultural lobbyists, the Trump administration assured farm groups earlier this summer that the final MAHA report would include no new policy around pesticide use despite linking the chemical to cancer in a May draft report.

Bipartisan appeal? Blue states New York and New Jersey led the country in the number of MAHA-aligned measures introduced this year, followed by Republican-led Texas. While some topics, like ending vaccine mandates, were predominantly backed by one party, a few themes had bipartisan traction: Roughly a third of measures to improve nutrition and restrict food additives were sponsored by at least one member of each party this year.

“We see so much state activity. … It’s bipartisan. They’re tapping into something that most Americans know intuitively. MAHA will persist when Kennedy is gone in the future,” said Joel White, a Republican health care strategist and founder of Horizon Government Affairs, a Washington lobbying firm.