Viewpoints: Genetic Editing Needs Careful Review; Falling Sperm Counts; Mental Health Costs

The Washington Post: A Life-Changing Genetics Breakthrough Deserves Celebration — And Demands Caution
The news that researchers have carried out the first known attempt to create genetically modified human embryos is another signpost in an astounding revolution unfolding before our eyes. This is not the first breakthrough nor will it be the last, but it should serve as a reminder — an unmistakable one — that this realm of scientific inquiry, manipulating the tiny building blocks of life, demands caution as well as enthusiasm and encouragement. (8/2)

Forbes: Federal Judge OKs A Class Action Lawsuit Over Medicare Observation Appeals
Two of the greatest sources of frustration for Medicare recipients and their families are hospital observation status and the government’s incredibly complex appeals process. On Monday, a federal judge in Hartford, CT certified a class action lawsuit aimed at addressing both. The judge’s eventual decision in the case (Alexander v. Price) could have far-reaching effects on both the burgeoning use of observation status in hospitals and the rights of people getting Medicare to dispute decisions about their care. (Howard Gleckman, 8/2)

Los Angeles Times: I Watched My Childhood Home Go From Idyllic To Drug-Ravaged. Trump's Opioid Commission Isn't Going To Fix It
West Virginia has the highest drug overdose rate in the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid overdoses — both prescription and not — make up the majority of those deaths. ... On Monday, President Trump’s opioid commission made its first set of recommendations for how to get us out. It urged the president to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency, and suggested a number of other common-sense measures that I hope will bring my state and so many others relief. But to this West Virginian, it was appallingly incomplete. (Cassady Rosenblum, 8/2)

Bloomberg: The Rise And Fall Of The American Sperm Count
Believers in the quest to make America great again should consider where there’s evidence things are going down the tubes. There’s hardly a more dismal example than the national decline in sperm production. Last week, scientists published a study confirming that sperm counts are half what they were in the early 1970s -- and not just in America, but in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, too. The more alarmist accounts warned that the human race is teetering on the brink of extinction. The good news is that our extinction is probably about as imminent as that of cockroaches. But the bad news is that something disturbing is going on. (Faye Flam, 8/1)

The New York Times: My $1,000 Anxiety Attack
When my bulimia was at its worst, I used to see the ice cream I’d purged in the kitchen sink and think of all the money I’d vomited over the years. Now I realize it costs just as much to manage a mental illness as it does to be sick. Last year, Health Affairs reported mental disorders cost the United States more than any other medical condition: in 2013, $203 billion. That $203 billion accounts for psychologists, psychiatrists, inpatient and outpatient treatment, hypnosis, medication, but what about the staggering expenses the figure could never include, the private hacks people like me make to MacGyver life? Headphones. Noobie Soothie. One-thousand-dollar replacement tickets. (JoAnna Novak, 8/2)

Sacramento Bee: The Next Step For Healthy School Food
Every school that takes part in federal school nutrition programs is required to update their wellness policy this year with comprehensive goals, including eliminating junk food from the school day. Today, 40 percent of Sacramento-area children suffer from childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes, asthma and hypertension also are increasing. (Amber Stott and Debra Oto-Kent, 8/2)