Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Ideas To Tackle Mental Health Struggles; Florida Ignoring Kids' Mental Health Needs
Cincinnati Enquirer: Transforming Mental Illness Into Mental Wellness
We are in a mental health crisis. Data continues to pour in that the pandemic has only made this crisis worse. Locally, Prevention First recently reported that more than half of our middle and high school students say they have high levels of stress, with close to 40% saying they feel anxious or nervous most of the time. A recent survey by Mason-based Myriad Genetics found only about half of parents believe their young adult child would be comfortable talking with them about their mental health struggles. (Paul Crosby and Scott Robertson, 5/5)
Miami Herald: Florida Needs Data From Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The Sunshine State is forcing adolescent health into the shadows — and the consequences could be far-reaching. The Florida Department of Education recently — and quietly — ended its decades-long participation in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationwide survey of high school students sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Abruptly ending Florida’s survey participation after 30 years means that critically important data needed to support adolescents’ health in Florida and nationwide will no longer be available. (Laura Lindberg and Morgan Philbin, 5/5)
Stat: Exploitation In The Name Of Biomedical Innovation Can't Be Tolerated
Biogen’s announcement on Tuesday that it is “substantially eliminating” its spending on Aduhelm caps a remarkable story of drug development gone bad. In a controversial move in June 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Alzheimer’s drug, disregarding the strong objections of a panel of independent experts that said the science didn’t support approving the drug. In early April of this year, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services announced it would cover the cost of Aduhelm only for patients enrolled in clinical trials supported by the CMS, FDA, and the National Institutes of Health. That decision was scientifically based and politically courageous — the drug is clinically ineffective, unsafe, and expensive. (Anand Kumar, 5/5)
Scientific American: New Prenatal Genetic Screens Pose Underappreciated Ethical Dilemmas
Imagine you are an expectant parent. Just a couple of months into your pregnancy, you opt for an easy genetic screen. A result comes back: the fetus is likely missing a chunk of DNA at site 11.2 on the long arm of the 22nd chromosome—a variant associated with serious medical and developmental issues. ... No one can give you solid risk factors because our knowledge of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (also known as DiGeorge syndrome) is riddled with “ascertainment bias”: only people with telltale problems are likely to be tested for it. Confronted with such profound uncertainty, what do you do? (Daniel Navon, 5/5)
Modern Healthcare: A New Appreciation For The Value Of Organized Medicine As The AMA Turns 175
At a time when membership is declining in many professional associations, the American Medical Association has grown its membership 11 years in a row. What makes the AMA different? (Dr. Gerald Harmon, 5/5)
Stat: Health Care Workers Need Rescuing. It's Time For A Dunkirk Moment
In the late spring of 1940, thousands of soldiers stranded on the beaches of northern France were spent, demoralized, and facing near-certain defeat at the hands of Nazi forces. The British government undertook one of the boldest rescue operations in military history. Using military ships, merchant navy vessels, and, famously, a flotilla of civilian watercraft, more than 330,000 British, French, and Belgian troops were rescued and evacuated to Britain. Because of this “miracle of Dunkirk,” Great Britain’s military got a chance to fight another day. Today, on the west side of the Atlantic, the U.S. health care system is facing its own Dunkirk moment. (Andrew Morris-Singer and Brian Souza, 5/6)
