Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Other Nations Can Learn From Japan's Covid Response; Congress Must Help ACA Do Most Good
Bloomberg: Japan's Low-Key Covid Campaign Is More Sustainable Than China's All-Out Efforts
Shanghai is locked down and some of its residents are running out of food. As China battles its largest-ever Covid outbreak, the discourse swings between two extremes: The country must accept Covid Zero and sporadic, disruptive lockdowns; or it must live with the virus western-style — and endure all deaths that ensue. For Chinese authorities, the former may no longer work but the latter is unacceptable. But there’s an alternative: China should look to what can be learned from its neighbor Japan. (Gearoid Reidy, 4/10)
Chicago Tribune: Done With COVID-19? Alas, COVID-19 Is Not Yet Done With Us.
In recent days, Matthew Broderick has become infected with COVID-19. So has Sarah Jessica Parker. And Daniel Craig. Those star names all are appearing in Broadway shows at present and their cases are illuminating not just due to their celebrity but because they are working in rigorously tested environments where infections are detected fast and public disclosures made. (4/8)
Stat: The 'Successful Failures' Of Apollo 13 And Covid-19 Vaccination
Doomed from the start. That phrase neatly describes the Apollo 13 mission, which launched this day in 1970, and the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination effort in the U.S. Yet both can be seen as “successful failures.” When astronauts James Lovell, John “Jack” Swigert, and Fred Haise blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center, they were anticipating mankind’s third trip to the surface of the moon. Two days into the mission, a defective oxygen tank exploded when they were some 200,000 miles away from Earth, imperiling their lives and making it impossible to complete their mission. Around-the-clock efforts by teams on the ground, imbued with NASA ingenuity, helped the astronauts return safely to Earth in what was nothing short of a miracle. “Our mission was a failure,” Lovell wrote later, “but I like to think it was a successful failure.” (Christopher M. Worsham and Anupam B. Jena, 4/11)
Also —
The Washington Post: Biden Administration Is Finally Proposing To Fix The ACA's Family Glitch
The Biden administration is proposing a rule that would fix the so-called family glitch, an obscure issue of wording buried deep in the law’s text that prevents a shockingly large number of people from getting cheaper health premiums. The law provides people government subsidies for health insurance plans, but only if their employers do not offer them affordable health coverage. The law deems an employer-sponsored plan unaffordable if premiums would top about 10 percent of an employee’s household income. So, if workers would have to pay sky-high premiums for their employer-sponsored plan, they could always seek coverage on the Obamacare marketplaces and receive assistance from government subsidies. (4/9)
USA Today: Health Care Must Be Built On A Strong Doctor-Patient Relationship
I'd never cried in a doctor's office. But there I was, a few weeks back, sobbing in the exam room.As a new resident of Fort Myers, Florida, I was trying to establish a relationship with a local primary care physician. From the start, the doctor's focus was her computer, not me. She stared at a screen, while I stared off into space (Christine Bechtel, 4/10)
The Boston Globe: Future Of Health Care Shouldn’t Be A Battle Of Behemoths
Mass General Brigham didn’t become the medical behemoth it is today by not knowing the first rule of health care poker — know when to fold ’em. Faced with a wall of opposition to its proposed three new suburban outpatient surgical centers — not the least of which included a critical staff report by the Department of Public Health — the organization formerly known as Partners HeathCare cut its losses. In the end, MGB settled for partial wins on expansion plans on the main Mass General campus and at its Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. (4/11)
