Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fast-Growing Pickleball May Lead To $400 Million In Medical Bills In 2023
Bloomberg: Pickleball Injuries May Cost Americans Nearly $400 Million This Year, According To UBS
Earlier this month, shares of big health insurance companies fell after UnitedHealth Group Inc. warned that healthcare utilization rates were up. At a conference the company had said that it was seeing a higher-than-expected pace of hip replacements, knee surgeries and other elective procedures. (Weisenthal, 6/26)
In other health and wellness news —
The Washington Post: Insomnia Linked To Up To 51 Percent Higher Risk Of Strokes
People suffering from insomnia may have as much as a 51 percent greater chance of having a stroke than those who do not have trouble sleeping, according to a study published in the journal Neurology. For nearly a decade, the study tracked 31,126 people, age 61 on average and with no history of stroke at the start of the study. In that time, 2,101 strokes were recorded. (Searing, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Endometriosis Is Often Dismissed As Period Pain In Teens
During her period each month, then-15-year-old Nia John would close her bedroom curtains, climb under the covers and cry. The pain, she recalled, felt like being repeatedly punched in the abdomen with metal-studded gloves. Forget going to school or dance class, she was in so much agony, she could barely walk the few steps to the bathroom. She couldn’t eat or sleep. She couldn’t use her phone, listen to music or watch TV. Her doctor dismissed it as menstrual cramps. But it wasn’t just period pain. It was endometriosis. (Bever, 6/26)
AP: 5 Takeaways From The AP's Report On Chinese Disposable E-Cigarettes Flooding The US Market
How good a job is the Food and Drug Administration doing in its crackdown on kid-friendly electronic cigarette flavors? The Associated Press sought to answer that question by looking at tightly controlled sales data. The AP obtained the data from the analytics firm IRI, which tracks barcode scanner sales from convenience stores, gas stations and other retailers. A person not authorized to share it gave access to the AP on condition of anonymity. (Perrone, 6/26)
On the gun violence epidemic —
The Washington Post: Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Has Mental Disabilities, Defense Says
Attorneys for the man convicted of fatally shooting 11 people and wounding seven at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 said in federal court Monday that their client has brain impairments, including schizophrenia and epilepsy, that make him ineligible for the death penalty. (Nakamura, 6/26)
CNN: Most Accidental Shooting Deaths Among Children Involve Guns Left Loaded And Unlocked, Study Finds
Most children in the US who die from an accidental shooting are playing around with guns at home or mistaking them for toys, according to a new study. And the research suggests that over 90% of guns used in such shooting deaths were left unlocked and loaded. The study, published Monday in the scientific journal Injury Epidemiology, looked at cases over a nearly a decade in which children under 15 accidentally killed themselves or another child with a gun. Most of the shootings happened at the victim’s home, where, in 8 out of 10 cases, the gun belonged to an older relative. (Viswanathan, 6/26)
The Wall Street Journal: ‘My Kid Can’t Sleep’: Gun Violence Drives Denver To Return Armed Police To Schools
Students and teachers huddled in the corners of locked classrooms with the lights off. “I’m freaking out,” freshman Norah Krause texted her best friend, crouching among the cellos and basses in the orchestra storage room. “If anything happens, I love you.” Police, some in helmets and body armor, went from room to room, pointing guns and ordering students to leave with their hands up. It turned out to be a hoax. (Randazzo, Frosch and Najmabadi, 6/26)
The Hill: McConaughey Pledges Further Action To ‘Make Our Schools And Our Children Safer’ After Uvalde Shooting
Matthew McConaughey says his work related to the last year’s school shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, isn’t done, vowing to help unveil an initiative aimed at getting schools grants to help curb gun violence. “Today marks the one-year anniversary since the bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law,” the “Dallas Buyers Club” actor said in a video posted Sunday on Twitter. (Kurtz, 6/26)
