Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: A Year Of ER Bills; Profiting Off Work Requirements; And The Cost Of Giving Birth
Vox: Emergency Room Bills: What I Learned From Reading 1,182 ER Bills
I’ve read emergency room bills from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. I’ve looked at bills from big cities and from rural areas, from patients who are babies and patients who are elderly. I’ve even submitted one of my own emergency room bills for an unexpected visit this past summer. (Sarah Kliff, 12/18)
Mother Jones: How One Company Is Making Millions Off Trump’s War On The Poor
Missing from the debate—perhaps because there’s hardly been any reporting on the subject—is the fact that work requirements are also a profit center for a rapidly growing private industry. Exhibit A is Maximus, the company that helps run [the Healthy Indiana Plan] and the bureaucracy that stands between Sue and insurance. (Tracie McMillan, 12/18)
New York Magazine: How Much Does It Actually Cost To Give Birth?
Dealing with your hospital bills after childbirth could be compared to delivering a baby all over again. If that sounds like a stretch, consider the parallels: Despite careful planning, you can’t possibly anticipate all the details. You will be confused by jargon. You will encounter deeply troubling aspects of our medical system. You will be overwhelmed. You will hear about how they “do it better in Europe.” And you will wonder how on earth 86 percent of American women deal with these same issues at least once in their lifetimes and somehow power through. (Charlotte Cowles, 12/14)
The New York Times: A Doctor’s Guide To What To Read On The Opioid Crisis
No health topic has made more news in this country over the last two decades than the opioid crisis, with heart-rending journalism and a handful of comprehensive books. (Abigail Zuger, 12/18)
The Economist: Why So Little Is Done To Help New Mums Cope
Setagaya Postpartum Centre in Tokyo is a rare place. Mothers with babies four months old or younger can stay the night to receive support from midwives and therapists. Some want help breast-feeding; a good few need counselling; others want to recover physically from giving birth, says Kumiko Nagamori, a midwife and director of the centre. (12/13)
FiveThirtyEight: Why We Still Don’t Know How Many NFL Players Have CTE
Over the past few years, the NFL has been haunted by the early deaths of some former players whose brains showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss, mood disorders, dementia and other brain-related problems. But how prevalent is CTE, and how likely are players to develop it? Those remain unanswered questions, despite ongoing attempts to answer them. (Christie Aschwanden, 12/17)
Wired: Scientists Journey Into The Dark Side Of Cannabis
Cannabis is a hell of a drug. It can treat inflammation, pain, nausea, and anxiety, just to name a few ailments. But like any drug, cannabis comes with risks, chief among them something called cannabis use disorder, or CUD. (Matt Simon, 12/18)
