Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Abortion Waiting Periods Drive Up Costs; The Backstory Of King V. Burwell
The Atlantic: Waiting Periods And The Rising Price Of Abortion
In recent weeks, Oklahoma tripled the length of its waiting period, becoming the fourth state with a 72-hour (three-day) delay. Florida enacted a 24-hour waiting period between two different appointments—one for an ultrasound and another for the procedure. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a two-day waiting-period bill last month—and simultaneously made the state the record-holder for the number of abortion restrictions passed in 2015 so far, advocates say. Tennessee passed a 48-hour wait just last week. Twenty-six states in all now impose these mandatory delays. ... The waiting periods’ most egregious toll, pro-choice advocates argue, is the amount of hassle and cost that comes with them, especially in the 11 states that require counseling before the wait begins. Abortions are already too expensive for some women to easily afford, they say. (Olga Khazan, 5/26)
Vox: The Accidental Case Against Obamacare
Now, the sales pitch is over. The Supreme Court will rule next month in King v. Burwell. The lawsuit will determine whether the Obama administration has the legal authority to dole out billions in tax subsidies to Obamacare enrollees. Unlike the last time conservatives took Obamacare to the Supreme Court — when the Republican party, major activists, and 26 attorneys general joined forces — the new challenge has a more surprising backstory for a big case. It is the result of the key players working loosely, overcoming lawsuit fatigue in conservative circles, pushing an argument that seems more technical than substantive, and even a bit of luck. (Sarah Kliff, 5/26)
The New York Times: Reducing My Dose, Unlocking My Muse
My version of screaming is writing, but for two years, from the time I started taking medication, until recently, the words were stuck inside me. I had to force them out. “I like the feeling of words doing as they want to do,” wrote Gertrude Stein, who died more than 40 years before Prozac hit the market. Same here. And with each cut in dosage (my most recent being 150 milligrams of bupropion down to 100), my words flow more easily, brain to fingers to screen. (Diana Spechler, 5/26)
Pacific Standard: Forever Young
When Billy Boy was born, I knew something was wrong. His eyes looked huge, and he had little control of his limbs. As the months passed and Billy did not develop as he should, doctors could find no single syndrome that matched up with his symptoms. Diagnosis: M.R. Mental retardation. Or intellectually disabled. Of the estimated 4.6 million Americans with some form of intellectual or developmental disability, more than 80 percent can live on their own with minimal assistance. The rest cannot live independently. It is in this latter group that Billy Boy will likely remain. (William Dettloff, 5/21)
The Atlantic: The Agony of Medical Bills
It shouldn’t take a Harvard expert in health policy to understand a doctor’s bill. But sometimes, it does. In August of last year, Liz was a medical student whose doctor found a lump on her tonsils. Her primary-care physician referred her to an in-network ear-nose-and-throat specialist. Liz, who asked to go by her first name, expected the usual $20 copay. Instead, she was charged $219.90—wrongly, in her view—for separate physician and facility fees. Under the terms of her plan, Liz says, she should not have been responsible for those charges. After a polite letter to her (“Thank you for your recent grievance...”), Anthem Blue Cross upheld the charges. (Olga Khazan, 5/21)
Public Source: Hepatitis C: Cost In The Way Of A Cure
Dee’s liver is scarred, but just a bit too healthy for her insurance to foot the bill for the new medications that cure hepatitis C more than 90 percent of the time. The Butler County resident, who suspects she got the virus getting a tattoo, was recently told by her doctor to come back in a year. John, a retired small-business owner from Washington County who was given blood in the early 1990s, was also denied the antivirals. ... These Pennsylvanians, who asked that their last names not be used because of the stigma surrounding hepatitis C, are among an estimated 205,000 in the state and 3.2 million in the country with the infectious blood-borne virus. The vast majority of those patients could be cured by new all-oral medications that came to market in late 2014, but because the costs and demand are so high, insurers are restricting who gets to be treated. (Stockton, 5/24)
