Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Children's ER Bills; Life And Death For Black Mothers; John Oliver On Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Vox: Kids’ ER Visits Leave Patients With Expensive Bills
The Srokas’ bill is among many that fit a pattern: Worried parents took their children to the emergency room because their pediatrician’s office was closed, often on the weekends or at night. Some tried to go to urgent or immediate care facilities but were turned away because those offices often do not provide pediatric care.When these little patients were treated in the ER, even for relatively basic medical care, their parents then received a big bill. Even families with insurance submitted bills that left them on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars, a burden for most typical American households, and doubly frustrating because the treatments weren’t complex. (Sarah Kliff, 4/10)
The New York Times: Why America’s Black Mothers And Babies Are In A Life-And-Death Crisis
When Simone Landrum felt tired and both nauseated and ravenous at the same time in the spring of 2016, she recognized the signs of pregnancy. Her beloved grandmother died earlier that year, and Landrum felt a sense of divine order when her doctor confirmed on Muma’s birthday that she was carrying a girl. She decided she would name her daughter Harmony. “I pictured myself teaching my daughter to sing,” says Landrum, now 23, who lives in New Orleans. “It was something I thought we could do together.” (Linda Villarosa, 4/11)
HBO: Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Crisis pregnancy centers deceptively steer women away from abortion. They can be started way too easily by religious groups like, for instance, a late night talk show’s megachurch. (4/8)
ProPublica: Sacklers Who Disavow OxyContin May Have Benefited From It
Much as the role of the addictive multibillion-dollar painkiller OxyContin in the opioid crisis has stirred controversy and rancor nationwide, so it has divided members of the wealthy and philanthropic Sackler family, some of whom own the company that makes the drug. (David Armstrong, 4/10)
FiveThirtyEight: A Crackdown On Drug Dealers Is Also A Crackdown On Drug Users
To combat the opioid crisis, the Trump administration is calling for drug dealers to face tougher penalties, including capital punishment in some cases. The U.S. Sentencing Commission is also considering proposals for tougher prison sentences in crimes involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is many times more deadly than heroin. “If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers,” the president said in a recent speech, “we’re wasting our time.” (Kathryn Casteel, 4/5)
The Atlantic: My Grandmother Is Donating Her Brain To Science
Even after she dies, my grandmother’s brain will, in a way, live on, joining the thousands of Americans who donate each year. After undergoing an autopsy, her brain’s tissue will be stored and researched. It may travel to banks with specialized grants and niche experts. Someone will look at her under a microscope. (Dara Bramson, 4/11)
Vox: Taking Antidepressants While Pregnant Might Affect Fetuses
Antidepressants are now among the drugs most commonly used by Americans — but the decision to use them can be especially fraught for women considering motherhood.On the one hand, we now know that women with depression and their babies are at a higher risk of all kinds of health problems — like preterm birth, a lower birth weight, and postpartum depression. And we have drugs that can potentially alleviate moms’ symptoms, including antidepressants. (Julia Belluz, 4/9)
The New York Times Magazine: How Lisa Murkowski Mastered Trump’s Washington
On Aug. 16, about three weeks after the health care vote, Murkowski, along with a few staff members, sat in a rental car outside a hotel in Bethel, a town in western Alaska. They were waiting for someone named Ephraim, a staff member specializing in fisheries, so they could all head to dinner. (Susan Dominus, 4/5)
