Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Flu Season; Income Inequality; And Orlando's Air Quality
Vox: This Year’s Awful Flu Season, Mapped
Flu season started early this year, and while we could be at peak flu right now, public health officials anticipate flu viruses will circulate for a few more months — bringing a lot of illness, hospitalizations, and even death. Here's what you need to know. (Julia Belluz, 1/22)
The Atlantic: The American Health-Care System Increases Income Inequality
The reality is, the American insurance system is designed to make health care financially unpleasant, often to the point where patients forego necessary care. A new study in the forthcoming March issue of the American Journal of Public Health sheds light on just how all that “skin in the game” affects the material conditions of patients. The research ... indicates that household spending on health care is a significant contributor to income inequality in the United States (Vann Newkirk, 1/19)
The Huffington Post: Even Breathing Is A Risk In One Of Orlando's Poorest Neighborhoods
During the 15 years that Jacqueline Young lived in Griffin Park, a federal housing project, she always worried about the air that she and her granddaughter were breathing.On bad days, her throat would hurt, and her granddaughter would have violent asthma attacks. Young, who often walked neighborhood kids to and from school, noticed that many of the children wore masks to protect themselves from pollution. (Julia Craven, 1/23)
Motherboard: Government Shutdowns Are A Disaster For Scientific Research
The scientific process doesn’t wait for politicians to resolve their differences. As such, government shutdowns have a particularly devastating effect on federally funded scientific research, as well as the citizens this research serves. (Daniel Oberhaus, 1/22)
The Atlantic: When The Religious Doctor Refuses To Treat You
On Friday, HHS followed up by issuing a proposed rule that would affect as many as 745,000 hospitals, doctors’ offices, and nonprofits. It would require them to post notices of protections against religious discrimination on their job applications and employee manuals, and it would allow HHS to enforce protections for religious medical providers. The new rule would cost about $312.3 million in the first year alone to implement. (Olga Khazan, 1/23)
Slate Magazine: How Trump’s Policies Could Imperil LGBTQ Youth of Color Living With HIV
While the GOP celebrates its recent political victory of passing its massive tax code overhaul, the most vulnerable among us, especially LGBTQ youth of color living with HIV/AIDS, are at significant risk as a result of the new legislation—among other recent policies—according to advocates and researchers in the health care realm. (Karen Iris Tucker, 1/23)
