Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
The Washington Post: A Green Beret’s Cancer Changed Military Malpractice Law. His Claim Still Got Denied
When he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in 2017 at the age of 36, Richard Stayskal was stunned. The Army Green Beret had undergone chest scans earlier that year for dive school and was told the results were normal. Then he discovered that his military hospital had misread the exams and failed to recognize the early-stage tumor in his upper right lung. Stayskal wanted to sue for malpractice. But another shock awaited him: A decades-old Supreme Court decision banned military malpractice lawsuits, declaring that the government was not liable for injuries to service members on active duty. So Stayskal lobbied Congress — and had a new law named in his honor. (Shapira, 3/29)
NerdWallet: Millennial Money: Manage The Costs Of A Chronic Condition
For millennials with chronic medical conditions — or those raising kids with chronic conditions — health care can be an enormous monthly expense. About 44% of older millennials born between 1981 and 1988 have at least one chronic health condition, including migraines, major depression and asthma, according to a 2021 survey of over 4,000 adults conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CNBC Make It. And many millennials are also caring for children with complicated medical needs. Expenses can include doctor’s visits, tests and prescription drugs, plus indirect costs that may result from missing work. But there are ways to keep health care costs lower, including taking advantage of a flexible spending account or health savings account, comparing pharmacy prices on medications and using a care manager through your insurance. Here are some strategies to try. (Ashford, 3/28)
The Washington Post: After A 1935 Tragedy, A Priest Vowed To Teach Kids About Menstruation
Nine decades ago, a 13-year-old girl’s death by suicide after getting her first period sparked an effort to educate kids about their bodies to prevent fear and confusion — a once-settled issue that new legislation in Florida is resurfacing. That teenage girl in 1935, who had never been taught about menstruation, thought her period was a “terribly shameful, retributive disease,” says one account of the history. The fact that this British girl who believed she had a venereal disease had no one to teach her about her body, and no one to talk to, deeply impacted Chad Varah, the 23-year-old deacon who officiated her burial. (Javaid, 3/25)
The Atlantic: To Understand Anti-Vaxxers, Consider Aristotle
Among the many difficulties imposed upon America by the pandemic, the scourge of anti-vaccine sentiment—and the preventable deaths caused as result—ranks among the most frustrating, especially for infectious-disease doctors like me. (Simon, 3/28)
The Washington Post: Irvo Otieno’s Last Days: How A Mental Health System ‘Completely Failed’
Irvo Otieno’s mother was on the phone, trying to get a doctor’s help for her son’s latest mental health crisis, when she noticed the 28-year-old had left their house and begun plucking solar lights from her neighbors’ yard and knocking on their door. Caroline Ouko hung up and hurried over to get him on March 3, but soon noticed about 12 police officers arrayed across her front yard in the Richmond suburbs with stun guns drawn. Henrico County law enforcement had been summoned by the neighbor, who reported a burglary, police said. (Jouvenal, Vozzella, Heim and Rizzo, 3/25)
Reuters: Ukraine Needs More Prosthetics Clinicians As War Toll Mounts
Experts say Ukraine will need big investment in infrastructure and staff to deal with amputees needing help for years to come: a lower limb prosthetic can cost anywhere from $500 to as much as $70,000 for more sophisticated equipment. The number of prostheses paid for by Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy jumped more than 15% to 13,219 in 2022 from a year earlier, according to previously unreported ministry data. (Grover and Bern, 3/28)
The New York Times: The Incredible Challenge Of Counting Every Global Birth And Death
The world’s wealthiest nations are awash in so much personal data that data theft has become a lucrative business and its protection a common concern. From such a vantage point, it can be difficult to even fathom the opposite — a lack of any identifying information at all — let alone grapple with its implications. But the undercounting of human lives is pervasive, data scientists say. The resulting ills are numerous and consequential, and recent history is littered with missed opportunities to solve the problem. (Interlandi, 3/29)
