Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
The New York Times: How A Missed Tummy Tuck In Mexico Led To A Deadly Kidnapping
Within minutes of riding into Mexico in a rented white minivan last month, Latavia McGee knew that she was lost. She and three of her closest friends — close enough that she called them brothers — had driven from South Carolina to Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas so that she could get a tummy tuck procedure. It was a journey she had made once before, as part of a wave of American women seeking cosmetic surgery across the border. But this time, she was running late, had no phone service and had veered off course, Ms. McGee recalled in a recent interview. She was struggling to remember where the clinic was supposed to be. (Fortin, 4/17)
NPR: Teen With Life-Threatening Depression Finally Found Hope. Then Insurance Cut Her Off
Rose had already attempted suicide at least half a dozen times before the teenager's parents found an appropriate residential care facility for her, three states and more than 500 miles away. Rose, then 15, had been in and out of the emergency department at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She had tried two residential programs and one partial hospitalization program in two separate states. But nothing had eased her suicidal urges. Finally, she was getting a treatment that was helping at Rogers Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc, Wis., a small town 35 minutes west of Milwaukee. But a little over two months into her stay, just as Rose was starting to feel better, the family's health insurance – Medical Mutual of Ohio – declined to cover any further treatment. (Chatterjee, 4/17)
The Washington Post: With Body Dysmorphia, Young Men Are Risking Their Health To Bulk Muscles
Fueled by the rise of social media and a lucrative, unregulated supplements industry, more boys and young men today are bulking up to the point of risking their overall health. A measured amount of weight training can be positive and healthy, but it’s neither when body image turns into an obsession or exercise becomes excessive. “Though its generally underrecognized, boys have body ideals just like girls do,” says Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California at San Francisco who specializes in adolescent eating disorders. “The idealized masculine body type is big and muscular, and because of that, many boys are trying to get bigger and more muscular.” (McMahan, 4/14)
The New York Times: CoolSculpting Promised To Zap Fat. For Some, It Brought Disfigurement
More than a dozen years ago, a medical device hit the market with a tantalizing promise: It could freeze away stubborn pockets of fat quickly, painlessly and without surgery. The device, called CoolSculpting, was entering an already-crowded beauty industry selling flatter stomachs and tauter jaw lines, but it had an advantage: a vaunted scientific pedigree. The research behind its development came from a lab at Harvard Medical School’s primary teaching hospital, a detail noted routinely in news features and talk show segments. (Kode, 4/16)
The Atlantic: Nutrition Research Forgot About Dads
When it comes to their influence on kids’ eating habits, dads are far less studied than moms. But they may leave just as big a mark. (Sole-Smith, 4/18)
Fox News: 'Super Seaweed' On The Way For Health And Medicine? Israeli Scientists Say We Can 'Learn From Nature'
Scientists say they've found a way to turn seaweed into "super seaweed" by increasing its health and medicinal value, according to a report from SWNS. The researchers are hoping the "boosted" seaweed can be used in "the superfood, drug and cosmetic industries of the future," the British news service said. (Mackey, 4/18)
The Wall Street Journal: A Former ER Doctor Finds New Ways To Use Her Medical Skills In Retirement
As an emergency-room physician, Paula Glosserman didn’t have time for much else for many years. “I loved my job and never doubted that I made the right decision,” she says. Even so, she grew weary of working overnight, weekend and holiday shifts. ... Now Dr. Glosserman, who is 69 and lives in Los Angeles, is busier than ever, removing tattoos, working as a summer-camp doctor and coaching medical-school students. (Halpert, 4/17)
