Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
The New York Times: An Agonizing Dilemma: When Obesity Prevents A Joint Replacement
The last time Alicia Kline walked unassisted was in January 2021. She is in constant pain from hip arthritis and uses a walker and a wheelchair. The problem is her obesity — her body mass index, or B.M.I., is over 50. And for someone like Ms. Kline, 54, of Reading, Pa., finding a doctor who is willing to give her a joint replacement that may ease the pain can be a near-impossible task. (Kolata, 9/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Testosterone Clinics Sell Virility. Some Men End Up With Infertility
From a strip mall in Delray Beach, Fla., a sales team hustles a fountain of youth—Botox for the skin, weight-loss drugs for the body and, a top seller, steroids for men chasing virility. Medical practices typically don’t sell drugs to patients. But The Biostation is among hundreds of online and storefront clinics across the U.S. profiting from a booming business in testosterone replacement therapy known as TRT. (Winkler, 9/5)
The Emancipator: Community Fridges Are Helping Neighbors Nourish One Another
A curious sight is becoming more common in cities throughout America and abroad: refrigerators outside on the sidewalk, often adorned with colorful murals and posters inviting people to “take what you need, leave what you can.” This is the mantra of the community fridge, a mutual aid project that brings neighbors together to find local solutions to the dual problems of food waste and food insecurity. Anyone can visit the fridge at any hour and take or leave food. Upkeep is done by a network of volunteers. (LaSalvia, 8/29)
The Wall Street Journal: The Crushing Financial Burden Of Aging At Home
Americans want to grow old in their own homes. But pursuing that dream has gotten harder, and is putting huge financial and emotional strains on families. In Nebraska, Christine Salhany spends about $240,000 a year for 24-hour in-home care for her husband who has Alzheimer’s. In Illinois, Carolyn Brugioni’s dad exhausted his savings and took out a home-equity line-of-credit to pay for home healthcare. (Ansberry and Tergesen, 9/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Long Covid Knocked A Million Americans Off Their Career Paths
Long Covid has pushed around one million Americans out of the labor force, economists estimate. More than 5% of adults in the U.S. have long Covid, and it is most prevalent among Americans in their prime working years. About 3.6 million people reported significantly modifying their activities because of the illness in a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Calfas and Overberg, 8/26)
Stat: A Cancer Survivor's Journey From Pharma Exec To Patient Advocate
Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996, when she was a 37-year-old executive at the drug company G.D. Searle. She was told she had three years to live. Twenty-eight years later, Giusti, 65, is thriving. One reason is the patient advocacy group she founded in 1998: the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. (Herper, 9/3)
The Texas Tribune: What Texas Can Learn From Italy’s Big Bet On Primary Care
In Italy, as in Texas, funding hospitals over primary care leaves many feeling “medically homeless.” Italy’s post-COVID plans show another way. (Klibanoff and Schumacher, 9/3)
