Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Medicaid And Disabled Children; Zika; And Freud
Time: Medicaid Was The Only Insurance That Tried To Save My Daughter
From the start, each of my twins, Roan and Lula, were different in every way. In 2010, Roan burst onto the scene with a garrulous yelp; his sister was shatteringly silent. The reason became clear in time. Lula had a de novo genetic mutation, which means that it was not inherited and therefore could have afflicted any baby. It disabled her in a multitude of ways, none of which showed up in any prenatal tests or sonograms. Suddenly, we entered two parallel universes: parenting a healthy child and parenting a disabled child, and, with them, forced into the morass of American healthcare. Within 18 months, Lula was covered first under private insurance, then a state HMO and, finally, when neither could cover her costs, Medicaid. Our experiences with each are why I am terrified by Paul Ryan and Tom Price’s proposals to rein in Medicaid spending through block grants to states. (Micaela Walker, 3/13)
The New York Times: For Brazil’s Zika Families, A Life Of Struggle And Scares
Not a soul was in sight on the narrow dusty street, except for a cat skittering under a three-quarter moon. It was 2:30 a.m., and in a small pink house up 29 steps carved jaggedly into a red clay embankment, Vera Lúcia da Silva was readying her baby for a journey to the city of Recife, two and a half hours away. Cradling Sophia Valentina, she walked through the fog-shrouded town, then climbed into a government van for the jostling ride, arriving just after sunrise. They make the arduous trip several times a week. It is the only way to get the treatment and therapy Sophia needs for an ominous array of problems caused by the Zika virus. (Pam Belluck and Tania Franco, 3/11)
Stat: Psychoanalysts Fight To Make Freud Relevant Again
After more than a century mining the unconscious, psychoanalysis is really showing its age. Only 15 percent of members in the American Psychoanalytic Association are under 50. And traditional Freudian analysis — lying on a couch, talking about your childhood, day after day for years — is widely seen as a musty relic, far too expensive and intensive to fit into modern life.But analysts aren’t ready to give up on Sigmund yet. (Carter Maness, 3/15)
The New Yorker: Paul Ryan’s Health-Care Vise
In this new era of trying to pass bills that a Republican President will sign, the Freedom Caucus is among the first groups that [House Speaker Paul] Ryan needed to mollify. Obamacare uses relatively generous government subsidies to help individuals purchase health insurance on the private market. An early version of the Ryan plan replaced these subsidies with less generous refundable tax credits, which many conservatives dislike because Americans who pay no taxes would still be eligible for the credits. (Ryan Lizza, 3/7)
The Washington Post: Despite A Mother’s Plea, Her Mentally Ill Daughter Was Sold A Firearm. Here’s Why She Sued.
She called the police. Then ATF. After that, the FBI. Janet Delana was desperate to stop her mentally ill adult daughter from buying another handgun. (Marimow, 3/6)
Smithsonian Magazine: How A Soap Opera Virus Felled Hundreds Of Students In Portugal
The schools fell like dominoes across Portugal in May 2006, one after another calling upon government officials with reports of dozens, then hundreds of students struck with rashes, dizziness and difficulty breathing, just as year-end exams approached. Was it a mysterious allergic reaction, a chemical spill, a virus? (Lorraine Boissoneault, 3/6)
Stat: A Doctor Rejects Medicine's 'Self-Righteous' Approach To Death
Dr. Diane Meier won a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant in 2008 for her pioneering work in palliative medicine, which seeks to optimize patients’ quality of life by preventing or reducing their suffering. That journey, she said, started on the first morning of her internship — during which she assisted in an hour-long, fruitless effort to resuscitate an 89-year-old man with end-stage heart disease — and culminated in 1999 with her cofounding of the Center to Advance Palliative Care. (Tedeschi, 3/13)
Vox: “Bigotry Complicates Everything”: A Psychologist On How Prejudice Harms Muslim Patients’ Mental Health
Prejudice is bad for our health. Discrimination is a source of chronic stress that keeps us from sleeping well, it weakens our immune systems, and raises our blood pressure. Equally important is its impact on mental health. And Ben Herzig, a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating Muslim patients in the Boston area, sees it all the time. (Brian Resnick, 3/8)
The New York Times: Years Of Ethics Charges, But Star Cancer Researcher Gets A Pass
Dr. Carlo Croce is among the most prolific scientists in an emerging area of cancer research involving what is sometimes called the “dark matter” of the human genome. A department chairman at Ohio State University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Croce has parlayed his decades-long pursuit of cancer remedies into a research empire: He has received more than $86 million in federal grants as a principal investigator and, by his own count, more than 60 awards. (James Glanz and Agustin Armendariz, 3/8)
Stat: An Interview With Bill Nye: 'Respect The Science!'
A mostly flattering new documentary about the science educator, author, and mechanical engineer, which premiered here Sunday at the South by Southwest festival, chronicles how Nye drew inspiration from Carl Sagan as well as how he sparred with creationists and climate change deniers. Beyond Nye’s determination to make science accessible, the film, “Bill Nye: Science Guy,’’ delves into more personal subjects, including his pursuit of fame and his personal relationships. Nye even seemed a bit wistful about his personal life, saying in the film: “There were opportunities to get married and have babies.’’ At one point, he acknowledges he keeps a distance from people: “I won’t commit.’’ (Berke, 3/14)
The New York Times: You May Want To Marry My Husband
After learning she doesn’t have long to live, a woman composes a dating profile for the man she will leave behind. (Amy Krouse Rosenthal, 3/3)
