Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Medicare For All; Magic Mushrooms; And Stopping HIV
Slate: What Do Democrats Actually Mean By Medicare For All?
Up until recently, most of the Democratic hopefuls for 2020 have gotten away with being vague about what they mean by Medicare for all. But keeping up the ambiguity is getting harder because journalists keep asking one very particular question: Do they, or do they not, want to eliminate private health insurance? (Jordan Weismann, 2/4)
Wired: Inside The Push To Legalize Magic Mushrooms For Depression And PTSD
When Todd's psychiatrist suggested he start taking psychedelics, he figured it was a joke. It wasn't. (Troy Farah, 2/7)
The Atlantic: Stopping HIV Would Require An Entirely Different Trump
The grand gesture of commitment to an implausible health goal is a State of the Union tradition. Richard Nixon once declared a mission to “conquer this dread disease,” referring to all cancers. Barack Obama promised to “map the human brain,” an ambition that scientists could explain only by using further metaphors. (James Hamblin, 2/6)
Vox: 8 Things Everybody Should Know About Measles
The measles virus is one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room and leave, and hours later, if you’re unvaccinated, you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air the infected person left behind. No other virus can do that. (Julia Belluz, 2/7)
The New Yorker: “Reverse Innovation” Could Save Lives. Why Aren’t We Embracing It?
At less than the price of a cup of coffee, it might be one of the world’s most economical lifesaving devices. The “uterine balloon tamponade” does not look like much: a syringe, some blue tubing, a lubricated condom. All this is contained in a plastic bag, along with a checklist and a laminated set of instructions. But, when the condom is attached to the end of a catheter and inflated with water, it can stop uterine bleeding in women who have just given birth—one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in developing countries. (Tom Vanderbilt, 2/4)
