Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Mental Illness In Prison; Teaching In The Age Of School Shootings; And The GOP On Preexisting Conditions
The Marshall Project: A Turbulent Mind
On a recent morning, Andrew Goldstein emerged from his cell in D Gallery, waddling on the balls of his feet, clutching the banister as he made his way down four flights with a few dozen other men categorized as SMI-V — “seriously mentally ill, violent.” (John J. Lennon and Bill Keller, 9/3)
The New York Times: Teaching In The Age Of School Shootings
On Jan. 23, three weeks into the spring semester, a 15-year-old sophomore named Gabe Parker brought his stepfather’s 9-millimeter Ruger handgun to Marshall County High School in Western Kentucky, opened fire on the more than 600 students who were milling about the main common area waiting for the morning bell to ring, then dropped his weapon near the auditorium and disappeared into the chaos he had created. (Jeneen Interlandi, 9/4)
Huffington Post: GOP Senate Candidates Are Scrambling To Rewrite Their Record On Pre-Existing Conditions
Josh Hawley, the Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, says he is all about making sure anybody can get health insurance, regardless of their medical status: “We need to cover pre-existing conditions,” he said earlier this summer.But Hawley, who is currently Missouri’s attorney general, is one of the 20 state officials who has signed onto a new lawsuit seeking to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s guarantee of coverage, which they argue is unconstitutional. Hawley is also a longtime supporter of Congress repealing the law outright. (Jonathan Cohn and Kevin Robillard, 9/2)
FiveThirtyEight: What Does Science Tell Us About Sex Ed?
Debates over how (and even whether) sex ed should be taught in schools have raged for more than a century, with no end in sight. Those debates are fought on both scientific and cultural grounds — they’re about what works to prevent teen pregnancies and STDs and what’s appropriate for American kids to be taught in school, and at what age they should learn it. (Christie Aschwanden, 9/4)
The Atlantic: Why Hasn’t Science Solved Acne Yet?
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of theories on preventing and treating acne. Some people swear by supplements. Others sing the gospel of giving up dairy or even drinking dog pee in order to eliminate the pesky (and sometimes painful) bumps. But even the best, most scientifically backed treatments can cause problems, such as dry skin, sensitivity to sunlight, and birth defects. (Angela Lashbrook, 9/1)
