Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Puerto Rico; The Opioid Emergency; And Alexander-Murray
The Atlantic: Puerto Rico's Constant State Of Medical Emergency
The darkness is persistent. Power and clean water are still tenuous and reliant on generators and outside aid. Contamination threatens basic necessities for dozens of municipalities, and the death toll—already likely a serious undercount—is only rising as diseases and the attrition from devastated infrastructure take their toll. Even with the aid of the federal government and the military, a health-care system facing multiple threats might not be able to protect some of the island’s most vulnerable citizens. (Vann R. Newkirk II, 10/29)
FiveThirtyEight: Declaring Opioids A Health Emergency Could Make Treatment More Widely Available
President Trump on Thursday declared a nationwide public health emergency to battle the opioid crisis. It’s not as aggressive of a response as the president’s commission recommended in July, but a public health emergency, which lasts for 90 days, does allow the Department of Health and Human Services to redirect existing resources to combat opioid abuse. And under the Public Health Service Act, the determination could allow HHS specifically to waive restrictions on doctors who want to prescribe drugs used in medication-assisted treatment. (Kathryn Casteel, 10/26)
The Economist: The Alexander-Murray Bill Does Not Solve All Obamacare’s Problems
Republicans must decide whether to fix Obamacare, or help people escape from it. (10/27)
WIRED: Controversial Brain Imaging Uses AI To Take Aim At Suicide Prevention
If suicide were easy to diagnose from the outside, it wouldn’t be the public health curse it is today. In 2014 suicide rates surged to a 30-year high in the US, making it now the second leading cause of death among young adults. But what if you could get inside someone’s head, to see when dark thoughts might turn to action? (Megan Molteni, 10/30)
Teen Vogue: Here's How Health Care Works For Kids Behind Bars
Youth involved in the justice system in America are among the neediest and most medically underserved adolescents in the entire country. Over two-thirds of incarcerated youth reported at least one need for health care, according to a survey cited by a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on health care in the juvenile justice system. For some juveniles, the first consistent care they’ll receive for chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes is in the prison system. (Tiffany Onyejiaka, 10/30)
Politico: Atul Gawande On Washington, Writing And What Really Matters By Politico's Pulse Check
Atul Gawande doesn't really need an introduction — but if PULSE CHECK were to provide one, it would highlight his work as a New Yorker writer, researcher, best-selling author, surgeon and founder of two non-profits. (Among other responsibilities) Atul sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how he manages his schedule, his book "Being Mortal" and how he thinks its lessons have resonated, his perspective on politics and public health, his early career as a Hill staffer and Clinton-era appointee at HHS, whether he'd ever take a job in D.C. again and his writing process. (Diamond, 11/2)
