Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Religious Hospitals; Legal Cannabis; And Cancer In Prison
FiveThirtyEight: How Insurers Can Send Patients To Religious Hospitals That Restrict Reproductive Care
Last fall, about a month before her Medicaid coverage was scheduled to expire, Darolyn Lee realized that she needed to get her contraceptive implant replaced. Lee, a 37-year-old in Chicago, called the managed care organization in charge of her plan to find out where she should go to get the new implant. She was told that the closest in-network provider was Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, a Catholic hospital about 30 minutes away by bus. (Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Anna Maria Barry-Jester, 8/1)
The Guardian: How Legal Cannabis Actually Made Things Worse For Sick People In Oregon
In 2015, Erich Berkovitz opened his medical marijuana processing company, PharmEx, with the intention of getting sick people their medicine. His passion stemmed from his own illness. Berkovitz has Tourette syndrome, which triggers ticks in his shoulder that causes chronic pain. Cannabis takes that away. Yet in the rapidly changing marijuana landscape, PharmEx is now one of three medical-only processors left in the entire state of Oregon. (Melanie Sevcenko, 7/31)
The Marshall Project: How I Survived Cancer In Prison
When I’d first arrived at Woodman Unit the previous summer, I’d undergone a series of tests during the intake process: blood draws, psychological evaluations and a pelvic exam. After the initial flurry of activity, things moved more slowly. I had another pelvic exam two months later. When my second pap test showed abnormal cells, I was told I would be informed of any next steps—if I needed further treatment. I assumed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice* was responsibly directing my health care. I put my trust in the system to manage my life, a task at which I’d obviously failed. (Heather Hodges, 7/26)
BuzzFeed News: How Anti-Abortion Advocates Are Using A Pro-Woman Message To Appeal To A New Generation
The fashion show took place at the third annual Pro-Life Women’s Conference last month, a three-day event that illustrates a generational divide within the anti-abortion movement. The goal of the fashion show, and the conference as a whole, was to start a rebranding of the anti-abortion community, moving away from fire and brimstone, large pictures of bloody fetuses, and the scare tactics of the old guard. Instead, conference organizers are taking a page from the mainstream feminist and abortion rights movements, aiming to expand the anti-abortion movement through a woman-centered, inclusive approach to branding and activism. (Ema O'Connor, 7/30)
The Atlantic: Big Pharma Would Like Your DNA
23andMe has always planned to sell access to its customers’ DNA—a fact it has not exactly kept secret. (Sarah Zhang, 7/27)
