Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Telemedicine Abortions; Short-Term Plans; And Catholic Hospitals
Wired: Telemedicine Could Help Fill The Gaps In America's Abortion Care
A growing body of research suggests that medication abortion could be offered without any in-person interaction at all. It’s a possibility that is already the subject of a contentious political debate—one that is likely to intensify with a Supreme Court more hostile toward abortion rights following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Garnet Henderson, 8/7)
Quartz: When Short-Term Health Insurance Doesn't Cover Maternity Care
“Short-term limited-duration” (STLD) insurance policies are health insurance policies marketed to people who don’t get insurance through their work. They were designed to provide emergency coverage to people in-between jobs, or who hadn’t yet signed up for the affordable care marketplace. (Annalisa Merelli, 8/4)
Tonic: How Can You Treat Someone Who Doesn't Think They're Mentally Ill?
On July 3, 2014, Misty Mayo boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. Desperate to escape her hometown of Modesto in Stanislaus County, 300 miles north in California’s Central Valley, the 41-year-old thought the 4th of July fireworks in LA would be the perfect antidote. (Carrie Arnold, 8/7)
The Atlantic: Women More Likely To Survive Heart Attacks If Treated By Female Doctors
Brad Greenwood, Seth Carnahan, and Laura Huang analyzed two decades of records from Florida emergency rooms, including every patient who had been admitted with a heart attack from 1991 to 2010. They showed that women are more likely to die when treated by male doctors, compared to either men treated by male doctors or women treated by female doctors. (Ed Yong, 8/6)
FiveThirtyEight: Why Religious Health Care Restrictions Often Take Patients By Surprise
Because St. Francis was governed by Catholic doctrine, which opposes almost all forms of birth control, no tubal ligations could be performed on hospital property or by hospital employees, the couple were informed. It was the first they had heard about the restriction. Angela wishes she’d known about the restrictions in advance so she could have gone to a different hospital. St. Francis did not respond to a request for comment. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, 8/2)
