Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: The IUD Rush; The World's Best Health Care System; Immigrant Doctors
The Washington Post: The IUD Rush: Why Women Are Seeking Out Birth Control That Can Outlast A Presidency
The day after President Trump’s inauguration, millions of women of all ages marched in the streets of major cities. In the past few months, there’s been another, quieter march that’s far more personal, yet still political. If you’re not a woman of childbearing age or a health-care provider, you might not have noticed it. Since the election, women have been seeing their gynecologists and visiting Planned Parenthood offices specifically to ask about birth control. (Lisa Bonos, 2/7)
The Atlantic: How The GOP Might Repair Obamacare Before Repealing It
Lamar Alexander’s preferred metaphor for the current state of the Affordable Care Act is that of a collapsing bridge. Rising premiums and fewer coverage options in many states have destabilized the law’s insurance exchanges, the veteran Republican senator argues, and Congress must step in to rescue consumers trapped in a system of dwindling and increasingly expensive health-care plans. (Russell Berman, 2/7)
The Guardian: Which Country Has The World's Best Healthcare System?
Healthcare is a costly item in national budgets, but who gets the best value for money, and who the best outcomes? We compare the systems in some of the world’s leading countries for healthcare. (2/9)
Vox: A College Student Got Liquid Stitches And A Bandage At The ER. Then He Got A $2,783 Bill.
Last summer, Matt Anderson cut his finger on a knife while doing dishes. He’s a college student, and his roommate, a biology major, suggested that he go to the emergency room. He had recently used the same knife to cut raw meat and thought Anderson’s finger might get infected. Anderson estimates he got to the emergency room around 11 pm. A nurse saw him shortly after midnight and cleaned his wound. A doctor came by a little later to apply liquid stitches to his finger. Anderson went home around 1 am. (Sarah Kliff, 2/6)
The Atlantic: Trump's Immigration Ban Ignores Value Of Immigrant M.D.'s
Immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries have a reprieve—for now at least. A federal judge in Washington blocked President Trump’s travel ban Friday night.That means that among other visa-holders, the 260 medical-school graduates from the affected countries who had applied for medical residency slots in the United States are temporarily able to travel to the U.S. and interview for positions. (Olga Khazan, 2/6)
BBC News: Why Don't More African Americans Become Organ Donors?
When her daughter, Thalya, was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, Chantal Onelien's initial reaction was shock. But, as Adam Harris reports, it was only the beginning of a long and difficult fight. Thalya, then only 13 years old, would need to begin dialysis immediately, and she would also need a new kidney. (2/6)
