Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: The Minimum Wage And Public Health; The Jail-Health Care Crisis; And Bringing Down Drug Prices
The New York Times Magazine: The $15 Minimum Wage Doesn't Just Improve Lives. It Saves Them.
A small group of researchers scattered around the country have begun to pursue this long-neglected question, specifically looking into the public-health effects of a higher minimum wage. A 2011 national study showed that low-skilled workers reported fewer unmet medical needs in states with higher minimum-wage rates. In high-wage states, workers were better able to pay for the care they needed. In low-wage states, workers skipped medical appointments. (Matthew Desmond, 2/21)
The New Yorker: The Jail Health-Care Crisis
The opioid epidemic and other public-health emergencies are being aggravated by failings in the criminal-justice system. (Steve Coll, 2/25)
NPR: 'Car Talk' Lives On In Medical Education, Teaching Med Students How To Diagnose : Shots - Health News
As it turns out, Ray and Tom's step-by-step method of diagnosing car trouble can be applied to more than just your broken down old jalopy. A handful of physicians are using the show to teach medical students how to diagnose disease. (Paul Chisholm, 2/27)
Vox: Pharmaceutical CEOs Testify In Congress: 8 Ideas For Reducing Drug Prices
Americans have said for years that they’re frustrated with the price of medicine and it should be high on lawmakers’ to-do list. Now Congress has put together an extensive menu of ideas for reducing prescription drug costs. Democrats have made drug prices a top priority for their new House majority — and this is one of the rare policy areas where they might find some common ground with Republicans. (Dylan Scott, 2/26)
The New Yorker: Living With Type 1 Diabetes When You Can’t Afford Insulin
Amanda Schaffer speaks with Sa’Ra Skipper, a twenty-three-old Indianian who is one of millions of diabetics who are forced to ration their insulin because the drug is so expensive. (Amanda Schaffer, 2/22)
The Atlantic: Many Anti-Vax Posts On Facebook Come From Seven Pages
Look up vaccinations on Facebook, as Representative Adam Schiff did last week, and the results will show a rich supply of anti-vaccination posts, pages, and groups. Such propaganda appears to be flourishing online, drawing the uninitiated into a tangled web of sources through algorithmic recommendations and human shares. (Alexis Madrigal, 2/27)
