Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Compensation Brings More Diversity In Clinical Trials; Texas Heartbeat Bill Is Particularly Alarming
USA Today: Improve Health Equity, Diversity And Clinical Trials: Pay Participants
When the Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA and in favor of compensating college athletes, I considered how this strategy could help solve the lack of diversity in clinical research and clinical trial enrollment. The two topics may seem unrelated, but they're strikingly similar. Collegiate athletes from low-income or working-class families often live financially strapped lives on campus. Even those who are compensated receive relatively small stipends that are a fraction of what they earn for their schools. (John Whyte, 7/24)
The Washington Post: Here’s What Makes Texas’s ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill Uniquely Dangerous
Judges have struck down every law state legislatures have passed limiting abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy, declaring these restrictions, which stop just short of totally banning abortion, to be unconstitutional. Knowing this, but bent on passing one anyway, Texas leaders have devised a convoluted and dangerous workaround: a “heartbeat” bill that entirely outsources its enforcement to private citizens. It’s a call to arms for antiabortion zealots — or, really, anyone who’d like $10,000, the minimum bounty for those who successfully sue a clinic or individual for enabling an “illegal” abortion. (7/24)
Stat: A Turning Point For Children: Creating An AIDS-Free Generation
Forty years after the first AIDS cases were reported, the harsh reality is that deep inequalities continue to exist in the global response to HIV and AIDS, with gaps in rights and services preventing real progress. And while it is painful to admit, one of the most overlooked segments of the population has been children. (Winnie Byanyima and Chip Lyons, 7/25)
Stat: Every State Needs To Establish A Rare Disease Advisory Council
A powerful movement is taking shape in the U.S. rare disease community that could transform the lives of millions of people. That’s right — millions. Even though a single rare disease may affect only a few individuals, there are several thousand of these problematic diseases that are difficult to identify and treat. Since 2015, 21 U.S. states have passed legislation to create Rare Disease Advisory Councils that provide platforms for patients and family members to communicate with experts, policymakers, and the broader public. It’s critical to seize this hopeful moment because the needs of so many people living with rare diseases go unaddressed. (Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, 7/25)
NBC News: Am I Good Mom? My Anxiety Made Me Question How I Was Raising My Son — And Passing It On
Anxiety defined my parenting, and my child and I had already developed unhealthy patterns by the time he was in first grade. When I was feeling anxious about a freelance writing gig, the bills, my marriage or even the current state of the world, he would pick up on my energy and act out, amplifying my anxiety. We would do a dance, almost literally, where he’d run circles around me — he’d become more unruly and I’d become more stressed — until I lost control. In those moments, I became so many things I never wanted to be. I’d yell, sometimes loudly, and I’d hate myself afterward. Then I’d spend the next several hours apologizing. (Aileen Weintraub, 7/24)
NPR: Pandemic Memories Will Stay With Our Children
A lot of Americans may feel this week like someone who's run a long race, sees the finish line and begins to counts each step and breath to the end, only to hear as we get close, "Oh, sorry. You've got another mile or two to go. "The costs of the pandemic have been staggering. More than 600,000 people in the United States alone have died from COVID-19. Thousands more may live with long term damage, to their health, their livelihood and emotional well-being. (Scott Simon, 7/24)
The Atlantic: To Address The Overdose Crisis, Listen To The People Who Know The Most
On a street corner in Newark, Ohio, every Saturday, rain or shine, Trish Perry distributes harm-reduction supplies—syringes, Neosporin, saline, and the overdose-reversal drug naloxone—to people who use drugs. She also provides food, clothing, tents, and blankets to the more than 75 people who stop by each week. Set up in a grassy lot shaded by a scrawny hackberry and a silver maple, her outreach efforts are funded purely by donations. Sometimes health-care workers will check wounds; sometimes a stylist will offer free haircuts. The people who come here for aid know that Perry isn’t going to ask them for personal information or expect anything in return. (Jack Shuler, 7/24)
Newsweek: Public-Private Partnerships Lead The Way On Ending Health Care Disparities
For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged communities across the nation. Vaccination levels are now on the rise in the U.S., which is much-welcome news giving hope to countless people across the country who eagerly await the end of this long struggle. In fighting the pandemic, however, the troubling inequities in health care that hurt some of our most vulnerable communities became even more pronounced. In vaccine distribution, stark disparities have emerged along racial and geographic lines in terms of getting communities the shots they need to effectively ward off the spread of COVID-19. These disparities amplified how hard-hit these communities were from the very start of the pandemic. Without targeted solutions, their journey back from the pandemic will be far longer than it should. (Merika Coleman, Assistant Minority Leader, Alabama House Of Representatives, 7/23)
