Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Medicaid Should Include Abortion In Pregnancy Care Coverage; Early Education Affects Lifelong Health
Newsweek: Public Abortion Coverage Helps My Patients
Mrs. K was a refugee who recently arrived in the U.S. to reunite with her husband and children. They arrived safely a few weeks ahead of her. On her initial refugee health exam, Mrs. K discovered she was six weeks pregnant. She had just arrived after escaping persecution in southeast Asia and faced the tremendous task of settling herself and her family in a new home. It was impossible for her to contemplate bringing another child into her family at the time. When Mrs. K came into the primary care clinic where I work seeking a medication abortion, I was happy to help her through the process. (Mai Fleming, 7/30)
Modern Healthcare: How Science And Education Can Bring A Golden Age Of Healthcare
We are moving into what could be a golden age for both health systems and healthcare. We will have electronic information on every patient. That data, funneled through artificial intelligence, care algorithms and connected caregivers, can significantly enhance and improve diagnosis, treatment plans, care coordination, and an extremely wide range of settings for receiving care. (George Halvorson, 8/2)
CNN: Biden Is Keeping His Promises To Americans With Disabilities
After the accident, Tyree Brown could barely write her own name. The 2015 car crash injured her spine and rendered the 26-year-old Maryland artist quadriplegic, paralyzing parts of her upper and lower body. Lengthy stints in rehab and a nursing home followed, coupled with painstaking occupational therapy. Beautiful portraits that had once taken Tyree five days to draw can now take her up to a month. Yet, earlier this week, I marveled as Tyree shared with me her remarkable black-and-white drawings. Inspired, I watched Monday as she was wheeled to a low table in the White House Rose Garden and confidently introduced the President of the United States. (Susan E. Rice, 7/30)
The Boston Globe: To Stop A Controversial Electric Shock Therapy, The Disability Community Is Owed Better Alternatives
The Judge Rotenberg Center, once again the center of national controversy over its use of painful electric shocks to treat intellectually or developmentally disabled patients, is a place of last resort. Desperate parents and guardians from all over the country send students to the Canton facility when nothing else has worked: when their loved ones have been kicked out of or rejected by other programs, hospitalized for weeks at a time, or subjected to medications that left them unresponsive. (8/1)
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Must Remember The Complex Needs Of Those Who Live With Disabilities
“I never thought of that.” This is a common response I get when I explain that disability belongs in any conversation on equity, diversity and inclusion, along with racial equity, class, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status and more. In Chicago, 1 in 10 people have a disability, and two-thirds of that group are brown and Black. Disability has typically been portrayed as a one-dimensional identity, when in fact intersectional identities as a whole can and do impact the experience and access a person with a disability has. I work every day to reshape this narrative in my role as commissioner for the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. (Rachel Arfa, 8/2)
Newsweek: Home Care Workers Can Help Me Stay In My Own Home
I'll never forget my first nursing home placement in Ohio. As I entered the facility, I was hit with the smell of feces and a screaming ventilator alarm that no one answered. I knew I was not in a safe space, and that I would not last long there. That was 20 years ago, and I've been in and out of nursing facilities ever since. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991. As my MS has progressed, home care aides have helped me cook, wash dishes and get safely into and out of the bathtub. Sometimes I also need assistance with daily household chores and maintaining my personal hygiene. They help me with that as well. (Elaine Shelly, 7/30)
The New York Times: Nobody Wants To Live In A Nursing Home. Something’s Got To Give
Few people dream of living out their golden years in a nursing home. The very idea sparks existential dread in many Americans, conjuring images of grim, institutional dumping grounds where society’s frailest and most vulnerable members aren’t so much cared for as warehoused. Scattered horror stories of neglect and abuse supercharge more prosaic fears about losing one’s autonomy. (Michelle Cottle, 8/1)
