Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Pediatric Medical Devices Need To Be Fast-Tracked; Think Twice Before Tweeting Your Research Results
Stat: It's Time To Fast Track Innovation In Medical Devices For Children
When a baby arrived at Children’s National Hospital with a critically underdeveloped heart, it was clear to her care team that she needed surgery. But they had a dilemma: At less than 6 pounds, she wasn’t strong enough to undergo surgery but probably wouldn’t survive without it. (Kurt Newman, 2/11)
Stat: The Hazard Of Publishing Research Findings Via Twitter
Positive news about a potential Covid-19 treatment — a drug that blocks the receptor for the inflammatory protein interleukin-6 (IL-6) — highlight the hazards of sharing research findings via Twitter and other social media. (Paul Monach and Westyn Branch-Elliman, 2/12)
Seattle Times: The Power Of Science Can Help Us Treat — And Beat — Cancer
What will cancer care look like over the next 20 years? It’s hard to predict, but at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), we think we have a good idea, based on the promise of our research and U.S. cancer mortality rates that continue to slowly but steadily decline. It’s been two decades since we first opened our doors in South Lake Union, launching us on a journey that has led to us consistently being named one of the top cancer hospitals in the U.S. A unique collaboration that combines the leading research teams and cancer specialists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medicine and Seattle Children’s enables us to provide patients the highest quality cancer care. (Nancy Davidson, 2/9)
The Hill: How A DNA Database Can Reunite Migrant Families
President Biden announced formation of a task force to reunite the migrant children separated from their families in 2018. Given his call for unity in his inaugural address, this effort to reunify families is an important place to start. According to the Department of Justice, former President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy caused the separation of at least 3,000 migrant children from their accompanying adults. (Sara H. Katsanis, Michael J. Stebbins and Jennifer K. Wagner, 2/11)
Bloomberg: No Surprises Act Is A Step Toward Ending Unexpected Medical Bills
One gift tucked inside the $2.3 trillion Covid relief and government spending bill Congress passed during Christmas week is a ban on virtually all surprise medical bills. No longer will insured patients be hit with enormous unexpected invoices from emergency room doctors, anesthesiologists, radiologists and other health care providers who work outside health insurance networks. Charges like this have cost Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance some $40 billion a year, arousing universal outrage and bipartisan promises to crack down. After long delays and despite strenuous industry lobbying, lawmakers finally agreed to act. Doctors are now forbidden to charge patients directly for out-of-network care administered without patients’ consent, which must be given at least 72 hours in advance. Yet two crucial questions aren’t fully resolved: Who pays for the procedures if not the patients concerned, and who sets the price? (2/9)
Boston Globe: Political Extremism Is Not Just A National Security Threat But A Mental Health Emergency
Groups that work with families desperate to reclaim loved ones lost to violent ideologies report surges of calls to their hotlines over the past year. For them, political extremism is not just a national security threat but a mental health emergency. Myrieme Churchill is executive director of Parents for Peace, which works with families and “recovering” extremists involved in a wide variety of political causes, from Islamic jihadists to the Ku Klux Klan. “It strikes me that even though the families spoke different languages and were from different regions and of different religions, they were telling the same story,” she said. “In every case, there is a mental health element.” (Renee Loth, 2/12)
