Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pharmaceutical Factories Try To Keep Running As Puerto Rico Infrastructure Struggles From Hurricane Damage
Bloomberg: Drugmakers In Storm-Battered Puerto Rico Must Now Ride Out Recovery
Drugmakers rode out Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, but keeping plants running while the devastated island picks up the pieces is likely to be tougher. Tax breaks and incentives made Puerto Rico the Caribbean’s economic powerhouse two decades ago, helping attract dozens of drug and device makers that built state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. (Cortez and Hopkins, 10/4)
The Associated Press: Mental Health Concerns Arise In Puerto Rico Aftermath Of Hurricane Maria
Locked out of his home and with nowhere else to go, Wilfredo Ortiz Marrero rode out Hurricane Maria inside a Jeep, which was lifted off its wheels by floodwaters in the parking lot. He then endured days without enough food or running water. The lights are back on at his residence for low-income elderly people in the San Juan suburb of Trujillo Alto, and food has started arriving, but he still waits as long as he can each night to leave the company of others in the lobby. Alone in his room, he sometimes starts to shake. “You get really depressed,” he said Wednesday. (Melia and Coto, 10/5)
The Hill: Feds Activate Emergency Prescription Program For Uninsured Puerto Ricans
The Health and Human Services Department has activated a program that will pay for prescription medications for uninsured Puerto Ricans impacted by Hurricane Maria. The Emergency Prescription Assistance Program allows uninsured patients to get a 30-day supply at participating pharmacies with renewals every 30 days while the program is active. (Hellmann, 10/5)
McClatchy: Much Of Puerto Rico Has No Running Water
In households across Puerto Rico, water has become a precious commodity. ...And its scarcity means that for many Puerto Ricans, their bodies, their homes and their clothes are not as clean as they would like. (Johnson, 10/5)
WBUR: 112 Degrees With No Water: Puerto Rican Hospitals Battle Life And Death Daily
Every day across Puerto Rico, with its shattered power grid, hospitals are waging a life-and-death battle to keep their patients from getting sicker in the tropical heat. Now two weeks after the storm, about three-quarters of Puerto Rico's hospitals remain on emergency power. (Burnett, 10/5)
