Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Employer Health Care; PrEP And Primacy Care Physicians; Measles; And More
Commonwealth Fund: Trends In Employer Health Care Coverage, 2008–2018
Average annual growth in the combined cost of employees’ contributions to premiums and deductibles outpaced growth in U.S. median income between 2008 and 2018 in every state. Middle-income workers spent an average 6.8 percent of income on employer premium contributions in 2018; per-person deductibles across single and family plans amounted to 4.7 percent of median income. Recent proposals would enhance the affordability and cost protection of Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, allow people with employer plans to buy coverage on the marketplaces, or replace private insurance with a public plan like Medicare. (Collins, Radley and Baumgartner, 11/21)
JAMA Internal Medicine: HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis—The Role Of Primary Care Clinicians In Ending The HIV Epidemic
A global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic persists despite data to support multiple effective and safe tools that prevent HIV transmission and acquisition. Human immunodeficiency virus preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-uninfected at-risk populations using tenofovir disoproxil fumarate emtricitabine is highly effective, safe, and recently endorsed by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as a grade A recommendation. (Khalili and Landovitz, 11/18)
Health Affairs: Measles, Mumps, And Communion: A Vision For Vaccine Policy
A pediatrician offers a vision for vaccine policy that promotes public health while respecting religious beliefs. (Williams, 11/ 20)
JAMA Internal Medicine: Disparities In Care And Mortality Among Homeless Adults Hospitalized For Cardiovascular Conditions
In this cross-sectional study of 24 890 hospitalizations for cardiovascular conditions among homeless adults and 1 827 900 hospitalizations for cardiovascular conditions among nonhomeless adults in New York, Massachusetts, and Florida between 2010 and 2015, homeless individuals hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction were significantly less likely to undergo coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery compared with nonhomeless adults and had higher mortality rates for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Homeless persons hospitalized for cardiac arrest or stroke also received less procedural care and had higher mortality rates. (Wadhera et al, 11/18)
The New York Times: Statin Drugs Not Linked To Memory Decline In Study
There has been some evidence that statins cause cognitive problems, and enough case reports to make the Food and Drug Administration require a warning label on the medicines. But a large Australian study reports that the cholesterol-lowering drugs are not associated with a decline in memory or thinking ability. Over six years, researchers periodically measured mental acuity in 1,037 men and women aged 70 to 90. They used M.R.I. brain scans to calculate the brain volume of 526 of the subjects at the beginning and at two years into the study. (Bakalar, 11/18)
