Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sen. Fetterman Admitted To Hospital For Depression Treatment
Roll Call: Fetterman Hospitalized For Treatment Of Depression
Sen. John Fetterman has checked himself into a hospital for inpatient treatment for clinical depression, the Pennsylvania Democrat’s office announced Thursday. “While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Fetterman Chief of Staff Adam Jentleson said in a statement. (Lesniewski and Raman, 2/16)
AP: Fetterman Draws Praise For Getting Help For Depression
When Patrick Kennedy was in Congress, he would sneak in his treatments for substance abuse over the holidays, in between congressional work periods. And he refused mental health treatment recommended by his doctors, worried he would be recognized in that wing of the hospital. (Clare Jalonick, 2/17)
In news about Bruce Willis —
Los Angeles Times: Bruce Willis Diagnosed With Frontotemporal Dementia
Bruce Willis, who left acting last year due to his struggles with aphasia, has been diagnosed more specifically with frontotemporal dementia, his family announced Thursday. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD),” said the statement signed by wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore and daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn. (D'Zurilla, 2/16)
Los Angeles Times: What Is Frontotemporal Dementia? The Disease Afflicting Actor Bruce Willis Is Incurable
An estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. live with frontotemporal dementia, said Dr. William Seeley, a neurologist at UC San Francisco who in 2011 was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant for his work on the condition he described as a “complex and heterogeneous disease that’s difficult to diagnose.” (Purtill, 2/16)
Also —
KHN: Amid Dire Suicide Rates In Montana, Governor Expands Student Mental Health Screening
Bella Nyman has struggled with her mental health since age 7, when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and anxiety. Nyman said she was afraid to tell her parents she had thoughts of suicide. Looking back, a mental health screening might have helped her to stop hiding her struggles from adults and peers, she said. (Larson, 2/17)
KHN: 'What the Health?' Podcast: The Kids Are Not OK
A new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that teenagers, particularly girls, are reporting all-time high rates of violence and profound mental distress. Meanwhile, both sides in the abortion debate are anxiously waiting for a district court decision in Texas that could effectively revoke the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. (2/16)
