Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Biden's Health Care Ideas Could Take U.S. One Step Closer To Single Payer; Health Care Is A Market Failure
The Washington Post: Joe Biden Proposes Radical Leftist Health-Care Plan
The 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign is in many ways an argument between liberals and moderates over the path the Democratic Party should take, and on no issue has that argument been more intense than health care. Joe Biden has now released his health care plan, and while he’s presenting it as a rebuke of the more liberal candidates, in fact it represents a significant move to the left. (Paul Waldman, 7/15)
USA Today: Free Market Fails On Health Care, We Need Medicare For All
Despite the fact that Medicare for All has gained traction in large part due to our country’s most famous democratic-socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I’m about as far from a socialist as you can be. But I know that if we’re going to grow, expand and improve our market-based economy, it’s time to drastically overhaul the way we finance health care. (David Steil, 7/16)
The Hill: Yes, Spending Time Alone Can Be Good For You
Last week, the BBC published a piece entitled, “The benefits of spending time alone.” Many, who read the article, scratched their heads, wondering “Wait, we were told that loneliness was detrimental to our health. What gives, and why are you changing course?” As a psychologist, I think it’s important for everyone to understand the differences between loneliness and aloneness. In addition, we should all know the tremendous benefits one can receive from some quality time to tune out and turn in. (Joan Cook, 7/15)
Stat: Three Actions Can Help Address Health Care's Replication Crisis
Replicability is one of the key tenets of scientific research, and for good reason. If a study shows that a new drug, for example, treats a specific condition in a specific population, the same result should emerge when a different team conducts the same test. Replicability validates results, assuring that the outcome is real and not the result of some unforeseen variable or the play of chance. It ensures that the information we think we’re getting is, in fact, accurate. The ultimate issue of the replication crisis is simple: We can’t make informed decisions without the correct information, and we’re getting a lot of incorrect information. (Sanjay Basu, 7/16)
The Hill: Crucial For Congress To Fund Life-Saving Diabetes Research
More than 1.25 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and 40,000 are diagnosed each year. As an autoimmune response that damages the body’s cells that make insulin, it requires constant management to avoid dangerously high or low blood sugar levels. I too live with type 1 diabetes, and have since the age of 13. Diabetes impacts every aspect of life — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — but today we can better manage this disease and we’re steps closer to cures, thanks to federal funding for T1D research provided through the Special Diabetes Program (SDP). (Aaron J. Kowalski, 7/15)
The Washington Post: Being A Sober Mom In The Middle Of A Wine Mom Culture Is Isolating
I went to a play date the other day at a new preschool-friend’s house, wrestling my 5- and 3-year-old boys through the big doors of a strange new home. Almost the moment I stepped through the front door, the mom giggled “mimosa time!” and my body froze up. I wasn’t prepared for this. As a relative newbie to sobriety, I’ve learned that preparation is key. Most times, when I’m heading to a social gathering, I have time to prepare mentally, physically (I always bring a drink with me) and emotionally. (Celeste Yvonne, 7/15)
The Hill: How Congress Can Expand Access To Addiction Treatment — Immediately
Today, any health-care provider with a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe controlled substances can write a prescription for an opioid painkiller. But that same health-care professional cannot prescribe one of the three main drugs used to manage opioid dependence without first undergoing hours of training and receiving approval from the DEA. As opioid overdoses kill approximately 48,000 Americans a year — 130 each day — Congress has an opportunity to eliminate these outdated requirements and help expand access to lifesaving care. (Allan Coukell, 7/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Mental Health Care Is Urgent Enough To Get Right
Mental health care is a national failure that is more visible and visceral in San Francisco, where too many struggles with mental illness take place on the streets among the city’s disproportionate and rapidly growing population of homeless people. That is in large part due to the persistent housing shortage that is forcing more and more vulnerable San Franciscans out of their homes — and on which the Board of Supervisors has a nearly perfect record of dithering and denial. (7/13)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Federal Laws Must Be Strengthened To Correct Abuse Of Hospice Patients
A federal inspector general’s report has identified appalling conditions at hospice centers around the country, including particularly bad conditions at one unidentified Missouri center operated by Vitas Healthcare. The kinds of abuse and neglect described in the report would be condemnable under any circumstances, but it’s particularly galling that hospice centers collect taxpayer money for their services with far too little oversight to ensure abuses don’t happen. The Washington Post, citing a state inspector in Missouri, identified Vitas as one of the hospice providers with the most severe service deficiencies. (7/15)
Boston Globe: Mass. DOC Is Making A Mockery Of New Solitary Confinement Regulations
What’s the state Department of Correction so afraid of? Its new rules on the use of solitary confinement and a gag rule for an oversight committee charged with playing watchdog over its implementation are embarrassing for a state that was once a leader in prison reform.If these “emergency regulations” are actually allowed to remain in effect, the Baker administration will have solidified its reputation as the least transparent since Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge occupied the Corner Office. (7/14)
