Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Bird Flu Is Moving Faster Than A Potential Vaccine; Why Is Medicare So Hard To Navigate?
Scientific American: A Bird Flu Vaccine Might Come Too Late To Save Us From H5N1
H5N1 bird flu is here. It’s moving from animals to people in ways not seen before. It’s spreading to new species and new places, and this spread is largely happening under the radar. (Maggie Fox, 10/30)
Stat: Crucial Medicare Information Is Often Impossible To Find
Open enrollment season for Medicare, which began Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7, triggers a deluge of information about various options. Since I’m a health care consultant and researcher as well as a Medicare beneficiary, I’ve looked critically at what we’re told and what we’re not. Unfortunately, information crucial both for the individual and for the broader policy goal of moving toward a “value-based” care system is often difficult to find or not available at all. (Michael L. Millenson, 10/31)
Stat: MAHA Movement Gets Chronic Illness Wrong, Former CDC Director Says
Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to “Make America Healthy Again” gets some things right: Our country is beset by chronic disease, environmental risks, and dangerous and inappropriate corporate influence on health decisions. But to make America healthier, we need an accurate diagnosis and an effective prescription. (Tom Frieden, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare: To Fix Healthcare, It's Time For Providers To Take On More Risk
For decades, the healthcare industry has been talking about the need to transition away from the traditional fee-for-service reimbursement model, which pays doctors for every piece of care they provide, rather than the quality, value or outcome of that care. (Dr. Bruce Meyer, 10/31)
Stat: A Geriatric Physician On The Difference Between Trump And Biden
Nearly 50 years ago, I wrote a published letter objecting to the release of Gerald Ford’s full physical, including genitalia and rectal exam. I thought that was unseemly, and that expecting that level of disclosure would make it harder for women — and for a man with some irrelevant abnormality — to run for office. But I expected continuing disclosure of conditions that actually affected job performance or survival. (Joanne Lynn, 10/30)
