Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Burnout Has Health Consequences; Mental Health Conservatorships Due For Change
The Atlantic: Burnout Is A Medical Condition
Burnout is usually reserved to describe work-related phenomena: exhaustion, feelings of negativism, and reduced professional efficacy. In 2019, the World Health Organization officially recognized burnout in its International Classification of Diseases but clearly stated that the term “should not be applied to describe experiences in other [nonoccupational] areas of life.” Burnout “is not classified as a medical condition,” the agency declared, using boldface for emphasis. Similarly, the Mayo Clinic calls burnout “a special type of work-related stress—a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity,” and specifies that it “isn’t a medical diagnosis.” (Lucy McBride, 6/30)
The New York Times: Britney Spears And The Last Resort Of Mental Health Care
Britney Spears’s testimony last week about her conservatorship — over the past 13 years, she said, she had been financially exploited, forced to take lithium and prevented from removing her birth control device — was to many a shocking revelation, made all the more so by her celebrity status. For others, though, the reaction was one of recognition. “As troubling and extreme as Britney’s circumstances may seem,” Erica Schwiegershausen wrote in The Cut, “much of what she recounted — such as being medicated without consent and subjected to involuntary psychiatric evaluations and institutionalizations — likely feels familiar to anyone with experience of mental illness.” (Spencer Bokat-Lindell, 6/29)
Modern Healthcare: More Black Medical Students Needed To Close Health Equity Gap
Among the devastating consequences of our nation's history of racial injustice is the pervasive inequity in health along racial and ethnic lines. If the most important measure of society is the well‐being of its populace, then dismantling the direct linkage between one's health and race should be our most urgent priority. Black communities have higher rates of chronic disease and premature death. COVID‐19 has worsened the problem. We must do better. (Michael Ugwueke, 6/29)
Stat: Copay Assistance Should Count As Part Of Patients' Cost Sharing
The Biden administration has made health equity a priority and it has been a constant theme of conversation on Capitol Hill. But where do we go from here? One place is stopping health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers from pulling the rug out from underneath people who need help affording their medications through copay assistance. (Kollet Koulianos and Keri Norris, 6/30)
Los Angeles Daily News: Federal Health Policy Shouldn’t Be Left To The Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court has created the federal health care rules in force today. It has usurped the role of Congress and done so disingenuously. Earlier this month, the court turned aside a challenge brought by 18 states to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA” or “Obamacare”). Their constitutional claim turned on whether Congress could compel individuals to buy health insurance. Under the constitution’s interstate commerce clause, Congress can regulate the insurance market; but the court’s 5-to-4 decision upholding the ACA in 2012, held that requiring individuals to buy insurance went beyond mere regulation. (Tom Campbell, 6/29)
NBC News: Miami Condo Collapse Shows How The U.S. Keeps Getting Disaster Response Wrong
While the causes of building collapses are as diverse as the distance between the World Trade Center and Champlain Towers, the imperative for those trying to minimize human loss and suffering is the same: intensive pre-planning that ensures a rapid, coordinated response adequate for the scale of the disaster. With America’s local-state-federal divide, however, the country simply cannot guarantee a quick and efficient response to mass-casualty disasters as things now stand. When every minute is crucial to saving lives, our inability to mandate an instant call-up of resources across city and state lines is literally killing people. (Rebecca Shimoni-Stoil, 6/29)
The CT Mirror: The New Cannabis Law: A Public Health And Safety Disaster
Connecticut’s governor and majority-party legislative leaders were proud and self-congratulatory on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at the signing of SB1201, the recreational marijuana bill. The governor boasted that “… all of us here… place a premium on public health… and public safety… this is a bill that prioritizes that….” Majority Leader Rep. Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford) stated, “I think it’ll be the most comprehensive and best cannabis legalization bill in the country … I feel confident in saying yes, right now, this is the best bill in the country and it’s going to move us in a direction of ensuring that we provide a well-regulated marketplace for adult-use cannabis….” To the governor and those legislative leaders: this bill is a disaster. (William Butka, 6/30)
