Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Don't Leave Behind Pain Patients While Fixing Opioid Crisis; Anti-Immigration Policies Threaten Health Care
The New York Times: Reduce Opioids Deaths — And Chronic Pain
Chronic pain exacts a terrible toll on human well-being. More than 10 percent of Americans suffer from pain every day, according to the National Institutes of Health, and many more suffer from it sporadically. Academic research has found that pain is one of the biggest sources of unhappiness. Pain sufferers, as the economist Alan Krueger told me, “typically lead more isolated lives, work less, and have lower life satisfaction.” (David Leonhardt, 9/26)
USA Today: Opioid Epidemic: Postal Reform Is Key In Cutting Online Fentanyl Trade
The ease of buying fentanyl — which is frequently laced into heroin or fake pain pills — is likely one reason it has replaced prescription opioids as the leading killer in drug overdoses. Deaths from synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, soared to 29,406 last year, up more than 50% from 2016. Another reason for the fentanyl explosion is that it's easy to ship to the United States. You don't even need drug mules. Much of it comes by express mail. Investigators found that sellers prefer to ship the illicit drugs through government-run services, such as the U.S. Postal Service, rather than commercial carriers such as FedEx or UPS. (9/26)
The Hill: America’s Opioid Epidemic Demands A Long-Term Solution
The opioid epidemic continues to be a long and painful tragedy for many Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control, overdose deaths involving opioids, including those legally prescribed but misused and illegal opioids like heroin and illicit fentanyl, were five times higher in 2016 than in 1999. As former governors and secretaries of Health and Human Services, we have seen this scourge develop over the last several decades and we understand the challenges it poses to our country today and for generations to come. (Former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Tommy Thompson, 9/26)
Boston Globe: Anti-Immigrant Plan Threatens Health Care In Massachusetts
How much more callous can President Trump’s immigration policies get? The latest outrage is that immigrants — including legal immigrants — across Massachusetts are dropping their health coverage, believing that new Trump policies require them to choose between affordable health care or a green card. (9/26)
The New York Times: We Know How To Conquer Tuberculosis
In 1962, the renowned epidemiologist George Comstock had a realization that would help rid modern America of one of the world’s enduring scourges. Despite the advent of antibiotics, tuberculosis had remained endemic in parts of the country. Those miracle drugs were good at curing individual cases of TB, but people could pass the disease on to others long before they developed obvious symptoms, received proper diagnoses or were effectively cured. (9/26)
New England Journal of Medicine: Mental Health Services For Medical Students
Medical students have higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and burnout than the general population. Schools have begun revisiting their procedures to ensure that they are doing everything possible to meet the mental health care needs of their students. (Jordan F. Karp and Arthur S. Levine, 9/26)
Miami Herald: For Too Long, It’s Been Open Season For Killing Young Black Men
For too long, now, it seems to be open season for killing young black men. Our black sons are being targeted in two ways — through drive-by shootings and by police officers who shoot first and ask questions later. (Bea Hines, 9/26)
Chicago Tribune: Michigan Is Taking Steps To Get Lead Out Of Its Water. Why Isn't Illinois Doing The Same?
Across the lake, Michigan is attempting an unlikely transformation. In the wake of the ongoing Flint water crisis, the state has been appropriately seen as a drinking-water horror story. But, believe it or not, Michigan has become a leader in the battle against lead contamination in drinking water, putting in place the strongest protections in the country — more strict than any other state or federal statutes. Granted, that title is a low bar given the weak protections available nationally. And the new law does not come anywhere close to making up for the horror of Flint. But there is much to learn from the Great Lakes state. (Henry Henderson, 9/26)
