Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Drug Testing In Wisconsin; The Ethics Of Discussing Abortion
The New York Times: Why We Shouldn’t Drug Test Poor People
The Senate Republicans’ stalled effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is not the only profound threat to our health care system. If Gov. Scott Walker gets his wish, Wisconsin will be the first state that requires adults without children to undergo drug testing if they want to receive Medicaid. Other states could follow his plan. (Jamila Michener and Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, 6/28)
USA Today: The Lies About Abortion Must Stop. Here's What We're Doing About That.
Imagine going to your doctor about one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Imagine your doctor’s response is to lie to you. You‘d rightly wonder why you’re not being told the truth and whether this dishonesty violates some law, let alone the ethical and moral duty to provide health care according to a doctor's own best medical judgement. (Nancy Northup, 6/28)
Bloomberg: What Jeff Sessions Gets Wrong About Marijuana
Drug abuse is devastating American society. Opioid overdose alone killed more than 33,000 people in 2015. But rather than address this public-health crisis, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared a new war on drugs. He has re-introduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and has asked Congress to let him spend money to prosecute people and businesses behaving in accordance with their states' medical marijuana laws. Clearly, Sessions is out of step with the scientific consensus regarding the medical effectiveness of cannabis. (Ashley C. Bradford and W. David Bradford, 6/27)
The Charlotte Observer: N.C. Cancer Patients’ Lives Are At Stake If Senate Doesn’t Act This Week
A cancer diagnosis is one of the most disrupting and frightening experiences a person can go through. I know because it happened to me just last year. I live with two forms of blood cancer – myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis. I am also one of the fortunate ones. Ongoing treatment has so far been successful in keeping the cancer in check, but I live with the reality that my body will stop responding so positively and I will need a new treatment game plan. (Stuart Behune, 6/27)
