Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: End CDC Ban On Funding For Gun Safety Research; Don't Use Tax Dollars To Take Sides In Gun Policies
USA Today: School Shootings: Ignorance Is Not Bliss
President Trump's new plan to secure schools after last month's slaughter of 17 students and teachers in Parkland, Fla., is chock-a-block with ideas, some worthwhile. ...Another missing piece that could guide the nation, and the commission to be chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, toward data-driven solutions to gun violence: freeing scientists to explore the causes of, and uncover the solutions for, a shooting epidemic that kills 35,000 Americans every year. Scientists, you ask, are not already free to do this? No, not really. There's actually a federal statute — won by the NRA decades ago — that all but bars research on gun violence. A little knowledge, evidently, is a bad thing when you're advocating for guns anywhere and everywhere. (3/12)
USA Today: NRA: Don’t Use Tax Dollars To Promote Gun Control
In the wake of the tragedy in Parkland, Fla., the media are claiming that the NRA and our supporters in Congress are opposed to government-funded research on criminal violence perpetrated with firearms. Nothing could be further from the truth. (Chris Cox, 3/12)
The Washington Post: Who’s Afraid Of The NRA? Trump
Yes, once again Mr. Trump’s brave words prove to be meaningless as the White House unveils exactly what Mr. Trump wants to do about guns. “Tiny baby steps designed not to upset the NRA,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). That sums up the administration’s proposal unveiled Sunday in response to the Feb. 14 school shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Fla. ...“Not much political support (to put it mildly),” he tweeted Monday. Never mind that recent polls show public support for raising the age to 21. Or that big-name retailers (Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods) have been applauded for voluntarily making the change. Or that even the gun-friendly state of Florida just raised its age limit. Or that a true leader might do the right thing and try to generate political support. (3/12)
Los Angeles Times: A New Way To Reduce Gun Suicides, And Maybe Mass Shootings Too
Mass shootings dominate the headlines and seem to drive the movement to change gun policy, but reducing gun suicides could save many more lives. More than 20,000 people each year kill themselves with a gun; that's twice the number of gun homicides. The Parkland, Fla., massacre claimed 17 lives; roughly 59 people die by gun suicide each day. An innovative new law could bring down this tragic death toll. Washington will soon become the first state in the country to enact a "firearm choice" law. It passed by wide margins in the state Senate and House, with support from Democrats as well as Republicans, and is now awaiting Gov. Jay Inslee's signature. (Ian Ayres and Fredrik Vars, 3/12)
The Washington Post: Don’t Deny The Link Between Serious Mental Illness And Violence
Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old whose alleged shooting rampage claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last month, was sick. His family knew it. His neighbors knew it. Local law enforcement and mental-health professionals knew it. Yet, like so many tragedies involving the seriously mentally ill, no one was able to prevent the rampage. ...The system often prevents relatives from getting help for loved ones who have serious mental illness until after they have become a danger to themselves or others. (DJ Jaffe, 3/12)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: America's Gun Problem Is The National Rifle Association
America has a gun problem. It’s called the National Rifle Association. Whenever a mass shooting event awakens the nation anew to the horrific dangers of unbridled gun ownership, the NRA steps in to defend an indefensible status quo. Whenever legislators try to enact common-sense laws to prevent future mass killings, the NRA stops them cold. (3/12)
The New York Times: The G.O.P. Accidentally Replaced Obamacare Without Repealing It
Congressional Republicans spent the better part of 2017 trying and failing to repeal and replace Obamacare. They have now largely abandoned the project to pursue other goals. Yet in a sense they have succeeded anyway — just not in the manner they expected. Consider for a moment what a successor to the Affordable Care Act might have looked like if Republicans had somehow managed to both repeal and replace the law last year. (Peter Suderman, 3/12)
The Hill: Here's How To Structure Successful Right-To-Try Laws
Thirty eight states have enacted right-to-try (RTT) laws, the intent is to increase the availability of experimental medicines to individuals battling life-threatening conditions. A federal version has support at the highest levels of the Trump administration including the president himself. (Kenneth I. Moch, Andrew McFadyen and Arthur Caplan, 3/11)
Stat: 'Right-To-Try' Law Threatens Patient Safety And Rational Drug Development
Backers of the right-to-try law would have you believe that the FDA is barring the distribution of all sorts of miracle cures. But many experimental treatments turn out to be totally ineffective. And as it stands, the FDA approves more than 99 percent of the thousand-plus applications it gets each year — usually within days of receiving the application — for access to experimental therapies through an existing program called expanded access or compassionate use. Everyone wants to help those suffering from terminal illness. But rather than save lives, a right-to-try law would give patients false and fleeting hope, threaten patient safety, and impede the approval of therapies that are safe and effective. (Mark Harrington and Ellen V. Sigal, 3/12)
Lexington Herald Tribune: Warning: Your Tax Dollars Have Been Supporting Cigarette Makers. New Rule Ending 'bonus' For Tobacco Growers But How About The Tobacco Companies?
A government program that grew by more than 6,000 percent in five years doesn’t provide medical care or feed the poor. It does indirectly subsidize profitable corporations such as Altria, parent company of cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA, and its spinoff Philip Morris International; British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco International. (3/12)
