Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: FDA's Approval Of Generic Mifepristone Causes Confusion; ERs Can't Handle Medicaid, ACA Cuts
Bloomberg: The FDA’s Mifepristone Decision Has Baffled Both Sides
The Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of a second generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone has left people on both sides of the reproductive rights fight scrambling to interpret the decision. Could this be a sign that the Trump administration isn’t interested in taking federal action to further restrict abortion access? (Lisa Jarvis, 10/21)
East Bay Times: Cuts To Medicaid And To Insurance Subsidies Will Push ERs Past The Brink
Back in 2007, President George W. Bush was being challenged on his opposition to the Children’s Health Insurance Program — which provides health coverage for children in families too poor to afford private insurance, yet too “wealthy” to qualify for Medicaid. His response was honest, if characteristically clumsy: “People have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.” In a way, he wasn't wrong. (Eric Snoey, 10/21)
Stat: Investors Are In Control Of U.S. Health Care
Health care costs are surging. ACA Marketplace premiums will rise 18% next year— even more for the millions set to lose their enhanced federal subsidies without congressional action. Meanwhile, big employers expect their premiums — already about $25,000 for family coverage — to increase 9% in 2026. Gargantuan health care profits are the flip side of those unsustainable cost increases. (Steffie Woolhandler, David U. Himmelstein, Adam W. Gaffney and Danny McCormick, 10/21)
Stat: Pharmaceutical Industry Money Can’t Replace NIH Funding
Around 1990, a bright, young Harvard academic became interested in the possibility that a relatively unknown peptide might slow gastric emptying and reduce hunger — a potential boon to the treatment of diabetes. Although he was employed as a full-time faculty researcher and clinician at a major teaching hospital and his lab was funded by the National Institutes of Health, he chose to pursue this particular line of research privately with support from a large pharmaceutical company, which required him to keep the work secret and not publish his findings or present them at scientific meetings. (Jerry Avorn, 10/22)
Chicago Tribune: Early Cancer Detection, With New Tools, Saves Lives
After surviving three types of cancer and having to face the harsh realities of colorectal and endometrial cancer and basal cell carcinoma, I know just how crucial early detection can be in saving lives. My cancer journey has been an extensive and painful one, but it has also strengthened my resolve. It’s inspired me to become an advocate for cancer patients, to educate others about the risks of hereditary cancers and to promote tools such as genetic testing that enable individuals to take control of their health before it’s too late. (Wenora Johnson, 10/20)
