Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: GOP Tying PEPFAR Extension To Abortion Agenda; Women Need Us To Continue AIDS Fight
Bloomberg: Congress Should Strike A Deal To Save PEPFAR
Fierce opposition from conservatives is casting doubt on the future of PEPFAR, the 20-year-old global anti-AIDS initiative started by President George W. Bush. In exchange for a short-term extension of the program, Republicans have insisted on attaching anti-abortion provisions to any funding. (10/13)
Chicago Tribune: In The Fight To End AIDS, Girls And Young Women Matter
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR — which has saved 25 million lives over the past 20 years and allowed 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free — demonstrates what’s possible when leaders, countries and communities hold each other accountable and work together to advance health systems and increase access to care for vulnerable populations. (Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Hannah Johnson, 10/16)
The Washington Post: How My Wife’s Cancer Changed My Understanding Of Death
Brittany Knupper had cancer long before I knew her. She actually had cancer before she knew she had cancer; for years, Brittany had struggled with health and skin issues that perplexed doctors. Finally, she was diagnosed with an incredibly rare cancer, the odds of which were like hitting the lottery, except it was the worst lottery that you didn’t even know you had entered. (Devin Faraci, 10/16)
The Boston Globe: Boston Needs Its Own Cancer Center. Dana-Farber, BIDMC Will Create It
Forty percent of us will develop cancer in our lifetime. Twenty percent will die from it. Despite tremendous strides in science and clinical care, the incidence of cancer is skyrocketing — due to an aging population and increasing rates of early-onset cancers among younger people. The reality is more people need more advanced care now than ever before, and even more will need it in the future. (Laurie H. Glimcher and Kevin Tabb, 10/15)
The Boston Globe: The Only Thing Mass General Brigham Is Competing With Is Cancer Itself
As cancer care changes — from how a patient is diagnosed to how, where, and for how long patients receive care — so will the expert teams that deliver that care both in the hospital and out. (Anne Klibanski, 10/15)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: Providers Must Consider The Costs Of Labor Unrest
Kaiser’s strike was the largest in healthcare history, and it followed plenty of smaller strikes and informational picketing actions this year by the industry’s employees. The tension comes at a time when the industry is grappling with how to attract prospective hires and then retain them. (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 10/16)
Stat: Why Health Workers In Gaza Are Injured Or Die At High Rates
In a mere week, the fifth major conflict in the past 15 years between Hamas and Israel became its most catastrophic. Hamas’ slaughter of more than 1,200 Israelis represents the largest instance of the murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Hamas wounded another 3,700 Israelis and took more than 100 of them hostage. Israel has responded with massive airstrikes that, as of this writing, have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, including more than 450 children, and wounded more than 7,700 others, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, though this figure may include both fighters and civilians. (Leonard Rubenstein, 10/14)
