Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Health Officials' Response To Monkeypox Sluggish; US Struggling With New Anxiety Disorder
The Boston Globe: As Monkeypox Cases Rise, US Health Officials Are Failing Again
The United States is making the same mistake in its response to the monkeypox outbreak, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as it did with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, by not moving swiftly enough to expand testing and increase awareness. (Shan Soe-Lin and Robert Hecht, 7/14)
The Baltimore Sun: Democracy Anxiety Disorder: A New Diagnosis?
Over the years of my practice as a psychoanalyst, teens and adults have come to see me for troubled relationships, parenting difficulties, depression, social anxiety and the many other challenges of everyday life. Until just recently, though, no one had ever called with the chief complaint that they were grieving for our country and, so, for their future here. This month, however, a bright graduate student began her session with this memorable phrase: “Well, I figured it out: I have Democracy Anxiety Disorder.” (Kerry Malawista, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times: Without Abortion Access, Mental Health Problems Will Rise
The morning the Supreme Court struck down our federal protection for abortion, I reflected on the ruling at home with my son and his girlfriend. For each of us, this ruling was deeply personal. My son expressed anxiety about what would happen if he experienced a birth control mishap. For his girlfriend, a 19-year-old from Mississippi, the decision left her feeling hopeless, without control of her body and future. She described what she thought would be the devastating effect of denying young people access to abortion in her home state, which mandates abstinence-only sex education and allows pharmacists to refuse requests for emergency contraceptives. Then the last abortion clinic in Mississippi closed on July 6. (M. Antonia Biggs, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times: I Wanted To End My Pregnancy. But Antiabortion Policies Filled Me With Self-Doubt
A message for abortion rights supporters in blue states: We red-state folks thank you for the offers on social media to open your doors to us post-Roe. You are big-hearted for thinking of us. We, however, probably aren’t coming. How do I know? Because I was once an accidentally pregnant, broke mother of two in the anti-choice state of West Virginia, where I carried and birthed my son against my will. (Christa Parravani, 7/13)
USA Today: Supreme Court, Protect Home Health Care Entrepreneurs From States
Skyrocketing prices and barriers to access continue to plague America's health care system. It is no wonder when you consider that many states continue to allow existing service providers to block new competitors who wish to enter the market. (Andrew Ward and Jaimie Cavanaugh, 7/13)
Stat: Empower Primary Care With Adequate Payments And Technology
Nina, the mother of an autistic teenager, had never experienced a panic attack until Covid-19 closed her son’s school in March 2020. In desperation, Nina (not her real name) called a local clinic, and was lucky to find one with a corps of clinicians, counselors, and social workers using a model of primary care that integrates services to support physical, mental, and social well-being. (Hoangmai Pham and Michael O. Leavitt, 7/14)
