Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Heartfelt Pleas For Gun-Violence Research, Safe Guns; Require Preschool Teachers To Help Halt Tooth Decay Epidemic
The New York Times: This Gun Maker Wanted Safe Guns
In the early 1880s, legend has it that Daniel B. Wesson, a co-founder of Smith & Wesson, the gun manufacturer, heard about a child who injured himself by cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger of one of his firm’s revolvers. Wesson, known as D. B., was so distraught about the accident that he and his son, Joseph, developed a more child-safe revolver that they called the .38 Safety Hammerless. Wesson was also my great-great-great-grandfather. Though it has been half a century since my family was involved with Smith & Wesson, I feel a twinge of responsibility every time a mass shooting occurs. ...I would start by asking the parent company of Smith & Wesson, American Outdoor Brands Corporation, to push for gun-violence research. Since 1996 the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been severely restricted in researching gun violence. If gun manufacturers are truly responsible organizations, they should wholeheartedly want to back this research as a public health concern. (Eliza Sydnor Romm, 4/5)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Disaster For A Child Could Have Been Averted With A Gun-Lock Law
Part of the tragedy of 7-year-old Jermon Perry’s death, believed to be at the hand of his 5-year-old brother who got hold of their father’s loaded gun while looking for candy, is that Missouri lawmakers might have been able to prevent it. Laws are on the books in 11 states regarding children’s access to guns and punishments for not storing firearms safely. But those laws don’t exist in Missouri. (4/5)
The Hill: We Can Take Care Of Children By Taking Care Of Their Teeth
This March, the New York City Board of Health put a proposal up for public review that would require preschool teachers and daycare staff to assist children with brushing their teeth with fluoride toothpaste. “Tooth decay is the most common disease in childhood,” Deputy Health Commissioner George Askew said. “And it is preventable.” He noted that 42 percent of NY City school kids suffer from tooth decay by the third grade. It’s an unprecedented move for the city, but it’s necessary and N.Y. is not alone; other municipalities are doing this, and it’s time for a national program. (Jonathan Fielding, 4/5)
The Hill: Tackling Smoking In The Black Community — A Step Toward Eliminating Health Disparities
Such measures to limit access to tobacco products can have a meaningful health impact on African-Americans who are more likely than average to develop lung cancer, and more likely to eie from it — even though the rate of smoking among African-Americans is no higher than average. (Marc H. Morial And Harold P. Wimmer, 4/4)
New England Journal of Medicine: Inventing A New Model Of Hypertension Care For Black Men
There are more than 200,000 deaths in the United States each year from heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive disease that could be avoided by timely and effective preventive medical care. The risk of avoidable cardiovascular deaths among black men is 80% higher than that among white men or black women. The combination of a high prevalence of hypertension and poor blood-pressure control is a major contributor to the high rates of cardiovascular death and disease among black men. Despite the high priority for finding ways to improve blood-pressure treatment in black men, few unequivocal success stories have been reported. (Karen L. Margolis, 4/4)
Stat: Unnecessary Exclusions Shut Patients Out Of Clinical Trials
Despite repeated calls in recent years to simplify clinical trial criteria, they continue to grow more complex. In a study my colleagues and I published last year, we found that over the past 30 years, the average number of eligibility criteria in lung cancer trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute grew by 50 percent to an average of more than 25. Why is this occurring? As treatments for cancer become more targeted, the protocol for selecting participants must be refined by the trial’s investigators and sponsors, who are often academic researchers or pharmaceutical companies. (David Gerber, 4/5)
The Hill: Super Gonorrhea Threat — It's A Public Health Crisis That Is On The Horizon
A British man has been diagnosed with what some are calling the world’s “worst-ever” case of gonorrhea – a strain that is reportedly resistant to all antibiotics normally used to treat the disease. This report is a confirmation of one of our greatest fears — untreatable gonorrhea could be on the very near horizon at a time when rates of the infection and of STDs overall are at record highs in this country. When we see a case like this in the U.K., it’s not a question of if, but when we’ll see it in the U.S. And once it’s here, it could spread quickly. (David Harvey, 4/5)
The Hill: Democrats Plan To Savage America Once Again With ObamaCare's Individual Mandate
While many Democrats mourned what could be the first signs of a looming death for their party’s signature legislation, others plotted to create state-specific legislation that would keep the individual mandate in place. National Public Radio reported in early March that at least nine states — including California, Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington — as well as the District of Columbia have been working on plans to save the individual mandate. Although many of these efforts have already stalled, one proposal making its way through Maryland’s state legislature has garnered significant attention from liberals who believe it could present the most palatable model for bringing the unpopular individual mandate back to life. (Justin Haskins, 4/4)
The New York Times: Doctors-In-Training At A Rural Clinic
Each morning, Marie Noella Kango walks over to the local clinic here and takes her spot behind the main desk by 8 a.m. Often, mothers and their children are already waiting in a line outside. One by one, the mothers meet with Ms. Kango and describe their children’s symptoms: fever, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pains. These are all symptoms Ms. Kango can easily diagnose as malaria or parasites, the two most common ailments in this village. Then she prescribes a treatment plan. (Tyler Pager, 4/5)
Lexington Herald Leader: Kentucky’s Children Harmed When Insurers Cut Diabetes Coverage, But They’re Not The Only Ones Who Pay
Children with diabetes face a lifetime of challenges. If insurers continue to exclude more and more diabetes-related medications and supplies from coverage, diabetic children could be saddled with a lifetime of exorbitant out-of-pocket costs as well. The rate of diabetes has steadily increased in Kentucky. Over 13 percent of Kentuckians have been diagnosed with the disease, making Kentucky’s rate of diabetes the fifth highest among all states. (Stewart Perry and Jeff Hitchcock, 4/5)
Chicago Tribune: Spread The Word About Crisis Pregnancies And Safe Havens
Pallbearers were not needed at the funeral of Baby Hope in September 2016. A DuPage County official carried her small casket in his two hands as she was laid to rest surrounded by loving strangers. A month earlier, landscaping crews discovered her body inside a black backpack near a driveway in rural Wheaton. The coroner determined she likely had been there for a day and that she took at least one breath before she died. ...We have written extensively on Illinois' Abandoned Babies Act, which lawmakers approved in 2001. Since then, 126 babies have been saved in this fashion. But 82 others were illegally abandoned, such as Baby Hope, and of those 43 died. (4/5)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Gov. John Kasich Needs To Save PEP Connections From Medicaid Ax
It is difficult to believe Kasich is aware of the decision by the cost-cutters at the Ohio Department of Medicaid and Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services to harm Positive Education Program (PEP) Connections. (Brent Larkin, 4/5)
Arizona Republic: Unpaid Maternity Leave Hurts Arizona Teachers
This issue of unpaid family leave is compounded by shamefully low pay for educators in Arizona. As we fight for increased teacher pay and support #RedforEd, we must also consider broader family needs. (Kathy Hoffman, 4/5)
The Washington Post: D.C., Don’t Blow $300 Million On A Hospital Just Yet
The D.C. Council is raising questions about $300 million included in Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s proposed budget for construction of a hospital east of the Anacostia River. Questions about such a sizable capital cost need to be asked. But instead of wondering why the proposed hospital can’t be built sooner or asking whether it is big enough, council members would do well to address more fundamental issues. First and foremost: Is a costly new hospital at taxpayer expense the most effective way to address the health needs of underserved Southeast residents? (4/5)
