Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: How Does The Public Health Sector Regain Public Trust?; The Danger Of Weight Loss-Drugs
The New York Times: When Public Health Loses The Public
“Put on your masks!” My son and I were cycling during the pandemic when a passerby furiously screamed that in our direction. I shouted back something too long about updated recommendations on masking outdoors and was left yelling into the wind, my kid giving me the “Calm down, mom” look. (Pamela Paul, 1/18)
The Washington Post: What If Ozempic Is The New Orthodontia
We live in a country that worships thinness and abhors, pathologizes or (at best) ignores fat people. When injectable weight-loss drugs become more affordable, weight loss will become even more obligatory. Being thin will no longer be an accident of birth or a perk of wealth; it will be a requirement of being middle class. Is this what we want? (Kate Cohen, 1/18)
Newsweek: The Affordable Care Act Saved My Life. Donald Trump Wants To Destroy It, Again
When Donald Trump became president, his chief domestic policy priority was repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would have ripped health care away from tens of millions of Americans, increased the cost of health insurance, and allowed insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. While he famously came up one vote short in successfully repealing the health care law, he's increasingly defining his presidential priorities in events like his recent town hall, and in a speech in Iowa, he notably vowed to attack the ACA again if elected. (Sage Warner, 1/17)
The New York Times: Turning Down Food Aid For Millions Of Children Reflects Shocking Political Callousness
Last week I read something that shocked me, even if it really shouldn’t have: Fifteen states — all but one run by Republican governors — skipped the deadline to apply for a new federally-funded program that will provide $120 per child for groceries during the summer months to families of children who already qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school. (Charles M. Blow, 1/17)
The Boston Globe: Pharmacy Deserts In Black and Latino Communitites Are Harming Residents
A Walgreens pharmacy is closing in Roxbury, a predominantly Black neighborhood, and residents are calling the closure unjust. Rightly so. The closing of a neighborhood pharmacy is not just an inconvenience to the community; the lack of access to a pharmacy can worsen health inequities. (Elaine O. Nsoesie, 1/18)
Stat: Why Is The U.S. Still So Far Behind On Health Data Interoperability?
In 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act required that the U.S. make progress toward interoperability, which it defined as “all electronically accessible health information” to be accessed, exchanged and used “without special effort on the part of the user.” In December, seven years after the passage of the bill, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule that will penalize providers for blocking access to electronic health information. (John C. (Jack) Lewin and Jane Delgado, 1/18)
