Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: How Were So Many Autism Diagnoses Missed?; Religious Vaccine Exemptions Now Allowed In Mississippi
Chicago Tribune: I Was Diagnosed With Autism At 33. Here Is Why Autism Diagnostic Tests Leave Females Behind
The vast majority of women on the autism spectrum will never be diagnosed. Many are not diagnosed until well into adulthood, sometimes only when their own children are assessed. Or, as I experienced, they will be misdiagnosed and labeled with other cognitive conditions or intellectual disabilities. These errors are not harmless; misdiagnosis can lead to inappropriate or ineffective treatment, even exacerbating some of autism’s most debilitating symptoms. (Aspen Matis, 4/26)
Stat: Judge Orders Religious Exemption For Vaccines In Mississippi
Mississippi consistently ranks last or near-last in the United States on measures of health. But for decades, it ranked highest in vaccination rates, because of its strong vaccination law. Now, that singular achievement may change, thanks to a case brought by an anti-vaccine group. (Dorit R. Reiss and Arthur L. Caplan, 4/27)
Miami Herald: Abortion Ban Makes Women And Girls Of Color More Vulnerable
On April 13, during Black Maternal Health Week, a week-long campaign begun six years ago by reproductive and birth justice advocates, Gov. Ron DeSantis banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — effectively, a total ban. (Jamarah Amani and Melanie Williams, 4/26)
The New York Times: They’re Severely Mentally Ill. Is It Ethical To Help Them Die?
Next year, Canada’s health care system is set to undergo a controversial change, when people struggling with severe mental illness will gain the legal right to request help from a doctor in ending their lives. (Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 4/27)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Bill Can Help Patients With Chronic Conditions
I have had a long career in health care and saw firsthand how devastating it was for patients to be turned away from the care they need because of sticker shock. For more than a decade I worked at a national pharmacy chain. (Clorinda Walley, 4/27)
The New York Times: Who’s To Blame For A Million Deaths?
It has been a brutal three years. As the Covid-19 death toll first grew past 100,000 and then did that 11 times over, the country cast around desperately for those to blame, not just for the growing mountain of American deaths but also for unprecedented disruptions to the lives of survivors. (David Wallace-Wells, 4/26)
The Star Tribune: Stay Ahead Of COVID Whenever You Can
New guidance from federal health officials has cleared a second "bivalent" COVID booster shot available for those 65 and older and those with health conditions that weaken their immune systems. "Bivalent" just means that the shot protects against new strains of the COVID-19 virus. (4/26)
Also —
Bloomberg: Biogen’s Qalsody Is A First For ALS Treatments
The Food and Drug Administration’s conditional approval of Qalsody, a drug developed by Biogen Inc., could be carving out a new path for treatments for ALS. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/26)
Bloomberg: PBMs: Pharmacy Benefit Managers Help Explain High US Drug Prices
The US spends more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world. It’s easy to blame drugmakers, but they’re by no means the only ones at fault. Lowering costs will also require lawmakers to scrutinize pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in a bewilderingly opaque supply chain. (4/26)
