Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Imagine If The U.S. Tested Everyone Like We Test At The White House; Federal Officials Fail To Help At-Risk Inmates
The Washington Post: Let’s Test All Americans Like We Test White House Employees
President Trump says there’s too much coronavirus testing, that testing is a “double-edged sword,” and that it makes the United States “look bad” because more testing reveals more cases. If he really believes that, he should walk the walk and “slow down” testing exactly where it’s happening most vigorously: within the White House. (Catherine Rampell, 6/25)
The New York Times: The Coronavirus Crisis Inside Prisons Won’t Stay Behind Bars
The situation inside the nation’s jails and prisons amid the Covid-19 pandemic has become the stuff of nightmares. Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, shortages of personal protective equipment (not to mention soap) and restrictions on hygiene products such as hand sanitizer have turned detention facilities into a playground for the virus and a death trap for inmates — many of whom, because of age or pre-existing conditions, are at elevated risk for complications. And the threat extends far beyond the facilities themselves, endangering the families and communities that surround prison guards, nurses and other staff members. Currently, the nation’s top five Covid-19 hot spots are all correctional facilities, according to data collected by The Times. (6/25)
New England Journal of Medicine: Covid-19 And The Need For Health Care Reform
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need for health care reforms that promote universal access to affordable care. Although all aspects of U.S. health care will face incredible challenges in the coming months, the patchwork way we govern and pay for health care is unraveling in this time of crisis, leaving millions of people vulnerable and requiring swift, coordinated political action to ensure access to affordable care. About half of Americans receive health coverage through their employer, and with record numbers filing for unemployment insurance, millions find themselves without health insurance in the midst of the largest pandemic in a century. Even those who maintain insurance coverage may find care unaffordable. (Jaime S. King, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: End Fee-For-Service Medicine
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inherent flaws in fee-for-service medicine. Congress should use healthcare’s current financial crisis to institute far-reaching changes in the reimbursement system. Over the past several months, lawmakers have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out hospitals and physician practices reeling from the decline in elective surgeries and office visits. The perverse incentives in FFS—do more and you earn more—are reversed when patients are too scared to arrange office visits or facilities are on lockdown. (Merrill Goozner, 6/25)
Stat: Done Poorly, The Rise Of Telehealth Could Widen Health Disparities
The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed telehealth — the remote provision of health care resources, tools, and consultation, usually via digital technologies — from the backwaters of medicine to its leading edge. Though novel to some health care providers, and considered impractical by others, telehealth will likely endure — and become even more appealing — after the Covid-19 pandemic has faded away. We are concerned that this crisis-driven acceleration in the adoption of virtual visits and use of algorithmic tools will have uncertain implications for the equitable distribution of health resources and will widen racial and class-based disparities in health. (Matthew Clair, Brian W. Clair and Walter K. Clair, 6/26)
Modern Healthcare: COVID Only Makes Hard Financial Truths Worse For U.S. Healthcare
As the healthcare industry grapples with this global pandemic, leaders could not be blamed for focusing on today's crisis and wanting to set any long-term implications aside. The short-term operational impact of the pandemic has been all-consuming. And across the board, providers have been hit by staggering financial impacts. (Joseph J. Fifer, 6/24)
Stat: Covid-19 Vaccine Trials Must Include Black And Latinx Participants
The development of a Covid-19 vaccine is progressing at an incredible pace, breaking down barriers to the invention, manufacture, and testing of potential vaccine candidates. The Department of Health and Human Services says it aims to have “substantial quantities of a safe and effective vaccine available for Americans by January 2021.” To achieve this goal, each of the five leading Covid-19 vaccine candidates will need to be tested in approximately 30,000 people — a total of 150,000 research participants in the next six months. This will be a massive and unprecedented undertaking. (Kathryn Stephenson and Bisola Ojikutu, 6/26)
CNN: Covid-19 Unmasks What Cancer Patients Have Long Known
Words cannot express how we all are beyond indebted to the health workers around the world. You are putting your lives at risk for the sake of saving all of us. You have given a new, profound meaning to the term "the ultimate sacrifice." Within the cancer community, health providers and patients alike have undoubtedly suffered the worst of the coronavirus's double burden. (Princess Dina Mired, 6/25)
Boston Globe: Showing Up To My Job As A Doctor Is Not Enough To Help People Suffering From Injustice
Perhaps the urgency of national and global crises means that just showing up to do a good job, as Oliver Wendell Holmes advocated, is not nearly enough. The selflessness of those who put themselves on the front lines in the streets emboldens us to commit to weaving anti-racism into our work, shining an honest light on our own practices and institutions. (Michael Bierer. 6/25)
