Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Impeachment Process Might Save Us From Bad Socialist Health Care Agenda; More States Need To Adopt Tough Policies Against E-Cigs
The Federalist: How The Impeachment Frenzy Could Block Bad Health Care Policies
House Democrats’ headlong rush to impeach President Trump will have many implications for American politics and the presidential election. On policy, it could have a salutary effect for conservatives, by precluding the enactment of harmful policies that would push our health care system in the wrong direction. Congress should of course do something about our health care system, particularly the millions of individuals priced out of insurance by Obamacare, also known as the Unaffordable Care Act. But in recent weeks, it appears that Republicans have fallen into the typical definition of bipartisanship—when conservatives agree to do liberal things. As a result, if the controversy over impeachment leads to a legislative stalemate over health care, it will at least prevent Congress from making our current flawed system any worse. (Christopher Jacobs, 10/1)
Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey Should Follow Massachusetts’ Lead And Temporarily Ban All Vaping Products
E-cigarettes were marketed to Americans as safe alternatives to traditional tobacco products, but it is becoming increasingly clear that their safety has been dramatically overstated, putting millions of lives in danger. States have the ability to restrict the sale of tobacco and vape products while researchers study their effects. New Jersey must follow the lead of states like Massachusetts — where the governor recently banned the sale of all vaping products for four months — and ban the sale of vaping products until we understand the health risks associated with them. (Carmen Rodriguez, 9/30)
San Francisco Chronicle: Juul Waves The White Flag On SF Prop. C
Juul spent more than $10 million on a campaign to regain its ability to sell vaping products in San Francisco. On Monday, it withdrew from the fight for its Proposition C. It was a smart move, one that saved the company millions of additional dollars it had been prepared to spend on an exercise in futility. Its campaign was as disastrous as it was disingenuous, and it was against the backdrop of an onslaught of national news stories about the concerns over the health hazards of vaping. (10/1)
Des Moines Register: Trump Administration Policy Chops Iowans' Access To Heath Care
Political leaders in Iowa and in Washington, D.C., have made it their mission to politicize reproductive health care. As a result, Iowa now faces a public health crisis. In a two-year span, these lawmakers’ reckless policies have decimated Iowa’s once robust safety net that ensured people could get affordable reproductive health services. Now, Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens are faced with losing the care they need or paying out of pocket for it — which many can’t afford. (Erin Davison-Rippey, 10/1)
Los Angeles Times: She's 82. The Cost Of Her Long-Term Care Insurance Just Went Up 80%
Joyce Viets’ dad was in the life insurance business, so she knew from an early age that you have to plan ahead. “I heard about actuarials my entire life,” the Temecula resident told me. Viets, 82, purchased long-term care insurance nearly two decades ago, anticipating there would come a time when she’d be glad to cover the costs of a nursing home, which can run nearly $300 a day in California for a private room. So it was with more than a little dismay — and a strong sense of betrayal — that she received a recent letter from her long-term care insurance provider, Genworth Financial, informing her that her monthly premium is rising by 80%, to $530.71 from $294.84. (David Lazarus, 10/1)
Portland Press Herald: Rise In Suicide Among Veterans Proves Vexing
It should be shocking that 48 Maine military veterans died by suicide in 2017, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Sadly, it is not. It’s not surprising because, despite a dip to 30 in 2016, Maine has suffered an average of 43 such deaths a year since 2010, every one a tragedy. It’s not surprising because despite the attention the rise in veteran suicides nationwide has brought to the issue, the number has continued to increase through the last decade. (9/30)
San Jose Mercury News: Equip Students, Schools With Mental Health First Aid
More than 6 million California students returned to school over the past few weeks; many excited to reunite with friends, dive into new classes or engage in sports, clubs, and other activities. Nevertheless, a significant number of our students struggle to make it through each day and need our support and help. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, one in three high schoolers reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row. While their faces may not always show their depression, nonetheless they struggle under the weight of it on a daily basis. (Mary Ann Dewan, 10/1)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Smartphones Are Grenades In Our Kids’ Pockets — And We’re Not Doing Enough About It
Kids are walking around middle schools and high schools with smartphones and apps that have become a bully’s best friend. Live grenades, you might even say. And all we parents are doing, it seems, is watching, helplessly, as Big Tech keeps getting bigger and bigger while our kids get sucked deeper and deeper into the diabolical depths of their profit-making devices and apps. (Maria Panaritis, 10/2)
The New York Times: How To Make Hearing Aids As Cool As Glasses
At this point, over a year later, I can’t remember if I asked Senator Elizabeth Warren about the Spock ears, or what. She had called me on the phone at my house in Maine. This was a couple of months after I had devoted one of my Times columns to hearing aids. I had lamented a number of things in that essay, especially the cultural stigma associated with the devices. Cool glasses? You’re Elton John. Hearing aids? You’re a little old lady. (Jennifer Finney Boylan, 10/1)
Boston Globe: First, Do No Harm
As a health administrator and as a patient who has been poked, prodded, and stitched up by the best and worst of them, I think I know a great doctor when I see one. That is why the recent death of a respected surgeon I was privileged to know as my doctor and as the genius whose amazing surgical skills gave my husband a new life has underscored my recognition of what a precious and rare gift a truly exceptional healer is. (Mary Ann Sorrentino, 10/2)
Louisville Courier Journal: We Are Turning The Tide On Drug Abuse In Kentucky
Families in nearly every neighborhood of our country have suffered because of the opioid and substance abuse epidemic. For years, the situation just seemed to get worse as addiction hurt more families. Kentucky has tragically been among the hardest-hit states. Thankfully, however, our years-long efforts are finally producing a glimmer of hope.A new report released this summer showed overdose deaths in Kentucky declined last year by nearly 15% — the largest drop in more than a decade. Across the country, states saw similar good news culminating in a 5% decrease nationwide. (Sen. Mitch McConnell, 9/26)
