Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Lessons On Getting Over-The-Top Prices On Life-Saving Drugs Under Control; Breakthrough For Alzheimer's? Look At The Confusion
Los Angeles Times: My Wife's Life Is Priceless, But Her Chemo Is Too Expensive
Doctors told my wife there was “very little chance” her breast cancer would return. But five years later, three months after Paula’s 51st birthday, I typed “prognosis of metastatic breast cancer” into my browser and through tears read the search results: “dismal prognosis,” “incurable,” “median survival of three years.” Paula’s doctors urged us not to despair — there were great new medicines available they hoped could slow down the tumor. And now, three years later, her cancer has not progressed. As a husband, I’m obviously ecstatic. As a physician who studies health economics, I find myself wondering: Can we, as a society, afford to pay for the kind of medicines that have kept my wife’s cancer at bay? (Peter Ubel, 12/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: A Tiny Pill Saved My Life, But At $180,000 A Year
Over the past five years, prescription drug prices have climbed at 10 times the rate of inflation, leaving one in four Americans unable to afford their medications. Across my district in the East Bay, I often hear stories from my constituents about how the rising price of prescription drugs has forced many to make impossible decisions about whether to pay for their medications or for other necessities like groceries and rent. (Mark DeSaulnier, 12/4)
Bloomberg: Biogen Has More Hope Than Data For Alzheimer’s Drug Aducanumab
No drug for Alzheimer’s disease does anything but treat symptoms of the degenerative ailment. The first medicine that can do more will be an enormous breakthrough. Biogen Inc. thinks it has that drug in aducanumab. It’s a treatment the company previously announced was a failure in March, but in a highly unusual move, it is trying to resurrect the medicine and gambling that it can win Food and Drug Administration approval. The company presented an expanded case for the medication at a medical meeting on Thursday. (Max Nisen, 10/5)
The New York Times: Our Brains Are No Match For Our Technology
A decade ago, Edward O. Wilson, the Harvard professor and renowned father of sociobiology, was asked whether humans would be able to solve the crises that would confront them over the next 100 years. “Yes, if we are honest and smart,” he replied. “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.” Since Mr. Wilson’s observation, technology’s godlike powers have increased dramatically, while the ancient, Paleolithic impulses of our brains have remained the same. (Tristan Harris, 12/5)
Stat: For Early Signs Of Dementia, Check Bank Accounts, Not Biomarkers
One crucial missing piece to the devastating puzzle of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia is how to detect them early. Many researchers are hard at work evaluating biomarkers like levels of proteins known as beta-amyloid and tau in cerebrospinal fluid or imaging-detected changes in the brain. There might be another, easier-to-detect signal. The first clinical markers of cognitive decline are found not in the brain but in the bank account. Impaired financial decision-making can appear decades before the emergence of other traditional signs or symptoms, like memory loss. (Eric Chess, 12/5)
The Hill: The US Must Act Now To Help Stop The Global Measles Surge
More than 140,000 people died last year from measles. That’s the headline coming out of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) today. It’s staggering; in our modern age, absolutely no one should die from measles — a disease we can prevent with a safe, effective vaccine that costs roughly two dollars. Our government must do more to make the vaccine as widespread globally as the measles virus is itself. (Kate Dodson, 12/5)
The Washington Post: Republicans Are All About Boosting Economic Growth — Except When It Comes To Food Stamps
Republicans are all about boosting economic growth, so they say. Eking out a few extra bucks of economic activity is their top priority — more important than, say, curbing illness and death (hence, looser water pollution standards, fewer slaughterhouse inspections) or even reducing deficits (hence, those budget-busting tax cuts). Unless it comes to punishing poor people. In which case, even the economy has to take a back seat. (Catherine Rampell, 12/5)
Nashville Tennessean: Technology And Partnerships Can Improve Primary Care Experience
Primary care providers, or PCPs, are the core of quality health care. Building a relationship with a PCP is one of the best ways a person can pursue better health. PCPs get to know their patients, including family history and furture risks. They treat common, non-emergency conditions, help manage chronic health issues and connect patients to specialty care when it’s needed. (Henry Smith, 12/4)
The New York Times: My Husband Wasn’t My Savior. I Am.
“I can’t do it anymore,” he said, before doing chores and walking out on our marriage. Wait a minute, I thought, who takes out the garbage minutes after declaring their marriage over? After eight and a half years together, a little under four of them as a married couple, my husband decided that he no longer wanted a wife with a disability. Having a partner with a disability is challenging; I get that. I am still the same person at my core, but the disease has changed my ability to walk and slowed my speech. (Brenda Arredondo, 12/5)
Nashville Tennessean: Mental Health Care Gap Closes With Gov. Lee's Step
Thousands of Tennesseans are in a mental health care gap – which means they have barriers, such as cost and coverage, to accessing services they want and need. I have dedicated thirty years to providing mental health services and alcohol and substance use treatment, and I have seen the negative impacts of that gap in care too often. (Ben Middleton, 12/3)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Needs To Dump Non-Compete Agreements
The bottom line is that banning non-competes for low-wage and hourly workers allows the market for their labor to actually work and their wages to rise. Enforcing non-compete agreements for such workers allows employers to suppress competition for workers’ services and keeps their wages lower. Proposals at the state and federal level to limit the enforceability of non-compete agreements have gone nowhere (i.e., the federal Freedom to Compete Act). (Chris Jenkins, 12/4)
