Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Lessons On Why Dems Aren't Ready To Climb Hill To 'Medicare For All'; Try Public Health Approach To Eliminating Gun Violence
The Washington Post: Why 2020 Democrats Are Backing Off Medicare-For-All, In Four Charts
A notable number of the 2020 presidential candidates (save Sen. Bernie Sanders) who endorsed Medicare-for-all are starting to say it’s a long-term ambition rather than a practical policy proposal they would enact when in the White House. “I finally was like, ‘I can’t make this circle fit into a square,’ ” said Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), who is one of the five senators running for president who endorsed Sanders’s Medicare-for-all bill in the Senate. (Sanders is one of the five.) The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes and Michael Scherer reported more on how she and others are now backing away from the idea. (Amber Phillips, 8/21)
The Hill: A Public Health Approach To Preventing Mass Violence
We believe that the problem of mass violence in the United States can and should be addressed in part from a public health perspective and that the tools of public health research and practice should be fully deployed to help end it.Just as there is no single intervention to reduce tobacco use or obesity, there is no single solution or “silver bullet” to end our nation’s epidemic of mass violence. Instead, successful interventions will come from all of us working together with community leaders, business leaders, government leaders, and public health leaders to create workable and effective solutions within neighborhoods, communities, states, and across the nation. (Nathaniel Smith and Michael R. Fraser, 8/21)
Stat: A Community-Guided Genome Editing Project Can Fight Lyme Disease
The epidemic of Lyme disease is an ecological problem of our own making: We have inadvertently altered our environment to maximize the number of infected ticks. The question today is whether we should consider altering the genomes of wild animals to undo that mistake. If so, we should find the most minimal intervention that might solve the problem. We should actively invite suggestions, concerns, and guidance from interested local communities who know their own environments best. And we should initially observe the effects on mostly uninhabited islands. (Kevin M. Esvelt, 8/22)
Stat: Gene Editing To Stop Lyme Disease: Caution Is Warranted
Mosquitoes that carry malaria and other disease-causing pathogens are the focus of several gene-editing efforts. Now the white-footed mice of New England are another target. The persistence of Lyme disease depends on intricate ecological relationships among ticks, small mammals, and deer. Many researchers consider white-footed mice to be a major reservoir for Lyme disease because they harbor the bacteria that cause it, are very abundant, and are often bitten by deer ticks, which then infect people. Esvelt and his collaborators hope to engineer mice to make them resistant to Borrelia burgdorferi, the microbe that causes Lyme disease, and possibly to deer ticks as well. Their ultimate goal is to release thousands of these genetically engineered mice, first on largely uninhabited islands. If the experiment works, they would then replicate it on Nantucket and/or Martha’s Vineyard, and possibly the mainland — pending, of course, sufficient research progress, regulatory approvals, and public support. (Allison Snow, 8/22)
The Washington Post: Three Signs Your Food Or Activity Tracker Is Doing More Harm Than Good
A calorie-counting monitor almost ruined spin class for me. Before the devices were installed on the bikes’ handlebars, I would lose myself completely during a session, grooving to the beat of the music and the sweaty, heart-thumping, endorphin-induced entrancement of the experience. After class, I would feel powerful, happy and accomplished. But the numbers on the monitor changed the game. Glancing at them throughout the class killed my euphoria and made me feel like a loser who couldn’t keep up. Instead of the post-class afterglow, I found myself defeated, plagued by self-criticism. I would think, “Why did I only burn 375 calories when the riders on both sides of me burned nearly twice that? I’m so lame.” Luckily, I realized the danger being posed to my workout and my self-worth before it got too far. Now I cover my bike monitor with a towel. (Ellie Krieger, 8/21)
San Jose Mercury News: Trump's Abortion Rule Is Devastating To Women's Health
At issue in the latest move is federal funding from Title X, a family-planning program signed into law by President Nixon in 1970 to provide birth control and other reproductive health care services for women. The Trump administration has issued a new rule prohibiting providers who receive Title X money from referring patients to an abortion service even upon request. It constitutes a gag order on doctors wanting to have candid conversations with patients about all of their legal care options. (8/21)
The Washington Post: I Am Not A ‘Fighter’ Because I Survived Cancer At 19
I am not a “fighter” because I survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 19. I am lucky among the unlucky. In the face of serious illness, especially cancer, we immediately declare patients as “fighters,” or talk about “winning” or “losing” the battle with the disease. That stock phrasing shows up in news headlines and charity campaigns; it’s spoken by politicians, celebrities and well-meaning acquaintances alike. Each person has the right to describe their experience of their disease as they see fit, but it often feels impossible to avoid terms like “attack,” “invade,” and “fight,” which are so deeply embedded in cancer culture. (Dvorak, 8/21)
Sacramento Bee: Assisted Living Is Health Care, Not Just Simple Housing
The graying of California has been a boon for assisted living programs, as families look for alternatives to traditional nursing homes for loved ones who are living longer. Assisted living centers appear attractive because they more closely resemble homes than hospitals, with comfortable living spaces, social programs and other amenities. (Ed Dudensing and Anthony Chicotel, 8/21)
The Washington Post: Homeless Children In D.C. Hotels Are Struggling To Get To School, And They Hope The City Will Help.
Before a month’s worth of rain fell in the nation’s capital in a single hour, flooding her apartment and destroying most of her family’s belongings, Christina Gaddis had a home that offered a washer and dryer and one other important comfort: She could walk her two young sons to their elementary school. Now, she and her children live in a hotel on New York Avenue that houses other homeless families, and she is dreading the commute that starts Monday, the first day of school. (Theresa Vargas, 8/21)
