Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Low Rate Of Flu Shots Is Concerning; US Kids Need Help With Mental Health Care
Bloomberg: Australia’s Early Flu Season Shows Americans Need Their Shots
After a two-year hiatus, the flu is back. An early uptick in cases in Australia has public health authorities there alarmed — and should prompt the US to put the familiar virus back on the public’s radar. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/11)
The Boston Globe: The Mental Health Crisis Afflicting American Youth Demands Health Care Reforms
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a stark warning in December: America’s youth are in the midst of a “devastating” mental health crisis, suffering from skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety. Our health care system, which for too long has slighted mental health care, is woefully unprepared for the heartbreaking surge in troubled kids arriving in emergency rooms and psychiatric facilities: Lower insurance reimbursement rates for mental health care providers and hospitals has translated into fewer providers and less access. And as weak as the mental health care system is for adults, for children and adolescents it’s even worse. (6/12)
The Star Tribune: We Physicians Call For The Following Gun Legislation Without Delay
As doctors, our work is to care for people. We hug and kiss our own children, then step into the fray to preserve life when it is slipping away, when someone has tried to take it. When a gun is fired and a bullet tears into a person, we stop the bleeding. We remove the bullets, reconstruct shattered bones and mend as our skill and training allow, to keep a gun from taking you, too. (Dr. Mary Tschida, 6/10)
Chicago Tribune: My Dad's Hospice Experience Showed Benefits Of Altered States
My father died this year of cancer. In the end, he was brought home from the hospital to die with his family around him, and I’m grateful for that. He was resigned to his inevitable end, and we were able to say goodbye. Under the careful ministrations of hospice nurses, my father experienced his final day on a morphine-fueled trip that would have made psychedelic pioneer Timothy Leary jealous. As far as I know, it was his first and last extended psychedelic experience. None of the health care providers ever mentioned to us (or to him) that he’d be visiting the origin of the universe, seeing God and reliving his emotional childhood. But that’s what seemed to be happening as we sat around his bed. (Stephen Asma, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times: The FDA Is Right To Ban Menthol Cigarettes
Take a deep breath, America. We’ve made serious progress against cigarette smoking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23% of adults were smokers in 2000. By 2020, the rate had fallen to 12.5%. Teen use of traditional cigarettes has plummeted from 22.5% in 2002 to 6% in 2019, according to the American Lung Assn. (6/13)
Los Angeles Times: Don't Deny Trans Youth Gender-Affirming Care
This year has seen an array of anti-transgender legislation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is pursuing policies to restrict transition-related care for transgender minors and to block Medicaid coverage of this care for anyone. In 2022, legislation in 20 states so far has been introduced purporting to “protect” trans youth — by criminalizing care that has been used safely worldwide for decades. (Christy Olezeski, Meredithe McNamara and Anne Alstott, 6/13)
