Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: MAHA Is Destroying Doctors' Trust In Government; Pill Penalty Provision Needs Fixing Now
The New York Times: Doctors Have Lost Their Mount Olympus Of Medicine
For most of my colleagues and me, the C.D.C. and the N.I.H. were the medical Mount Olympus, the towering pillars of medical authority. Contrary to right-wing portrayals, these were not dictatorial authorities. These were earned authorities, comprising our best, brightest and most dedicated peers. (Danielle Ofri, 7/28)
The CT Mirror: Time To Undo The Pill Penalty
Ever wonder why so many of the recent drug commercials are for injectable medicines, including life-saving drugs for cancer and diabetes? What happened to the much-simpler-to-take pills? Part of the problem is the “pill penalty” that was written into the federal Inflation Reduction Act. (Paul Pescatello, 7/29)
Stat: Two Easy Ways For The FDA To Improve Transparency
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was slammed recently for overhyping its disclosure of a set of rejection notices it had sent to drug companies. As reporters quickly discovered, most of the “released” 200 complete response letters (CRLs) had been in the public domain for years, and the FDA had merely put them into a single downloadable folder. (Frank David, 7/29)
The CT Mirror: Food Security Taken From Children With Celiac Disease In A SNAP
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly advocates for food security in all households. They emphasize that “food insecurity manifests itself in…biopsychosocial outcomes, including health, education and economic prosperity.” Children do not simply feel hungry when missing a meal. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that 13 million children in the United States (almost one in five, and one in six in Connecticut) live in food insecure households. (Caroline Brauner MD, 7/29)
Stat: Clinical Trials Are A National Security Asset
As the geopolitical competition between the United States and China accelerates, national security is increasingly defined not just by missile silos or aircraft carriers — but by molecules, data, and the pace of biomedical innovation. (Andrew Barnhill and Abraham Sinay-Smith, 7/29)
Stat: Trump’s Executive Order On Serious Mental Illness Is A Good Step
My older brother has schizophrenia. He’s never believed he’s sick, refuses treatment, and has spent years bouncing between emergency rooms, jail cells, and the streets of Los Angeles. To the system, he’s “unhoused” and “noncompliant.” We doctors call it anosognosic, pathologically unable to recognize his own illness. That isn’t defiance. It’s brain disease. (Shaheen E. Lakhan, 7/29)
