Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Mississippi Case Could Overturn Roe V. Wade; Why Aduhelm Gained FDA Approval
Scientific American: Abortion Is At The Supreme Court Again--It's Different This Time
When Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new abortion restriction into law on May 19, it marked a chilling milestone—a staggering 1,300 restrictions enacted by states since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. I know because I have read and logged all of them—many as they were being enacted—in my 22 years at the Guttmacher Institute tracking state legislation on abortion and other issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. It’s an astounding number, and while many of these restrictions were blocked in court, most of them are in effect today. (Elizabeth Nash, 6/23)
The Washington Post: Here’s Why We Approved The First New Alzheimer’s Drug In Two Decades
Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration approved aducanumab (under the brand name Aduhelm), the first new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years. Patients with Alzheimer’s have shared stories of the disease’s devastating effects, including knowing that it will alter their sense of who they are and rob them of the ability to care for themselves. We understand that an approval of this magnitude is of intense interest, so we want to explain what we have done and why we have done it. (Patricia Cavazzoni, Billy Dunn and Peter Stein, 6/23)
The Boston Globe: Longing For The Day When Sexism In Medicine Is DOA
I met recently via Zoom with a group of female medical residents taking a rare break in their hectic schedules. As we discussed how their experiences compared with my own as a new doctor 35 years ago, I was surprised and alarmed. My young colleagues related to how overworked and overwhelmed I’d felt; how I developed a dangerous pregnancy complication because I was too afraid to ask for any reduction in my hours on duty; how a man in my program informed me that I’d been chosen to be a chief resident as a “token woman”; how I’d feared any display of weakness or emotion on my part would mark me as unworthy. Three decades after my residency, in 2021, as we mark the bicentenary of the birth of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female graduate of an American medical school, have we really made so little progress? (Suzanne Koven, 6/23)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Has An Opportunity To Expand Health Insurance Coverage
For approximately one-quarter of uninsured Texans, there has been a solution that state leaders could have adopted since 2014 — Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. While the state’s political leaders still refuse to embrace this straight-forward solution, there’s a new opportunity for coverage expansion in Texas. Texas has the highest number (more than 5 million) and largest percentage (18.4 percent) of residents without health insurance. The problems caused by these high numbers are well-documented. Uninsured Texans who lack access to basic preventive and primary care have poorer health outcomes. Then, there’s the unsustainable financial pressure on health care providers and the shifting of costs of providing health care for the uninsured, often in expensive hospital settings, to those with insurance. (Elena Marks, 6/24)
Modern Healthcare: Clinical Leaders, Health System Executives Need To Work Hand In Hand
High-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare increasingly relies on team collaboration and interdisciplinary work to deliver excellent outcomes and high patient satisfaction. The challenges that healthcare organizations face today (e.g., continued recovery from the pandemic, rising costs, regulatory mandates, decreasing reimbursement, new technology, access concerns, etc.) create an urgent need for executives and clinical leaders to partner to help create healthy communities together. (Dr. Lydia Watson, 6/23)
Stat: Next Steps For Wastewater Testing, A Valuable Tool For Public Health
Essential data can be found in the most unexpected places, including the wastewater flowing freely through sewers. During the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, cities began tapping their wastewater to look for evidence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, it’s clear that sewage surveillance carries several advantages over traditional surveillance. (Aparna Keshaviah, 6/24)
Chicago Tribune: Physician-Assisted Suicide Would Be Dangerous Policy
Is legalizing physician-assisted suicide really the most compassionate option for Americans at the end of life? If it is, then I am certainly for it. No physician would disagree with the aim of relieving the suffering of the dying. However, physician-assisted suicide is not a treatment option; it is premature death. It is a dangerous public policy that threatens the most vulnerable in society. Assisted suicide is a grossly simplified “solution” to the complexities of end-of-life concerns. Patients seeking it do experience problems that can and should be addressed, but often not by medications alone. The field of medicine should focus on doing what it can to heal and to help patients find a state of wholeness, not seek to make death more accessible. For this reason, I oppose physician-assisted suicide and urge the Illinois state legislature to do the same. (Dr. Benjamin German, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times: High School Soccer Player's Death In Heat Was Preventable
After participating in a club soccer practice last August in Chino on one of the hottest days of the year, 17-year-old Shane Thomas collapsed and died. This month, the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Division ruled that extreme heat played a role in his death. He died from “hyperthermia due to elevated environmental temperature,” the autopsy report said. The temperature had reached 111 degrees around the time of practice. Shane didn’t have to die. Athlete deaths related to heat exertion are 100% preventable. Unfortunately, California has a severe shortage of policies that could prevent such deaths. (Jason Bennett, 6/24)
