Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Mississippi Next To Take On Abortion; Covid Worries Keep Patients From Cancer Screenings
The Washington Post: The Mississippi Bait-And-Switch On Abortion
In June 2020, when lawyers for Mississippi asked the Supreme Court to hear a case involving the state’s 15-week abortion ban, they took care to assure the justices that this wasn’t the big one, the case that would call on the court to overrule Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion. “To be clear, the questions presented in this petition do not require the Court to overturn Roe or Casey,” their petition for review said, referring to the 1992 decision in which a closely divided court declined to do away with Roe. (Ruth Marcus, 9/24)
USA Today: Early Cancer Screenings Drop As COVID Fears Keep Patients From Doctor
In health care, time is everything. And even beyond the continuing day-to-day tragedies, COVID-19 has created a ticking time bomb of further tragic consequences. But time is not on our side right now. Anxious about COVID-19, patients are delaying their routine doctor’s visits. A recent study revealed that the number of new cancer diagnosis went down significantly in the first full year of the pandemic – good news only on the surface. (Michael Zinner, 9/25)
Newsweek: The Critical Role Technology Plays In Democratizing Health Care
Technology has left no part of the world untouched. While critics may have previously argued that it contributes to an increased sense of loneliness or lack of connectivity, I would assert that during the pandemic, technology strengthened our connections, saved countless lives and continued to propel modern medicine forward, democratizing health care in a way like never before. While health care in the United States and other high-income nations is largely available, in low- and middle-income countries, access to medicine, physicians and treatments remains limited. In these health care deserts, diseases that have long since been eradicated in our country continue to affect lives. Children are susceptible to everything from malaria to trachoma, and the effects have a debilitating impact not only on the individuals and families directly affected, but on entire economies. (Nicolas Jaccard, 9/24)
Newsweek: Prioritize Community Physicians For Clinical Trial Diversity
Clinical trials must continue to evolve to more closely reflect a diverse population. This includes knowing which physicians talk to their patients about such trials and which are incentivized to do so. Policy can play a big part in incentivizing this expansion, such as reform to Medicare and Medicaid that reimburse physicians for talking to their patients about trials. (Andrew Barnhill and Victor Agbafe, 9/25)
Roll Call: Disparities In Clinical Trials Threaten African American Lives
As we mark World Cancer Research Day on Friday, the issue of unequal representation in clinical trials and cancer research initiatives remains a persistent problem in the United States. The sad truth is that, across most cancers, Black Americans have the highest death and shortest survival rates of any racial or ethnic group. To correct course, the health care community must take steps to increase representation of minority groups in clinical trials and help them take better advantage of life-saving technology and therapies. (Higgins, 9/24)
Chicago Tribune: We Must Close The Medicaid Coverage Gap To Save Black Mothers
Across the U.S., women die of pregnancy-related complications at a higher rate than in any other similarly large, wealthy country in the world. Expanding Medicaid will save the lives of women and babies and save money in our health care system. But the two states that we represent in the U.S. House of Representatives — Illinois and Florida — have taken very different approaches to this national crisis. Illinois chose to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid. Florida’s leaders have refused. As a result, we have seen a stark contrast between our two states: one in which pregnant women and new moms are able to access critical health services, and one in which moms are told, “You’re on your own.” (Robin Kelly and Val Demings, 9/27)
Stat: How To Avoid The Worst Of A Looming Shortage Of Health Care Workers
During the marathon of Covid-19, nurses and other health care workers have faced unprecedented levels of work stress as the world approaches two years of this global pandemic — and that stress isn’t easing anytime soon. Health care systems today face a potentially disastrous retention crisis among nurses that will hit hard in the next five years. This crisis isn’t exclusive to nurses — similar ones are on the horizon across all sectors of the health care workforce if health care organizations fail to respond to the stunning levels of burnout their employees are reporting. (Lauren Beechly, 9/27)
Chicago Tribune: Biden Invests In The ‘Harm Reduction’ Approach To Prevent Overdose Deaths
A deadly plague continues to rage across America, and neither vaccines nor face masks nor herd immunity can stop it. The epidemic of drug overdose deaths has taken more lives than COVID-19 and is more intractable. But the Biden administration is showing a welcome openness to a new strategy. That approach is known broadly as “harm reduction.” The idea is that drug abuse should be regarded as a public health problem, not a crime or a sin. Prohibiting and punishing drug use doesn’t work. A better option is helping illicit users modify their behavior to reduce their risks. (Steve Chapman, 9/24)
