Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Mohammad Ali's Experiences Offer Insights About Athletes And Brain Disease; What About That National Opioid Emergency?
The Washington Post: Muhammad Ali Shows Why Brain Disease Won’t Keep Football Players Off The Field
Because he was so well known and beloved — arguably the most famous man in the world — Ali was often asked whether he was concerned about brain damage. Early in his career, when he was young and fast, he said he wasn’t worried. But as he aged and slowed, he took more punishment, and it was easy to see the effects. ... But Ali kept boxing, unable to resist the money and public adoration. (Jonathan Eig, 9/25)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Whatever Happened To The National Emergency On Opioid Abuse?
There are 29 active national emergencies in place today in the United States. The latest is the one that President Donald Trump declared on Aug. 10: “The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I am saying, officially, right now, it is an emergency. It’s a national emergency. We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis. It is a serious problem the likes of which we have never had.” ... Unfortunately, it’s been six weeks since the emergency was declared, and the only step the administration has taken is to form a public-private partnership on the issue with some of the drug companies that have profited mightily from the addiction crisis. (9/24)
Los Angeles Times: Paging Dr. Price, Come To The White House Courtesy Phone. The President Would Like To Berate You Now
If it hadn’t done so already, the clock started ticking Monday on Dr. Tom Price’s tenure as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. The signs are all there. On Sunday, after defending Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin against an ABC News report that he’d used a costly military jet to fly from New York to Washington, President Trump declined to offer similar support for his HHS secretary, who has run up huge bills chartering private jets for his business travel this year. “As far as Secretary Price is concerned, that’s different,” Trump told reporters. “We’re looking into it.” (Jon Healey, 9/26)
Reuters: How Congress Is Hacking Away At Disability Rights
On September 7, on a straight party-line vote, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee moved forward a bill that would gut key protections for people with disabilities. Although versions of this legislation had been introduced in prior years, the bill did not go anywhere while President Barack Obama stood ready to veto it. But now that President Donald Trump, whose actions have demonstrated hostility to civil rights, occupies the White House, the proposal presents a real risk of passage. If Republicans in Congress do eviscerate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it will be the culmination of their recent abandonment of the bipartisan consensus in favor of inclusion and equality for disabled persons. (Samuel R. Bagenstos, 9/25)
Stat: The CDC Finally Reverses Course On Treatment For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
For years, people with chronic fatigue syndrome have wrangled with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over information on the agency’s website about this debilitating illness. The website highlighted two treatments that became the de facto standards of care: a gradual increase in exercise and a form of psychotherapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy. The problem was that the evidence doesn’t support these treatments. This summer, after years of resisting pleas from patients, advocates, and clinicians, the CDC quietly dropped the treatment recommendations from its website. Its decision represents a major victory for the patient community — and for science. (Julie Rehmeyer and David Tuller, 9/25)
Los Angeles Times: Facing Criticism, UC Irvine Scrubs 'Homeopathy' From Its Roster Of Offered Treatments
As of late last week, visitors to the website of UC Irvine Health, that institution’s clinical arm, could learn that among its services to patients was “homeopathy.” That was a problem, because homeopathy is a discredited and thoroughly debunked “alternative medicine.” Even Howard Federoff, UCI’s vice chancellor for health affairs, agreed that the scientific basis for homeopathy was “lacking.” The issue is important because the donors of a $200-million gift to UCI’s medical schools, the billionaire couple Susan and Henry Samueli, are sworn believers in homeopathy and supporters of a raft of other “integrative” health treatments. As I reported, some medical authorities have raised questions about whether the Samuelis’ beliefs and their rare generosity will undermine UCI’s explicit commitment to science-based medicine. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/25)
