Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Most Insurance Preapprovals Are Unnecessary; Patients Skip Insurance In A Broken System
The Boston Globe: Most Medical Care Shouldn’t Require Insurance Preapproval
[Gov. Maura] Healey’s new rules seek to limit prior authorization. (1/21)
The Boston Globe: Why More Patients Are Paying Doctors Directly--And What It Says About Our Health System
Patients and doctors are bypassing insurance for faster, simpler care — a trend highlighting a desire for relief from bureaucracy and widening inequities in the health care system. (Shira Schoenberg, 1/19)
The Atlantic: The Real Reason For The Drop In Fentanyl Overdoses
Drug deaths are finally falling—but the cause may be far outside of U.S. policy makers’ control. (Charles Fain Lehman, 1/20)
Stat: What PSA Test Reliance Gets Wrong About Prostate Cancer Treatment
In 2002, at age 55, I underwent my first digital rectal exam. The routine check set me on a 15-year path that transformed me from a medical editor on a daily newspaper in Chicago into an international advocate for men navigating the labyrinth of low-risk prostate cancer. (Howard Wolinsky, 1/21)
Stat: Too Many Doctors Don’t Bring Up The HPV Vaccine
Recently, I walked into my doctor’s office and receive my first dose of the HPV vaccine at 24. I felt a bit ridiculous sitting in the waiting room, a third-year medical student who can discuss the mechanism of E6/E7 over-expression but never got the vaccine that prevents it. (Anamika Shrimali, 1/21)
