Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: No Surprises Act Hasn't Stopped Shocking Medical Bills; Diaper Banks Alone Can't Solve Struggles
The Washington Post: Surprise, The No Surprises Act Hasn’t Stopped Shock Medical Bills
The No Surprises Act, which took effect in 2022, was rightly heralded as a landmark piece of legislation, which “protects people covered under group and individual health plans from receiving surprise medical bills,” according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And yet bills that take patients like Chen by surprise just keep coming. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 7/8)
Chicago Tribune: America's Diaper Bank Model Is Failing Families
Right now, it feels like America is being held together with duct tape. We’re living through a steady drumbeat of instability. And in all that chaos, one quiet crisis continues to unfold, largely ignored but deeply damaging. America has a diaper problem. (Amy Kadens, 7/7)
The New York Times: You Don’t Have To Be A Doctor To Understand This
The United States government, and perhaps many Americans, no longer view global health in the same way. This is despite the fact that American involvement has helped eradicate smallpox, halved malaria deaths in many countries and prevented an estimated 26 million deaths through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. All told, U.S. global health support saves 3.3 million lives a year — or at least did, before its recent and rapid dismantling. (Craig Spencer, 7/7)
The New York Times: This Law Made Me Ashamed Of My Country
This round of budget cuts in Medicaid far exceeds any other cut the United States has made in its social safety net. The approximately $1 trillion reduction, over 10 years, represents about 0.3 percent of gross domestic product. Previously, the most draconian cuts came with President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax law. But they were far smaller — $12 billion over 10 years and 0.03 percent of G.D.P. (Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, 7/8)
Stat: ER Docs Are Overdiagnosing Marijuana-Related Vomiting
Human health is complex and diagnostic tools and their limitations, so missing a diagnosis is sometimes unavoidable. But every missed diagnosis has the potential to cause harm to a patient, as is demonstrated by a dangerous trend I’ve noticed within emergency departments: a tendency to attribute symptoms too readily to cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) without adequate diagnostic work-up. (Jordan Tishler, 7/8)
Stat: What If Drug Companies Created A Safe, Legal High?
Like many adolescents, I struggled mightily with oily skin, large pores, and severe acne. I tried all of the over-the-counter soaps, gels, and treatments to no avail. It wasn’t until my dermatologist finally prescribed me a drug known as Accutane, a then-new and still-powerful acne-killing pill, that my skin (mostly) cleared — along with some seriously chapped lips and sore joints (IYKYN). (Jim Crotty, 7/8)
