Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Physicians Must Loudly Condemn Sex Abuse And Epstein Files; HHS Ignoring Evidence So It Fits Policy
MedPage Today: The Doctor In The Epstein Files
As physicians, we are often told to stay in our lanes and not to comment on polarizing issues. Many physicians default to deference and avoid honest communication, as outspokenness in our rigid system may have professional consequences. But I recall my psychiatry attending from my third-year of medical school telling me how he views physicians not only as healers, but also as models of ethical behavior. From an ethics standpoint, we have a responsibility to reckon with the egregious injustice that is the Epstein affair. (Chloe Nazra Lee, MD, MPH, 2/5)
The Conversation: Victims Have Told Us The Worst Of Epstein’s Crimes For Decades – And They Are Still Being Ignored
As the political and financial scandals emerge, politicians have called for a “victim-centered” approach. But as people react with shock to the revelations in the files, it’s clear that the voices and experiences of the victims are still being ignored. (Lindsey Blumell, 2/5)
Stat: Former FDA Commissioner: HHS Leadership Is Focused On Policy-Based Evidence, Not Evidence-Based Policy
Evidence-based medicine and policy require a rigorous, unbiased analysis of evidence with insights from personal experience, human relationships, and an understanding of human behavior. (Former FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, 2/6)
The Hill: Don’t Just Prop Up A Failing Health Care System — Reform It To Focus On Patients
Our health care crisis is not the result of too little spending or too little regulation. It is the predictable outcome of a system that routes trillions of dollars through government and corporate intermediaries while deliberately excluding patients from price, choice and control. The most important relationship in health care is between patients and their doctors. Bureaucrats disrupt that relationship. Here are some pointers to limit their overreach in 2026. (Terry Wilcox and Anthony DiGiorgio, 2/5)
Stat: I Treated Children For Rotavirus In Denmark. The Danish Vaccine Schedule Is No Model For The U.S.
Four years ago, I moved from Denmark to join Pediatric Partners of the Southwest in Durango, Colo. Having served as a hospitalist in a large Danish facility and now as a pediatrician in the United States, I have a unique vantage point on two very different systems. While there are many “shining lights” in Danish health care, the country’s approach to immunization is not one of them. (Michael Thwing, 2/6)
