Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Raw Pet Food Might Kick Off The Next Pandemic; 'MAHA Moms' Support What RFK Jr. Is Doing
Stat: The Wellness Industry Is Killing Animals, Spreading Disease, And Fueling The Next Pandemic
The $6.3 trillion wellness industry thrives on distrust of science, glorifying “natural” alternatives, and fear-based marketing. The result? Pseudoscience that’s not just harming human health. It’s killing animals, too, specifically via H5N1 bird flu. (Andrea Love, 4/10)
The Washington Post: Who Are RFK Jr.’s ‘MAHA Moms’? They Might Surprise You.
As someone who finds Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine stances alarming and who adamantly opposed him becoming health and human services secretary, I have been unnerved by his popularity among a group with whom I identify: mothers. (Leana S. Wen, 4/9)
Bloomberg: Tariffs Or Not, Health Care Is Where The Jobs Are
There are multiple drivers of the big employment gains in health care and social assistance, including federal decisions to expand health insurance coverage with the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997 and Affordable Care Act in 2010. But the near-doubling of the 65-and-older population from 31 million in 1990 to 59 million as of 2023 is one of the most obvious, with the number of home health care workers — who mostly care for the elderly — rising from 262,000 in 1990 to 1.9 million last month. (Justin Fox, 4/9)
Tampa Bay Times: AI, Provider Burnout And A Better Path Forward In Health Care
The growing burden of documentation, clerical demands and administrative paperwork has become one of the most significant contributors to medical provider burnout. In an era where physicians and nurse practitioners spend nearly twice as much time on computers as they do with patients, technology is emerging as a tool reshaping that narrative. (Jonathan Woolverton, 4/9)
Tampa Bay Times: Three Things Florida’s Family Caregivers Need Right Now
With Florida having one of the highest senior populations, there is a critical need for comprehensive hospice care. (Marvell Adams, Jr., 4/9)
The CT Mirror: As Measles Outbreaks Increase, CT Must Hold The Line On School Vaccinations
Maintaining the prohibition of the religious exemption protects not only the child next door, but also every vulnerable child dependent on herd immunity. (Helena Weisskopf, 4/9)
