Viewpoints: Spare End-Of-Life Costs When Seeking Health Care Savings; Why It’s OK For A Doctor To Join A Protest At The Border

Bloomberg: End-Of-Life Care Isn’t Where To Find Savings
In the quest to reduce health spending without harming health outcomes, one area has always loomed large: end-of-life care. But it turns out that the share of total outlays that occurs near the end of life is small, and in any case it is difficult to predict when that stage is near, as a new analysis shows. (Peter R. Orszag, 7/18)

USA Today: Why I Went To Border Protest: Doctors Must Stand Up For Separated Kids
A couple of weeks ago I took an unusual selfie: it showed me and a colleague in the hot Texan desert, outside a U.S. Customs detention facility, wearing our white doctor's coats, surrounded by about 50 other health professionals. We were there protesting the separation and detention of nearly 3,000 asylum-seeking children, and the incarceration of a few dozen of them in the notorious “tent-city.” We joined a group of local doctors and nurses and silently walked in the extreme heat — it was 104 degrees — holding arms with complete strangers, to the gates of the detention center. It was somber. Moving. Emotional. A few speeches outside the gate. A few hugs. A few tears. And it was over. (Ranit Mishori, 7/18)

Stat: Medicine Is Changing Its Mind On Chronic Fatigue. Insurers Should Follow
Brian Vastag was enjoying a life that many people would envy. At age 41, he had achieved professional success as an award-winning health and science reporter for the Washington Post, covering important stories from around the world. That came to an end in July 2012, when he found himself afflicted by a mysterious and poorly understood illness that ended up sweeping away almost every vestige of his vigorous and productive life. To add insult to injury, he also had to endure a four-year battle with his insurance company to cover his disability claim for the condition he eventually learned was chronic fatigue syndrome. (Steven Lubet and David Tuller, 7/19)

The New York Times: A Kavanaugh Signal On Abortion?
We can’t be sure what the substitution of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy means for the Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence. But we can take a page from history to make an educated guess. Two pages, actually. Let’s set two judicial opinions on the subject of abortion side by side to see what they tell us. One, less than a year old, is by the current Supreme Court nominee. The other was written by another appeals court judge, Samuel A. Alito Jr., 15 years before he became a Supreme Court justice. The Kavanaugh opinion may suggest what lies ahead if he is confirmed. Justice Alito’s opinion told us in no uncertain words. (Linda Greenhouse, 7/18)

The New York Times: A Health Insurer Tells Patients It Won’t Pay Their E.R. Bills, But Then Pays Them Anyway
The health insurer Anthem is coming under intense criticism for denying claims for emergency room visits it has deemed unwarranted. A new congressional report suggests Anthem has effectively reversed that policy, even as it is being hit with a new lawsuit about it from doctors. The insurer initially rolled out the policy in three states, sending letters to its members warning them that, if their emergency room visits were for minor ailments, they might not be covered. Last year, Anthem denied more than 12,000 claims on the grounds that the visits were “avoidable,” according to data the insurer provided to Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, one of the affected states. (Margot Sanger-Katz and Reed Abelson, 7/19)

Boston Globe: Alcohol Is The Legal Drug We Should Be Worried About Not Marijuana
Almost 1 in 5 adults in Massachusetts drinks excessively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the higher rates in the United States. Consumption comes with substantial costs. For instance, the Massachusetts economy lost more than $5.6 billion in 2010, according to a 2015 study, from lost productivity, health care expenses, and other costs, including those from accidents caused by drunken driving. (Gianmarco Raddi, 7/18)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Firearm Free-For-All Puts Us All At Risk
You’re looking to adopt a pet, so you visit the local animal shelter with your son and granddaughter on a Sunday afternoon. While heading toward the cat area, another visitor accidentally fires the handgun in his pocket. The bullet ricochets off the floor and sends you to the hospital. Instead of going home with a new cat, you go home with shrapnel in your feet and the back of your leg. This is what happened to Denise Robinson during a recent visit to the Animal Rescue League in Des Moines. “As we were walking those two or three steps, some wild crash happened, and I thought somebody dropped something. In that nanosecond, I looked down, I was standing in a pool of blood,” she told a Register editorial writer. (7/18)

The Wichita Eagle: A New Approach To Assessing Suicide Risk
Despite the impact suicide has on families, communities and public health, methods for assessing suicide risk have been inconsistent and ineffective. But a new, effective, evidence-based tool is now available for use. Initially commissioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale was developed by Dr. Kelly Posner at Columbia University. It has been successfully deployed to screen millions of patients for suicide risk in a variety of health-care settings worldwide and, most importantly, has been shown to help prevent patient suicide. (Michael Burke, 7/19)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Blood Supplies Are Critically Low
According to the American Red Cross, the annual summer slump in donations is worse than usual this year. Blood supplies across the country are at dire levels. Many blood centers are reporting a two-day supply of blood on hand — or less. (7/18)

Charlotte Observer: We Need To Protect NC's Growing Senior Population
Protecting our most vulnerable populations should be a top priority for not only every elected official but our community as a whole. Our seniors do not always receive the protections they deserve, and this issue will only grow in importance. North Carolina has a rapidly aging population. By 2025, 90 of the 100 counties in North Carolina are projected to have more people over the age of 60 than under 18. This type of shift requires policymakers to look closely at resources and care for our transforming population. (Scott Stone, 7/18)

The Washington Post: Facial Recognition Poses Serious Risks. Congress Should Do Something About It.
Over the past few years, facial-recognition technology has rapidly become a feature of everyday life. It is used to tag people in Facebook pictures, unlock smartphones and even pay for purchases. But as this technology becomes more ubiquitous, so, too, have concerns that it could be misused. Last week, Microsoft added its voice to a growing movement calling for regulation of facial-recognition software. In a blog post, company president Brad Smith wrote that the technology has “broad societal ramifications and potential for abuse.” He proposed Congress create a bipartisan expert commission to identify the best way to regulate this software, adding that technology companies stand to benefit from guidance and clarity. In doing so, he drew attention to the fact there are few, if any, regulations in the United States governing the use of facial recognition. (7/18)