Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Supreme Court Ruling Against Gun Maker Is a Welcome Win For Gun Violence Victims; Prohibition Of E-Cigs Isn't A Good Long-Term Public Health Option
Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Just Made U.S. Gun Industry Vulnerable
The wall of invulnerability around U.S. gun manufacturers just cracked a bit.The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a civil lawsuit to proceed against Remington Arms alleging the gunmaker bears some responsibility for the use of its Bushmaster AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle in the shooting deaths of 26 children and teachers massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School almost seven years ago. (Scott Martelle, 11/12)
The New York Times: Banning E-Cigarettes Could Do More Harm Than Good
The nation is facing two distinct vaping-related health crises: surging e-cigarette use among teenagers and a lung-injury outbreak that has sickened more than 2,000 people and killed at least 40. Both have exposed yawning gaps in the nation’s public health apparatus. But instead of closing those gaps, policymakers have turned to a much more straightforward fix: banning products. A federal ban on flavored e-cigarettes is reportedly in the offing. Several states have already enacted their own flavor bans. And Massachusetts and several California cities have taken steps to outlaw e-cigarettes altogether. (11/12)
The New York Times: Some Of Trump’s Most Devious Lies Are About Health Care
As Democrats debate the best way to achieve universal coverage and lower health care costs, the Trump administration has a different approach to the challenges of our current system. It’s working overtime to make the system more fragile for the sick and the poor, even as it misrepresents to Congress and the American public what it’s up to. Speaking to reporters in late October, President Trump said that “we have a great Republican plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act. “Much less expensive. Deductibles will be much lower.” His statements came on the heels of a congressional hearing in which one of his top health officials, Seema Verma, said that the administration would do “everything we can” for Americans with pre-existing conditions. Under oath, she swore that the administration was aiming to help people find a pathway out of poverty. (Nicholas Bagley, 11/12)
Nashville Tennessean: Trump Administration Makes Health Care In Rural Areas A Priority
The Trump administration has placed an unprecedented priority on improving the health of Americans living in rural areas. Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced their Rural Health Strategy, which focuses on applying a rural lens to the vision and work of CMS, to strengthen the rural health care system and avoid unintended consequences from government regulations. (Seema Verma, 11/13)
The Hill: Supervised Injection Sites Must Focus On Facilitating Drug Treatment
As the opioid epidemic and drug overdose fatalities continue to plague America, the opening of supervised injection sites —where addicts can use drugs in a safe environment —is again on the agenda. A federal court ruling last month removed a legal obstacle to opening the first such U.S. facility, in Philadelphia, and other cities are considering a similar move. While it’s not certain when this might happen, questions remain regarding how such sites will help move users into drug treatment. (Mitchell St. Rosenthal, 11/11)
Des Moines Register: We Can Achieve Better Healthcare Outcomes And Save Money Doing It
Kudos to David Lind for his op-ed highlighting the waste that is baked into our healthcare system. (“We cannot afford $1 trillion waste in healthcare,” Oct. 30) Here at the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative, since 2005 we’ve been working directly with health practitioners and hospitals in nearly every county in Iowa to help them get better outcomes at reduced cost. Hospitals and clinicians have willingly participated in quality improvement initiatives that reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, readmissions, medical errors, infections, falls, adverse drug events, childbirth complications, and many other worthy outcomes because they know it is the right thing to do. (Tom Evans, 11/12)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Secret Medical Data-Mining Project Is More Proof That Big Tech Needs Rules
In a frightening illustration of how completely Americans today have lost control over their personal data, Google has partnered with Clayton-based health care giant Ascension to collect detailed medical information on millions of Americans — including patient identities and dates of birth — without notifying them or their doctors. The search-engine behemoth, trying to nose in on one of the most lucrative segments of the economy, says it wants to improve health care for everyone. Even if that’s the goal, it doesn’t justify these truly Orwellian means. (11/12)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Tackling Racial Health Care Disparities Is Both A Matter Of Justice And Of Cuyahoga County’s Future
There may be no more toxic topic than race. But when it comes to the shockingly disparate health outcomes in Cuyahoga County between black and white babies, having that conversation has become essential.Discussing racial health disparities is by nature a difficult discussion -- even moreso since evidence is mounting that historically rooted biases and stressors might be at its root. That encompasses ingrained prejudices many white people may be unaware of, and toxic stressors among people of color after generations of discrimination. (11/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Mayor, Supervisors Reach Healthy Compromise On Mental Illness
Ballot measures are San Francisco’s favorite substitute for responsible policymaking. Rather than hash out differences and come to a consensus, the city’s politicians are all too quick to go to the initiative process and force voters to do their jobs for them. The city’s response to the mental illness crisis on its streets was headed in that direction until this week, with Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney preparing for a ballot battle with Mayor London Breed. By reaching a compromise instead, both camps did a service for the voters and, let’s hope, the San Franciscans who need help. (11/12)
