Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Think Your Pharmacist Is Protecting Your Health Data? Think Again; BMI Shouldn't Affect IVF
Dallas Morning News: How A Legal Loophole Allows Anti-Abortion Prosecutors To Obtain Women’s Secret Health Data
The American legal system has a message for women concerned about their abortion rights: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your pharmacist is your friend. Thanks to a gaping loophole in federal health care regulations, some of our leading drug store chains turn over customers’ most sensitive private health care information to law enforcement agencies, even without a warrant. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/16)
NPR: Obese Women Trying To Get Pregnant Should Have Access To IVF
IVF has the potential to realize the dreams of many would-be parents, but thousands of women of reproductive age in the U.S. may face barriers to accessing treatment — sometimes, even before setting foot in a fertility clinic. These women all have something in common: They have a body mass index that categorizes them as obese or severely obese. (Becca Muir, 1/14)
Bloomberg: Measles Outbreak Should Be A Vaccine Wake-Up Call
A cluster of measles cases in the Northeast is putting a spotlight on how easily the highly contagious disease can spread — and how dangerous any further slip in childhood vaccination rates could be. (Lisa Jarvis, 1/16)
Stat: Multispecialty Medical Groups Are Rapidly Losing Their Independence
The failure of Geisinger Health System, which lost $842 million in 2022 and disappeared into a new Kaiser subsidiary called Risant, sent shockwaves through the health care community in the spring of 2023. (Jeff Goldsmith, 1/17)
The Boston Globe: Scrutinize Private Equity's Involvement In Health Care
When Pamela Daly got new wheelchair brakes, they rattled and didn’t work. She complained to the manufacturer but after a month was still waiting for replacements. Daly, a disability rights advocate, was late to an event at the State House because the chair slipped while she was getting into it and she fell to the floor and had to call paramedics. (1/17)
