Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Too Many People Are Dying From TB; What Is The Right Age For Breast Cancer Screening?
The Washington Post: Why Is Tuberculosis, A Curable Disease, Still Allowed To Kill Millions?
In 2019, I visited Sierra Leone’s Lakka Government Hospital, a tuberculosis treatment center. At the time, I knew almost nothing about TB. I didn’t know that it is curable, or that for almost all of human history, it has been the world’s deadliest infectious disease. (John Green, 5/16)
The New York Times: How To Think About The New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
There’s long been variability in mammography recommendations among various professional medical organizations, which has created confusion for patients. (Mehra Golshan, 5/16)
Miami Herald: Living Organ Donors Is A Missed Opportunity To Save Lives
Recent news about the failures in the U.S. organ transplant system has the nation talking about an important topic that I have spent much of my life working to improve. As a transplant surgeon and advisor to the Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC), these discussions give me hope that much-needed change is coming. (Tom Peters, 5/15)
Modern Healthcare: How Health Equity Data Can Improve Perinatal Services
Improving health equity means confronting the systemic, avoidable and unjust outcomes our patients and health plan members may experience. It is meaningful and exciting, yet daunting, work. (Leigh Caswell and Liz Lacouture, 5/15)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Knows Too Little About Why Foster Care Youths Attempt Suicide
A 2022 state-mandated report on suicide prevention revealed that the number of suicides among Texas children in foster care jumped from one in 2017 to four in 2021. There are about 50,000 youths in the state’s foster care system. (5/16)
Virginian-Pilot: Protect The Elderly From Eviction
Assisted-living facilities and the federal-state Medicaid system that's supposed to provide medical insurance for low-income people are at odds over reimbursement rates — how much the facilities should receive for caring for people whose bills are paid by Medicaid. (5/15)
