KHN Weekly Edition: Aug. 13, 2021

How a Hospital and a School District Teamed Up to Help Kids in Emotional Crisis
By Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR and Christine Herman, WILL / Illinois Public Media A Long Island, New York, school system has partnered with a hospital to create a mental health safety net for children. The heart of the initiative is a new behavioral health center, which the hospital opened to help children avoid unnecessary hospitalization.

Pfizer CEO to Public: Just Trust Us on the Covid Booster
By Sarah Jane Tribble As pharmaceutical companies declare a need for boosters, scientists and doctors emphasize there’s no proof yet.

Veterans Push for Medical Marijuana in Conservative South
By Aneri Pattani North Carolina claims to be the “Nation’s Most Military Friendly State.” Now veterans are trying to capitalize on this dedication to the troops to persuade lawmakers to pass medical marijuana legislation. It’s an advocacy model that has led to success for pro-cannabis efforts elsewhere.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Senate Acts
The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill — covering key health priorities — to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Apple Aims to Push More Patient Data to Doctors. But Who Can Gauge Its Impact on Health?
By Sarah Kwon The Silicon Valley giant has been cryptic about its plan for the growing mound of health data available through its iPhones and watches. Health systems have experimented with the company’s health app, but it hasn’t yet become central to treatment.

Reading, ’Rithmetic and Resisting Covid: The New 3 R’s as Kids Head Back to School
By Michelle Andrews Children under 12 can’t get a vaccine, so parents are concerned about how to keep them safe as classes resume — especially as the delta variant spreads.

National Academies’ Report Took Pharma-Friendly Stance After Millions in Gifts From Drugmakers
By Christina Jewett Congress tapped a national academies committee to examine a drug cost issue. It got a report that includes “egregious” failures to disclose conflicts of interest.

Getting a Covid Vaccine During Pregnancy Even More Urgent as ICU Beds Fill Up
By Ashley Lopez, KUT The CDC recommends that pregnant people be vaccinated against covid-19, based on new safety and effectiveness evidence on the covid vaccines.

Public Favors Masks in Classrooms but Balks at Mandating Vaccinations for Students
By Jordan Rau With schools reopening, poll finds two-thirds of parents support mandating masks for unvaccinated students, but resistance to vaccinating students remains high. “My child is not a test dummy,” one Black parent told pollsters. Some parents deferred the decision to their teens.

Why Doesn’t Medicare Cover Services So Many Seniors Need?
By Julie Rovner When the program began half a century ago, backers believed the benefits would expand over time, but politics and concerns about money have stymied most efforts. Now congressional Democrats are looking to add vision, dental and hearing care.

DeSantis’ Executive Order Is Misleading About Lack of Scientific Support for Masking in Schools
By Victoria Knight The Florida governor’s order said schools couldn’t mandate that students wear masks and that the state could deny funding to school districts that didn’t comply.

Surgeons Cash In on Stakes in Private Medical Device Companies
By Fred Schulte Doctors tied to professional sports teams share in investment bonanza.

A Quarter of US Hospitals, and Counting, Demand Workers Get Vaccinated. But Not Here.
By Katheryn Houghton Amid a surge in covid-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant, nearly 1,500 health systems across the nation are requiring their employees to get vaccinated. In Montana and Oregon, that’s not an option.

‘The Vaccination Queen’: Nurse Practitioner Takes Covid Shots House to House in Puerto Rico
By Caroline Almy and Alicia Carter Abigail Matos-Pagán, a critical care expert who has galvanized relief efforts after hurricanes and earthquakes, is on a mission to inoculate as many Puerto Rican residents as possible.

A California Bill Would Limit Protests at Vaccination Sites. Does It Violate the First Amendment?
By Rachel Bluth A proposal breezing through the state legislature would make it illegal to obstruct someone from getting a covid-19 shot, or any other vaccine, but some free speech experts say it goes too far.

Injuries Mount as Sales Reps for Device Makers Cozy Up to Surgeons, Even in Operating Rooms
By Fred Schulte Aggressive sales tactics have allegedly led surgeons to use defective or wrong-size implants, screws or other products on patients, including former Olympian Mary Lou Retton.

Journalists Assess the Latest Covid Surge and the Nation’s Vaccination Effort
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Déjà Vu? Consumers Scramble for Covid Tests in Hard-Hit Areas
By Phil Galewitz and Rachel Bluth and Rae Ellen Bichell As the nation confronts the delta variant, many consumers are again facing delays getting tested. The problem appears most acute in the South and Midwest, where new infections are growing the fastest.