Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Should Ketamine Be Used To Treat Depression?; FDA-Cleared Menopause Drug Veozah Is A Win
For more than a decade, ketamine has been capturing headlines as a miracle treatment for people with severe depression.聽But even with reasonably strong evidence the drug can offer short-term, fast-acting relief from depression, researchers still aren鈥檛 entirely sure how it works 鈥 or even how much of its benefits are due to its ability to rewire connections in the brain versus the mind-altering experience of taking it. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/2)
There are an estimated 55 million women in menopause in the United States today, the majority of whom endure its most debilitating symptoms in silence. It doesn鈥檛 have to be so debilitating, and it wouldn鈥檛 be if we could end the silence and make even a handful of key policy changes. (Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Sharon Malone, 6/5)
鈥疘n Connecticut the proposed bill of SB 171 could be a monumental step in the right direction for reproductive healthcare. SB 171 is a bill that would allow a pharmacist prescribe birth control. (Cate DiRamio, 6/2)
Mary Boyer, a 41-year-old tech worker, started taking the drug Mounjaro last October to treat obesity. She has since lost more than 40 pounds, going from 267 when she started to 221 when she weighed herself recently. 鈥淚鈥檓 losing, like, a pound and a half a week pretty steadily,鈥 she said. (Maia Szalavitz, 6/4)
When Medicare鈥檚 prescription-drug program was created two decades ago, it was prohibited by law from covering weight-loss drugs, which were seen as largely cosmetic. Congress also worried about health risks after several popular diet pills were taken off the market. (6/2)