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As we race to build global immunity against covid-19, we’re losing ground against diseases we’ve already defeated. There are two reasons for this: growing vaccine hesitancy as a result of the politicization of coronavirus vaccines, and the disruption of routine childhood inoculation. (Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, 11/7)

As the world faces two rapidly escalating and existential crises — the impacts of climate change and global pandemics — we cannot afford to see these threats as unrelated. The health impact of climate change is immense, with an estimated 12.6 million deaths annually from environmental causes such as air pollution, unsafe drinking water, zoonotic diseases, and weather-related disasters. Clinically, climate effects are linked to increases in pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, mental health burdens, and trauma. This number is expected to grow, with an additional 250,000 annual deaths forecasted. (Vanessa Kerry and Pooja Yerramilli, 11/5)

Americans rightfully expect Congress to address the ever-increasing prices of brand-name prescription drugs. But the wholesale policy changes now under rushed consideration in Congress will undermine the only proven solution to this long-standing problem: competition from Food and Drug Administration-approved generic and biosimilar medicines. (Dan Leonard, 11/6)

The U.S. healthcare system often moves at a glacial pace, but COVID-19 catapulted it into the future with the overnight acceleration of telehealth as a care option. During the first four months of the pandemic, telehealth accounted for 23.6% of all doctor visits—up from almost none a year earlier. But while experts predict virtual care is here to stay, the emergency legal provisions that allowed its emergence are beginning to expire. Now we must figure out how to keep telehealth before time runs out. (Dr. Ken Davis and Dr. Rob Fields, 11/5)

A "godsend." That's how Chuck Moline describes the expanded financial assistance available to many who buy health insurance on their own instead of getting it through an employer, Medicare or other public programs. Moline owns AdvisorNet Financial in Austin, Minn. The small business, located across the street from the SPAM Museum, is a MNsure broker enrollment center, meaning it provides free assistance to those buying health insurance on the state-run individual insurance marketplace. Right now, it's crunch time. Enrollment opened Nov. 1 to buy coverage for 2022. (11/7)

If you are between the ages of 18 and 34 and do not have health insurance, the bottom of today’s column is for you. It’s a public service announcement about how to get insured at an incredible discount for a limited time and a limited time only. You’ll find the PSA in the penultimate paragraph. You can jump down and read it now, but, if you do, you’ll miss what I’m about to say about Democrats, Republicans and the quality of American life. It’s up to you. (Dan Rodricks, 11/5)

It’s hardly unprecedented for one federal agency to encroach on another’s turf. But the latest intra-executive-branch dustup is particularly eyebrow-raising. This fall, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock wrote a letter to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to share “areas of concern” about patents issued for prescription medications. Though couched in the measured tones of bureaucratese, the letter sent a clear signal to the USPTO: Set aside the industry-neutral, congressionally mandated criteria currently in place for deciding whether to grant a patent and weaken intellectual property protections for the drug industry. (Andrei lancu and David Kappos, 11/8)

University of Chicago Medicine has the best heart program in the country. That’s according to newly released national data, but it is also a conviction I have long held — not because I represent the district that is home to UChicago Medicine, but because I have witnessed the program firsthand. Many years ago, my late wife, Carolyn, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. After researching treatment options, we decided to seek care at the University of Chicago Medical Center. There, the heart team recommended that Carolyn receive a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, a battery-operated pump inserted surgically to aid in pumping blood to the rest of the body. (Rep. Bobby L. Rush, 11/8)