Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Congress Must Pass Funding For 988; Can Tackling Social Disparities Lift Life Spans?
For all the convulsive court decisions, congressional hearings, price increases, invasions, mass killings and social media takeovers, 2022 should also be remembered as the year of 988 — the nationwide crisis line that went live in July. (12/14)
As reported by the Tribune in 2019, a study by New York University’s School of Medicine, which built on similar, earlier research, found that Chicago residents living in Streeterville could expect to live 30 years longer on average than their neighbors in Englewood just 10 miles away. That is the largest urban disparity in the U.S. (Ram Raju, 12/13)
Hospice in America is gravely ill. An extensive investigation jointly published by The New Yorker and ProPublica documented outright fraud, predatory practices, and flagrant mistreatment by specific publicly traded and private equity-owned hospice companies. (Ira Byock, 12/14)
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed a serious flaw in the United States’ medical supply chain: an overreliance on imported supplies. Reinvigorating a domestic supply chain is an important step toward protecting Americans’ health and the country’s national security. (Tony Paquin and David Sanders, 12/14)
It’s been 10 years since a gunman took 26 innocent lives at Sandy Hook Elementary — the lives of children and educators. And while this anniversary is difficult, it offers us an opportunity to reflect on gun violence policy in our state and nation. (Kerri M. Raissian, 12/14)