Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Is The Covid Pandemic Over?; Small-Business Insurance Is Becoming Unaffordable
Twenty-two million deaths later, it’s over. On Friday, the World Health Organization declared the end of the Covid-19 global health emergency. (David Wallace Wells, 5/5)
Since Massachusetts implemented health care reform in 2006, followed by the national Affordable Care Act in 2010, access to insurance has become nearly universal. But where people are getting their coverage has changed, and fewer people are insured by small employers. That trend reflects a growing competitive concern for businesses that are the economic backbone of the state — one that also threatens to increase costs for taxpayers. (5/7)
According to the U.S. surgeon general, 84% of workers said their workplace conditions had contributed to at least one mental-health challenge. (Susan O'Mahoney Holtzman, 5/7)
A few months ago, several members of my family and I took my 88-year-old mother-in-law to Switzerland to help her end her life. At Dignitas, a clinic in Zurich that offers physician-assisted suicide, she drank a dose of pentobarbital, fell asleep almost immediately and minutes later quietly stopped breathing. (Nan Wiener, 5/7)
Long recognized as the nation’s leading public health institution and widely respected around the world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently seen its reputation shaken and its performance compromised. As a result, public trust in the institution has eroded‌. (Tom Inglesby and J. Stephen Morrison, 5/7)
The effectiveness of HIV antiretroviral treatment is unequivocal. As a result of its increased use in the US, HIV-related deaths here have been halved since 2010. (5/7)
