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At a press conference in 1986, President Ronald Reagan said he felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language were “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Many health care innovators know the chill, wondering whether some well-intentioned arrangement might techno-legally run afoul of some chapter or verse of an anti-kickback or coding or other law. Most of these laws come from a good place: a bad thing happened in the world and enough people believed it might not fix itself that they brought the problem to Uncle Sam. But because health care plays such an important safety net function, and also because the government is the biggest player in it — think Medicare and Medicaid and CHIP and the VA — the uncle has gone a little nuts. (Nisha Basu and Jonathan Bush, 12/8)

A nursing shortage that has only been exacerbated by the strains of a global pandemic is now well into its second year. Some colleges in Minnesota are responding with stepped-up programs, all of which are needed. The University of St. Thomas, however, is taking an ambitious approach that re-envisions nursing with an eye toward underserved communities. The heart of this plan is to reach out into these communities for nursing candidates, while also training nurses in how to understand other cultures and the impact their care can have on individual and community health. (12/7)

An accurate and timely diagnosis is foundational to high-quality healthcare. A diagnosis sets off a chain of events—a course of treatment, a change in habits or lifestyle, sometimes even a radical shift in outlook on life itself. Unfortunately, in some instances, the diagnosis is wrong, or it comes too late. (Dr. David Meyers and Dr. Jeffery Brady, 12/7)

A patient at an Atlanta clinic regularly attended doctor’s appointments to monitor his diabetes, but he didn’t see any improvement. In fact, sometimes his A1c score was higher than on his previous visit. Given the way health care problems are often addressed, a provider would almost immediately begin to look at this patient’s diet, exercise and other lifestyle habits as the likely contributors to his lack of medical progress. However, in this case, the problem was linked to something more complicated. Recently, a community health worker discovered that the man was living in a storage unit — a place without heat, air conditioning or running water. (Kathryn Lawler, Tom Andres and Shannon Sale, 12/6)

One August morning this year, my husband awoke and told me he felt lucky. And indeed, the last year was a good year with but a few health emergencies for either of us. But by late afternoon his urine was filled with blood. In the 61 years Ted and I have been married we struggled through many an unexpected interruption to our expectations. If youth is about the lust and the beauty of love, then old age is about dedication to something bigger than our individual selves. Blame and temper are not sustainable when trouble hits. We can and do pull together and confront what needs confronting. (Jere Pfister, 12/8)

After victories in eradicating smallpox, certifying most of the world polio free and developing COVID-19 vaccines in record time, we are on the cusp – for the first time – of turning the tide on a major noninfectious global public health risk. Consumption of industrially produced trans fat, a toxic chemical compound found in many processed foods, has prematurely killed up to half a million people worldwide each year from coronary heart disease. Many more live with the debilitating effects of heart attacks. (Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Dr. Tom Frieden, 12/7)