Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Who Is Suffering The Worst Effects Of Covid?; Theranos Debacle Has Many Consequences
Americans received their first Covid-19 vaccine doses in December 2020, which means we are now approaching the beginning of the third year of the pandemic’s vaccine phase. And yet hundreds of Americans are still dying each day. Who are they? The data offers a straightforward answer: older adults. (David Wallace Wells, 12/7)
I believe that no financial award could come close to equivalency for the irreparable harm the Theranos debacle has done to individual patients, the health care system in general, and support for innovation in the field of diagnostics. (Steve Brozak, 12/8)
Every winter is the worst winter for the UK’s National Health Service. But that doesn’t mean we’ve seen it all before. New data show NHS backlogs have hit a record 7.2 million, emergency departments are leaving patients waiting longer for care, ambulances are taking longer and then are kept waiting outside hospitals for lack of space in emergency wards. (Therese Raphael, 12/9)
First, the good news: No one on the local, state or federal level appears ready to impose mask mandates or lockdowns anytime soon, despite a leap in COVID hospitalizations, which are up 49% in Maryland to 551 from a 6-month low of 369 just three weeks ago on Nov. 18, pre-Thanksgiving celebrations. (12/8)
A new study on masking is making waves by suggesting that N95 masks are no more effective in protecting against covid-19 than surgical masks. This is the wrong conclusion to draw — and can have dangerous consequences. (Leana S. Wen, 12/8)
There’s been significant investment in companies creating artificial intelligence (AI) applications for health and health care over the last decade. But while there have been successes, notably in the area of medical imaging, the industry is known more for not yet living up to its potential — think IBM Watson. (Michael Elashoff, 12/9)
To date, 39 states and the District of Columbia have chosen to expand Medicaid, covering individuals up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (that’s an income of $17,774 for an individual – the equivalent of up to $8.55 per hour - in 2021). (Michael Burcham, 12/8)
