Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. California Healthline: Your School Assignment For The Day: Spelling And SpecsDaisy Leon struggles to sit still and read the letters on the eye chart. Her responses tumble out in a quiet, confused garble. “You know your letters?” asks optometrist Jolly Mamauag-Camat. “Umm, ya,” says Daisy, almost …
Your School Assignment For The Day: Spelling And Specs
DELANO, Calif. — Daisy Leon struggles to sit still and read the letters on the eye chart. Her responses tumble out in a quiet, confused garble. “You know your letters?” asks optometrist Jolly Mamauag-Camat. “Umm, ya,” says Daisy, almost inaudibly. The 6-year-old kindergartner had her eyes examined for the first time on a recent Thursday …
They Fell In Love Helping Drug Users. But Fear Kept Him From Helping Himself.
This story is part of a partnership between NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). She was in medical school. He was just out of prison. Sarah Ziegenhorn and Andy Beeler’s romance grew out of a shared passion to do more about the country’s drug overdose crisis. Ziegenhorn moved …
Raising a Glass to Chronic Disease
Bunched on the kitchen counter, the bananas glowered. “Eat me, drink me, suck my juices,” they taunted, like the tempting fruit in Christina Rossetti’s kinky poem “Goblin Market.” I was flummoxed since I loathe the mushy texture of bananas. (Sorry, Chiquita!) But how else could I ingest more of the magnesium I need in order …
When the Police Stop a Teenager With Special Needs
A man in his mid-20s regularly roams the streets of my small town in the middle of the night. He looks angry and doesn’t communicate clearly. Not everyone living in the area knows him. But the police do. “His father reached out to us,” said Sgt. Adrian Acevedo of the South Orange, N.J., police department, …
The Difference Between Worry, Stress and Anxiety
You probably experience worry, stress or anxiety at least once on any given day. Nearly 40 million people in the U.S. suffer from an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Three out of four Americans reported feeling stressed in the last month, a 2017 study found. But in one of …
Watch: One Father’s Fight Against ‘Predatory’ Drug Price
This story also ran on CBS News. This story can be republished for free (details). Dr. Sudeep Taksali tells “CBS This Morning” about his efforts to get a cheaper version of a drug commonly known as a hormone blocker for his daughter, who has central precocious puberty. The report is the latest collaboration between CBS, …
Viewpoints: Lessons On Supporting FDA As Its Importance Grows Stronger; Starting Up A Public Option Doesn’t Come Easily Either
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others. Stat: The FDA In The 2020s: Move Forward, Don’t Stand Still Federal regulatory agencies can’t stand still. They must evolve with industries they regulate. No agency faces more pressure to do this than the Food and Drug Administration. Charged with simultaneously protecting the public’s health from unsafe …
Different Takes: Congress Takes Advantage Of Coronavirus By Calling For More Spending; Time To Hope Everyone In The World Washes Their Hands
Opinion writers weigh in on issues surrounding efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Wall Street Journal: The Spending VirusCue the inevitable gripes from Congress that this isn’t nearly enough. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the request “long overdue and completely inadequate.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Administration’s proposal to tap some of …
State Highlights: West Virginia Lawmakers Take Steps To Protect Health Law, Preexisting Conditions; Chicago Hospitals, AMA Invest $6M To Improve Health On West Side
Media outlets report on news from West Virginia, Illinois, North Carolina, California, Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Charleston Gazette-Mail: The WV Senate Approved A Safety Net For Possible ACA Repeal. The Supreme Court Doesn’t Hear The Case Until 2021.The West Virginia Senate on Tuesday approved a bill backed by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey that would …
Border Patrol Sings Praise For New Migrant Detention Facility In Texas, Including Medical Screenings And Playgrounds
Critics question the timing of opening a new facility and if it will provide oversight to prevent abuses at other sites. News on migrant crisis is from California, also. The Associated Press: Migrant Detention Center To Open After Conditions Stir AngerA year after asylum-seekers and other migrants overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities at the southern border, …
Contract Stamped ‘Confidential’ Looks At Controversial Data-Sharing Deal Between Google, University Of California
Stat obtained a copy of the 2016 deal that allowed Google to obtain valuable data stored in health records in order to develop algorithms while also taking precautions to protect data. Health technology news is also on Amazon’s joint venture. Stat: Contract Offers Unprecedented Look At Google Deal To Obtain Patient DataIt was the fall …
Starting Exercise Programs Just Might Lead People To Run Away From Fatty, High Calorie Foods, Researchers Say
A small study in England reinforces the idea that exercise should be part of the plan to lower weight. Some of the new exercisers, while saying they still like cookies, were less likely to want the cookie. Public health news is on food label information, rare diseases, clinical trial data, sodium in sports drinks, eating …
Coalition Of 39 States To Launch Investigation Into Juul’s Marketing Practices Amid Teenage Vaping Epidemic
“I will not prejudge where this investigation will lead,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement, “but we will follow every fact and are prepared to take strong action in conjunction with states across the nation to protect public health.” The Associated Press: ‘A World Of Hurt’: 39 States To Investigate Juul’s MarketingA …
CMS Axes New York’s Plan To Extend Its Medicaid Reform Program After State Asked For $8B In Funding
In denying New York’s request, the federal government is refusing to support the way the state is trying to change its delivery system to care for people in community medical facilities rather than in hospitals. It is rejecting the application but not eliminating funding that was already promised. Other Medicaid news comes from Minnesota and …
Colorado Unveils Public Option Reimbursement Rates That Officials Say Will Help Hospitals Remain Profitable
The Colorado Health Insurance Option formula’s base rate is 155% of Medicare rates, but hospitals’ individual rates would vary based on hospital type. Hospitals are still wary about the option, though. It seems likely hospitals will have to raise costs for people with insurance plans that aren’t part of the state option, said Katherine Mulready, …
Senate Dems Block 2 Abortion Measures, Accusing McConnell Of Playing Politics With Bills Destined To Fail
The legislation would have all but ban abortions after 20 weeks and mandate care for babies of failed abortions–a measure that’s widely criticized as unnecessary by abortion rights advocates. The debate turned heated, with Republicans repeatedly accusing Democrats of favoring killing babies. The New York Times: Democrats Block Abortion-Related Bills As Republicans Seek Election AdvantageSenate …
First Edition: February 26, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Kaiser Health News: Democrats Sharpen Health Care Attacks As Primaries Heat UpThe ideal began to get real on Tuesday, as seven of the top contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination sparred over the price tag on health care reform and even revealed similarities on issues like …
As The Coronavirus Spreads, Americans Lose Ground Against Other Health Threats
For much of the 20th century, medical progress seemed limitless. Antibiotics revolutionized the care of infections. Vaccines turned deadly childhood diseases into distant memories. Americans lived longer, healthier lives than their parents. Yet today, some of the greatest success stories in public health are unraveling. Even as the world struggles to control a mysterious new …
Are Foods Labeled ‘Low Sugar’ Misleading Consumers?
The label on Honest Tea’s organic peach-flavored iced tea has a reassuring message for people who want a beverage that is not too sugary: “Just a Tad Sweet,” the label states. But a single serving of the beverage, the amount in one 16.9 ounce bottle, has 25 grams of added sugar, equivalent to six teaspoons …
How Exercise Might Affect Our Food Choices, and Our Weight
Taking up exercise could alter our feelings about food in surprising and beneficial ways, according to a compelling new study of exercise and eating. The study finds that novice exercisers start to experience less desire for fattening foods, a change that could have long-term implications for weight control. The study also shows, though, that different …
Trusting Injection Drug Users With IV Antibiotics At Home: It Can Work
This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). Two mornings a week, Arthur Jackson clears space on half of his cream-colored sofa. He sets out a few rolls of tape and some gauze, then waits for a knock on his …
Democrats Sharpen Health Care Attacks As Primaries Heat Up
The ideal began to get real on Tuesday, as seven of the top contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination sparred over the price tag on health care reform and even revealed similarities on issues like marijuana legalization. With Democrats in 15 states and American Samoa set to cast their primary votes in the next week, …
Bernie Sanders Embraces A New Study That Lowers ‘Medicare For All’s’ Price Tag, But Skepticism Abounds
“[A recent study] said ‘Medicare for All’ will lower health care costs in this country by $450 billion a year and save the lives of 68,000 people who would otherwise have died.” — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in remarks made February 25, 2020 during the South Carolina Democratic primary debate. Defending his signature health plan …
Tiny Love Stories: ‘The Twin Bed We Were Forced to Share’
A Safe Haven in Bed I left Pittsburgh and Michael left Brooklyn for the dreamy, woodsy school we had only heard good things about. We did not realize that those things would be permitted only to me, with my white skin. For Michael, school was a constant terror. A few nights after we met, Michael …