Viewpoints: Conservatives’ Harmful Abortion Policies Threaten Health Care; Without Pediatricians, Children Get Substandard Care

Opinion writers look at these and other health care issues.

Los Angeles Times: Cecile Richards: Conservatives Are Fighting To Roll Back Abortion Rights. And They're Winning

When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a strict Arkansas abortion law last month, it effectively made Arkansas the first state in the country to ban medication abortion. As a result, anyone seeking an abortion in Arkansas now has to travel out of state or to Little Rock, where the state’s only surgical abortion provider is located. (Surgical abortion is still legal.) There is no medical or health reason for this ban on medication abortion. (Cecile Richards, 6/13)

The Hill: To Save Money, We’re Laying Off Pediatricians — This Will Put Kids At Risk

In the fight over health-care costs, pediatricians are on the chopping block. In hospitals and clinics across the country, pediatricians are being laid off, leaving kids’ care to nurse practitioners (NPs) or increasing the clinical burden on emergency room doctors. These decisions are being made by suits over scrubs, and they put patients at risk of receiving substandard care. (Niran Al-Agba and Marion Mass, 6/12)

Stat: Nurses Play Vital Roles In Health Care. Why Are They Invisible In The Media?

Nurses have made vital contributions to health and health care for generations and are essential players today. Nurses outnumber doctors by almost 3 to 1. So why are nurses missing in action when it comes to health news stories? A landmark report published in 1997 painted a dismal picture of nurses and nursing in the media. The title of the report, “The Woodhull Study on Nursing and the Media: Health Care’s Invisible Partner,” says it all. The study was the brainchild of Nancy Woodhull, founding editor of USA Today, who died of lung cancer before the study was completed. She was struck by the contradiction between the excellent nursing care she received and her observation of the minimal coverage of nurses and nursing in the media. (Carole R. Myers, 6/13)

The Hill: Congress Needs To Do Something About Improper Medicare Billing Practices

The Medicare Trustees have released a new report predicting that the inpatient Trust Fund will soon begin paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes from American paychecks. Medicare Part A will only be able to manage this financial gap until 2026, after that, the program will have no choice but to scale back inpatient hospital coverage — adding more out-of-pocket burden on seniors. The trustees report calls on Congress and the executive branch to work “with a sense of urgency to address the depletion of the HI trust fund” and the projected growth in Medicare expenditures. (Kristin Walker, 6/12)

USA Today: Suicide And Depression Need To Be Understood To Help Those Hurting

How could Anthony Bourdain have possibly felt like his life of adventure was not worth living, that suicide was his only option? How could Kate Spade, one of the most beloved and influential fashion designers on earth, have felt that way? Or not so long ago, Robin Williams, who made us all laugh out loud as he silently suffered. How? Why? We helplessly ask and then we ask again. A few months ago, my congregation was asking those very questions when First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Pa., where I am the senior pastor, lost one of our teenagers: a boy named Sam Plank, who died by suicide. Sam’s parents, Andy and Tina, want people to know about what happened to their son so that others can be educated about depression and suicide, now at epidemic proportions among young adults. (J.C. Austin, 6/13)

Stat: Studying Sex Differences Will Improve Health For Women And Men

Alzheimer’s disease is a prime example of a condition for which we have little understanding of sex differences, other than that women bear the majority of the disease burden, both as patients and caregivers. About two-thirds of the 5.7 million Americans living with the disease are women, and about two-thirds of caregivers are women (even higher in Hispanic and African-American communities). Why do so many more women have Alzheimer’s? The main reason is because women live longer than men and advanced age is the strongest risk factor for the disease. Growing evidence suggests that biological and sociocultural differences between women and men affect the development, progression, and treatment outcomes of Alzheimer’s disease. A better understanding of these differences can improve outcomes among both sexes. (Amy M. Miller and Rebecca Nebel, 6/13)

USA Today: Prescription Opioids Led My Son To Addiction And Heroin Overdose

For the past five years, I have been plagued with thoughts of regret. “I should have done more” and “I wish I did that” are on a constant loop inside my head. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that it will always be there, like a mass that encompasses part of my head, my heart and my home. This is my new normal since my son died, at the age of 30, of a heroin overdose. (Mother's Guilt #1 ) Cory died of his addiction, but he also died because the medical profession failed him. Please don’t think that I feel my son had no responsibility for his death. He absolutely did, but so did all the doctors who overprescribed medications without getting to the root of his problem: depression.(Karen Boland, 6/13)

The Hill: Bipartisan Lawmakers Agree — Marijuana Prohibition Has Failed And It’s Time To Change The Law

Marijuana prohibition has been around for more than 80 years, but if last week’s series of events are any indicator, this era may finally be coming to an end. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the bipartisan legislation, Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States, to remove the threat of federal intervention and prosecution in states that regulate marijuana use and sales. Representatives David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced companion legislation in the House. This marks the first bicameral, bipartisan legislation to end the federal enforcement of prohibition in states that have reformed their marijuana laws. The unlikely duo of Senators, who rarely agree on anything, were lockstep on one factor: Prohibition has failed and it is time to change the law. (Justin Strekal, 6/12)

Stat: I Handed Over My Genetic Data To The NIH. Here's Why You Should, Too

The National Institutes of Health recently launched the All of Us Research Program to create one of the largest, richest public resources for biomedical research in human history. Its mission is to accelerate medical breakthroughs that personalize prevention, treatment, and care for all Americans. As the director of this unprecedented program — and as a cancer survivor, patient advocate, and participant in more than a dozen research studies — I want to share how we are safeguarding participant confidentiality and personal data. (Eric Dishman, 6/13)

Dallas Morning News: Why Texas' New Effort To Fight Maternal Mortality With Checklists Is A Smart Idea

Too often in Texas, small medical missteps and overlooked warning signs cause a celebration to turn to horror. Treatable complications are driving our state’s maternal mortality rates, killing women before they ever have the chance to become mothers. State maternal mortality rates have understandably set off alarm bells the last few years. Now we are finally seeing evidence-based interventions that will help to save lives that never should have been at risk in the first place. The Texas Department of State Health Services and TexasAIM (Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health) announced last week that they are working with hospitals to ensure that they follow new standardized guidelines for treating women at risk of complications during and after birth. So far, 168 of Texas’ 242 hospitals have joined the initiative. (6/12)

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