Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Perspectives: Linking Science With Venture Capital; California As A 'Health Care Sanctuary'
We stand on the brink of the age of personalized medicine, when such things as bespoke cancer treatments may well become commonplace. Yet, there is a disconnect between researchers undertaking vital research and venture capitalists with the money to commercialize their science. (Ramphis Castro, 2/4)
Eric Bauman, a registered nurse who aspires to become the next chairman of the California Democratic Party, says it鈥檚 time for California to become a 鈥渉ealthcare sanctuary鈥 by providing universal, state-operated medical coverage. Citing efforts by a Republican-controlled federal government to repeal Obamacare, Bauman wrote in an op-ed article, 鈥渨e cannot miss the historic opportunity the moment presents us: enacting single-payer healthcare into California. Let鈥檚 take that step and make California a healthcare sanctuary state.鈥 (Dan Walters, 2/4)
It needs to be stated on the front end that the hospital industry is not happy with the current quality measurements. However, the vast majority of these measures were derived from, or had extensive input from, the health-care industry. The industry criticizes these measures as not being accurate. Of course, the exception is when a facility scores No. 1; then there seems to be no limit to marketing the result. (Kevin Kavanaugh, 2/3)
Despite a decline in teen pregnancy rates across the country, Texas still has one of the highest number of babies born to teenage mothers. Nationally, there are 31 births per 1,000 teenagers, while in Texas the rate is 46.9 births. In San Antonio, 22 percent of the 2,412 babies born in 2014 were the second children of teen moms. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, a registered nurse, former school board member and volunteer in the campaign against teen pregnancy, is well aware of the statistics and wants the state to get involved in lowering them. (2/4)
As your editorial this morning so aptly pointed out, there have been dramatic declines in the number of pregnancy terminations and unintended pregnancies in the United States. I am a retired obstetrician-gynecologist and have seen the full spectrum: a time when abortion was illegal, the advent of Roe v. Wade, to the present day when reliable, long-acting, reversible contraception covered by the Affordable Care Act, along with better education, have caused the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion to drop to record lows. (2/5)
