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Millions of Americans have the boxes of tissues, missed work days and hospital visits to prove it: Respiratory illnesses, including influenza, covid-19 and RSV, have surged this winter. Meanwhile, health experts warned once again last week that the world needs to prepare for a hypothetical “Disease X” perhaps far deadlier than covid-19. Yet, for all covid’s lessons, health officials, governments and the public have more to do, fighting the diseases circulating now and making the next pandemic less severe. (1/23)

Ten years after the US Supreme Court ruled that states’ participation in the ACA marketplace must be voluntary, 40 states and Washington, DC, have agreed to expand Medicaid. The decision allows them to extend the government-subsidized health insurance plan to working families and individuals who make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and don’t have employer-provided health insurance. (Mary Ellen Klas, 1/24)

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London found that nearly 70% of young adults with ADHD did not meet the criteria for the disorder at any of the childhood assessments. Adults with this “late-onset” ADHD had high levels of symptoms, impairment and other mental health disorders. The researchers suggested that “adult ADHD is more complex than a straightforward continuation of the childhood disorder,” according to a published study in JAMA Psychiatry in 2017. (Romie Mushtaq, 1/24)

I believe our mother practiced what is now known as structurally competent and culturally responsive care, in which the entire complex nature of a patient’s background and the social context in which they live, work, love and pray is considered during evaluation. And people loved her for it. She wasn’t just taking care of patients. She was tending to her neighbors. (Uche Blackstock, 1/22)

If you want an argument in favor of teaching the humanities, I suggest you ask a medical educator. Across the U.S., the age-old debate about the value of a liberal arts education has seemingly devolved into mortal combat, leaving the humanities in dire straits on college campuses. (Holly J. Humphrey, 1/24)

Children across the country deal with all kinds of sensitive issues every day including fear, the complexities of youth and adolescent anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, gender identity and sexual orientation, and substance misuse. (Rodger Dinwiddie, 1/22)

In the spring of 2020, my almost 4-year-old daughter Livie sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) when a tree branch fell on her head in our backyard, devastating our whole family. Returning home after five months in the hospital, the real journey began: How do we best care for and support our daughter, who cannot do any daily activities on her own, cannot walk or talk, and has become cognitively impaired? (James Sulzer, 1/24)

Between prescription drug costs, rising premiums, and more, it’s clear the United States is in the midst of a health care affordability crisis. Increasingly limited health care competition is leading to higher health care costs for patients, consumers, and taxpayers. (Ean Bett, 1/24)

I have committed more than 20 years of my life to helping Philadelphians with disabilities and seniors remain in their own homes. As a home health aide, I visit vulnerable and medically fragile individuals’ homes and provide them with the caregiving services they need to live independently. (Cathy Creevey, 1/24)