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Whether insurance companies are required to pay for any type of preventive care is in the hands of a little-known volunteer panel of 16 experts, whose approximately $11 million budget is preposterously inadequate to the growing size of their mission. (Karen Tumulty, 9/10)

When a patient is admitted to the hospital in the U.S., there’s a standard question physicians like me are supposed to ask: “If your heart stops beating, do you want us to do CPR?” On the surface, this may seem like a mechanic asking a customer, “If your car stalls, do you want us to jumpstart the engine?” Who would say no to this, especially in a hospital? (Lindsey Ulin, 9/11)

The uninsured rate remained steady last year, at roughly the lowest level ever recorded. That’s a small miracle — but one that could vanish if lawmakers don’t act soon. The share of Americans without health insurance coverage was just 8 percent in 2023, statistically indistinguishable from the record low reached the prior year (7.9 percent), the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. For context, in the bad, old pre-Obamacare days, the share of Americans lacking health insurance was roughly double that amount. (Catherine Rampell, 9/10)

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s latest warning unearths concerning statistics about the mental health and well-being of American parents. These findings resonated with me deeply on two levels. First, I am a parent of three school-age children. Second, I am a trained therapist and head of behavioral health at a provider organization focused on caring for the most vulnerable members of our population — Medicaid members and those dually eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. (Ruby Mehta, 9/11)

Silicosis is lung scarring caused by inhalation of silica particles. Scarring is ongoing, even after the exposure has stopped. Silicosis is not a new disease — it was first described in 400 B.C. and re-described by physicians across the centuries. Despite this long-standing knowledge, clinicians fail to recognize silicosis, and it is often misdiagnosed until the very late stages of disease. (Linda Forst and Lee Friedman, 9/9)