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The Food and Drug Administration’s surprise approval of Aduhelm for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease last year was a mess on practically every level. Three agency advisors resigned, and skeptical doctors such as myself were left to advise patients — all desperate for hope — that, yes, it is a treatment option but, no, we have no idea whether it will work. And by the way, it is extraordinarily expensive. (Keith Vossel, 2/19)

“Democracy starts with our skin,” actress Ashley Judd affirmed at the 2019 Women in the World Summit after sharing that she was impregnated by a rapist and chose to have a safe, legal abortion. “We’re not supposed to regulate what we choose to do with our insides.” So says U.S. constitutional law as well, but when it comes to women’s reproductive health, the degree of governmental intrusion after conception is the stuff that wins or loses elections. (Fabiola Santiago, 2/19)

At the end of January, when a 37-year-old man incarcerated in Connecticut died from complications related to COVID-19, he became the 28th individual in the custody of the Department of Corrections to have died from the illness since the start of the pandemic. The infectious and deadly virus continues to expose something far too many have learned the hard way, currently and before the pandemic’s start: health care in Connecticut prison systems is failing the men and women who are legally required to receive care from the state. (Saud Anwar MD, 2/22)

As overdose deaths continue to climb, it is more important than ever that Tennesseans have access to treatment for opioid use disorder. COVID-19 era executive orders and special session legislation expanded permissions for telehealth, but these permissions expire this April.  I spoke with Dr. Stephen Loyd, Chief Medical Officer of Cedar Recovery, and he agrees that these permissions must be extended, if not made permanent. (Jeremy C. Kourvelas, 2/22)

Hospital, health system and community leaders know that Medicare is the single largest payer and the single largest cash flow in American healthcare. What many leaders may not know is that as a growing number of people are enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans—channeling a significant portion of that money away from purely fee-based purchases of care and into capitation to buy care by the package, not by the piece—the people most likely to enroll in that program are our low-income Medicare beneficiaries. (George Halvorson, 2/22)

As a small business owner, nothing is more important to me than ensuring our employees have access to affordable, high-quality health care. For more than 60 years, my company, Northeast Express Transportation, Inc., has provided support to companies in Connecticut with innovative logistics solutions. Our employees are the backbone of our company —and the ability to offer health coverage people can afford is one way that we’re able to stay competitive in the job market. (Kevin Maloney, 2/18)

When the murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked widespread demand for police reforms, some cities moved to announce major overhauls of law enforcement. One of the most promising—and popular—proposals was to develop mental-health response units, staffed by social workers or crisis counselors, who could respond to mental-health incidents in lieu of armed police. (David A. Graham, 2/22)

The pandemic has compounded mental health challenges in young children. A recent report from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy noted massive increases in self-harm hospitalizations as well as incidents of depression and anxiety because of the pandemic, telling The Post children are now enduring a “perfect storm of a stressor.” Fortunately, D.C. has made investing in school-based mental health a major priority. (Kisha Clark, 2/18)