Reflexions "wake-up call" for Robin Williams; surprise in Medicaid growth; tools to stop the Ebola virus in US -
The New Republic: the death of Robin Williams is a Wakeup Call for mental illness
Earlier this year, [Robin] Williams checked himself into a rehabilitation center. And if he needed help with addiction or mental illness- or, as is often the case, with two-, it's safe to assume he got. He had money to give the best and the sad truth is that in some cases, even the best is not enough to save people. But Williams access to such assistance would have been the exception. The majority of Americans struggling to get decent mental health care or mental health care to all. insurance expansions, including the Affordable Care Act, to allow more people to pay for treatments. And the hesitant investments in facilities and programs, some the result of highly publicized tragedies, contributed to countless others. . But the gap between what people need and what they can actually get remains stark (Jonathan Cohn, 8/12)
The New York Times' The Upshot: Medicaid Rolls are growing Even in States that have rejected federal funds
Call it a side effect of the affordable care Act: Even in states that have not changed their Medicaid programs, nearly a million people have signed up for this Medicaid year. ... But Medicaid enrollment also increased this year in many states that have chosen not to accept federal funds. Medicaid data released Friday show that enrollment has jumped in most states that expand their programs, including Georgia (16 percent), Montana (10 percent), Idaho (9 percent) and Florida (7 percent) (Margo Sanger-Katz, 8/11).
Forbes: If Ebola arrives in the United States, Stop It can be based on controversial tools
Given the nature of the Ebola virus, and medical infrastructure, we have to fight against its spread, the diagnosis of some cases on American soil should not be reason to panic. We have a plethora of tools and public health practices to fight against its spread easily. ... For most Americans, it may be the first time they see the tools that our government has staked during the last decade, as preparing for public health emergencies such as a flu pandemic, or even bioterrorism. While some of them are quite necessary. Others will be controversial and worthy of further consideration. Chief among them are the authority maintained by the Centers for Disease Control quarantined Americans suspected of a dangerous communicable disease (Scott Gottlieb, 8/12)
The Wall Street Journal CSI :. The biggest misconceptions people have about the medical profession
Few people know what it really be the other side of the stethoscope. With this question in mind, we asked the experts: What is the biggest mistake that the public has the medical profession? (8/11)
Washington Wire The Wall Street Journal :. A better option than the impeachment To check Executive Overreach
With the Republicans in charge of Congress, they would be able to provide effective control of executive overreach. They would be able to stop the politicization of Attorney General Eric Holder's Department of Justice. They would be able to hold the president accountable to his own health care law. They would be able to exercise the power of control that comes from having the appropriations process controlled by the opposition party (John Feehery, 8/11).
Reuters: What should we eat to stay healthy? Why experts have no idea.
Have you ever wondered why nutrition experts change so often their mind about what constitutes a healthy diet? Over the past six months, a variety of experts and nutrition organizations have published at least as great dietary guidelines proclaiming the next set of instructions on what to eat to prevent cancer, either processed foods are really the food, if the type of fat you eat has an effect on the development of heart disease and how to control diabetes with diet. ... These new guidelines, like most dietary recommendations in the past, did little to solidify our understanding of the cause and effect relationship between diet and disease. Worse, they are likely to discredit nutritional science (David Seres, 8/11).
Journal of the American Medical Association: hospital screening companies Relations Direct-to-Consumer
In a healthcare environment increasingly competitive, one [hospital] strategy to attract new "customers" is to sponsor awareness programs that can be marketed to the public as "rescue". Screening tests offered by HealthFair and other [direct to consumer] DTC control companies, which focus primarily on early detection of atherosclerotic disease and prevention of catastrophic vascular events, are announced and supported by evidence of early detection diseases and emotional testimony of consumers rather than quality, evidence-based results demonstrating the reduction of morbidity and mortality. ... Given the controversy over the values and ethics of the DTC control companies and the services they offer, hospitals should clearly and publicly explain their relationship with DTC control companies, given the absence evidence in support of the mass of vascular screenings (Messrs. Erik A. Wallace, John H. Schumann and Steven E. Weinberger, 8/11).
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