🇺🇦 Axios Vitals: Dire circumstances

Biden's post-pandemic health plans | Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Mar 02, 2022 Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 831 words or a 3-minute read. Situational awareness: Join Axios' Mike Allen and Margaret Talev today at 3:30pm ET for a virtual event highlighting key takeaways from President Biden's first State of the Union address. Register here.     1 big thing: Ukraine's medical needs grow dire Mothers tend to their children who are undergoing cancer treatment in the bomb shelter at Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital on Monday. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images   Kids too sick to leave Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv have been sheltering in beds and on mattresses in the hospital basement this week amid growing fears it could be hit by a Russian airstrike. Why it matters: It's a stark reminder that many civilians in need of care can't comply with evacuation orders and leave amid the increasingly desperate situation. What they're saying: "What is happening now in Ukraine is a humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war," Volodymyr Zhovnyakh, the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital director, told the Wall Street Journal. "The world is watching us, praying for us, and not doing much else. Ukraine, unfortunately, is on its own," Zhovnyakh said. What's happening: The public health crisis is becoming direr as hundreds of thousands flee, many waiting days to escape the country and lacking enough food, water and basic necessities. Meanwhile, hospitals within Ukraine face an influx of new trauma patients while facing danger themselves from the shelling. The head of a maternity hospital near Kyiv said the facility was hit in an attack on Tuesday, NBC News reported. Basics like oxygen and antibiotics are running low, along with drugs and blood supplies needed for cancer care. And the availability of critical medications like insulin, is limited, according to aid organizations and news reports. There are also increasing concerns about the spread of diseases such as COVID-19, as well as polio or tuberculosis, the Washington Post reported. What to watch: International organizations and aid agencies are calling for more support and funding to keep the medical system running. The bottom line: The Russian invasion is putting enormous stress on Ukraine's healthcare infrastructure and resources are dwindling fast. Go deeper: "Show this to Putin": A 6-year-old girl killed in Ukraine (CNN)     2. Biden's post-pandemic health plans Biden used the State of the Union not only to project optimism about the direction of the pandemic, but also to launch new efforts focused on mental health care and nursing home quality — two areas that have been shown to be deeply in need of reform over the last two years, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes. Why it matters: The pandemic exposed and exacerbated deep societal problems, including within the health care system, and the work of addressing them is likely just beginning. Driving the news: The White House announced a new strategy to address the nation's mental health crisis, including more funding to build up the mental health workforce and new ways of connecting people with the care they need. Biden also announced measures to improve nursing home quality, including minimum staffing levels. "As Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down, and costs have gone up. That ends on my watch," he said. "Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve." Related: Biden announces COVID "test to treat" program     3. Long COVID patients struggle to get assistance Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios   Millions of Americans suffering from fatigue, nervous system disorders and other long-term health effects of COVID aren't getting public assistance to offset rising medical costs and lost income, an NBC News investigation found. Why it matters: Taxpayer-funded unemployment insurance and long-term disability insurance aren't options for most Americans with long COVID, who may be too sick to work but not ready to quit the workforce, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes. Details: More than 1,000 people who responded to an NBC News survey said that long COVID severely affected their ability to work or left them unable to work at all. Nearly 600 said they encountered difficulties applying for disability benefits. By the numbers: An estimated 7 to 23 million Americans have experienced long COVID, a catch-all term covering some 200 symptoms ranging from memory loss to chest pain, per NBC. The bottom line: It could come down to luck of the draw whether insurers accept a clinical opinion that a patient needs time away from work. Experts and patients say more needs to be done, including better documenting how many people are suffering symptoms while fighting the system.     A message from PhRMA Fixing health care means putting patients first     From out-of-pocket costs, to deductibles, to hospital bills – the most vulnerable patients face challenges. 3 in 10 Americans who have insurance still face a financial barrier to care. We need to make the cost of medicine more predictable and affordable. Learn more     4. Quote du jour: SCOTUS hears opioid case Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios   "They want to be free of any obligation even to undertake any minimal effort to act like doctors when they prescribe dangerous, highly addictive, and, in one case, lethal dosages of drugs to trusting and vulnerable patients." — Justice Department lawyer Eric Feigin argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in a case involving two doctors convicted of illegal opioid prescribing, the Associated Press reports. A decision is expected by late June.     5. Catch up quick An estimated $88 billion in medical debt landed on consumer credit reports last year, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report released Tuesday. (Insider) Tenet Healthcare has ended its plan to spin off its $1.3 billion revenue-cycle subsidiary Conifer Health Solutions. (Modern Healthcare) A lawsuit claims the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services started investigating parents last week after Gov. Greg Abbott characterized medical treatments for transgender kids "child abuse." (New York Times) Covid expert Michael Mina joins exodus into business, where science parlays into profits. (Kaiser Health News)     A message from PhRMA Fixing health care means putting patients first     From out-of-pocket costs, to deductibles, to hospital bills – the most vulnerable patients face challenges. 3 in 10 Americans who have insurance still face a financial barrier to care. We need to make the cost of medicine more predictable and affordable. Learn more   Like this email style and format? Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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