first opinion
How proposed budget cuts could affect dementia care
Jae C. Hong/AP
Over the past 35 years, the U.S. has built up systems to support people living with dementia and their caregivers — often through programs that rely on Medicaid funding. But the proposed federal budget calls for $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over 10 years. If that happens, these programs that rely on Medicaid will likely need to reduce their services or potentially close down.
"People are afraid. I'm afraid. They are afraid of what will happen to them if they get this disease. They are even more afraid of how their families will cope," Hilda Pridgeon, a founder of the Alzheimer's Association, told Congress in 1990 while advocating for more support. In a new First Opinion essay, physician Jason Karlawish argues that this fear "will once again beset the American family" if the dramatic budget cuts are made. Read the essay, which includes the stories of two patients from Karlawish's memory clinic whose lives have been changed by Medicaid-funded programs.
global health
The world reduces avoidable deaths & the U.S. adds them, study says
In most high-income countries around the world, the number of avoidable deaths (avoidable thanks to preventative measures or treatments) has been decreasing over the past decade. But in the U.S., that number is increasing, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Between 2009 and 2021, avoidable deaths in the U.S. increased from around 20 to 44 avoidable deaths per 100,000, the study found. The number of deaths increased in all 50 U.S. states, but the variation between each state also increased. Other countries saw about 14 fewer avoidable deaths per 100,000. In the European Union, the reduction was even greater, with an average of almost 24 fewer deaths per 100,000.
The U.S. spends more on health care than every other high-income country, but the increase in avoidable deaths "suggests that there are concerning broad and systemic issues at play," the study authors write. They write that policy solutions promoting healthy food, limiting exposure to harmful products, addressing gun violence, and regulating motor vehicle safety are potential ways to address the multifaceted problem.
biotech
23andMe files for bankruptcy
Late on Sunday, the DNA-testing startup 23andMe said it will file for bankruptcy and CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki will depart, after she repeatedly tried and failed to take the storied but financially troubled company private, STAT's Jason Mast reported yesterday morning. The company will now try to sell itself through a court-supervised sale, and Wojcicki will continue trying to buy it.
To understand how it all happened, STAT's Matthew Herper cites Ernest Hemingway's description of bankruptcy in the 1926 novel, "The Sun Also Rises": It happens "two ways: Gradually, and then suddenly." Bankruptcy is the worst outcome for both Wojcicki and the company's shareholders, Matt writes. But it's the customers that may suffer the most. Read more analysis in Matt's Take.
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