first opinion
Even doctors who know better make this decision
Adobe
When you think of people who have to make medical decisions based on their ability — or inability — to pay for certain procedures or medications, you don't normally think of doctors. But in our health system, even some full-time physicians have $3,000 deductibles.
Last year, the hospital that Amy Caggiula works at quietly changed nearly all of their insurance offerings to high-deductible health plans. "I found myself asking my own physician to switch my medication to a drug that is less effective and less safe — but cheaper," the emergency medicine doctor and professor writes in a new First Opinion essay. Read more from Caggiula about how we got here and what we should do about it.
research
On mixing MHT and weight loss drugs
A new, small study suggests that for older women, taking menopause hormone therapy congruently with a weight loss medication could lead to even more weight loss. In a paper published yesterday in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women's Health, researchers analyzed data from 120 postmenopausal women taking the weight loss drug tirzepatide, 40 of whom were also on hormone therapy.
After 15 months of treatment, the women taking hormones saw 35% more overall weight loss than those who weren't. The hormone group also had significantly higher proportions of women reaching the clinical thresholds of more than 20%-30% of their own bodyweight loss. And while both groups showed improved cardiovascular health, the hormone group had significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure (likely related to the increased weight loss).
The Trump administration has been eagerly encouraging more (cisgender) people to use hormones, and in November, the FDA removed the black box label warning from menopause hormone products. Still, we'll have to wait and see if larger randomized control trials validate this weight loss data. And I've always got this story that Elaine Chen wrote last year in the back of my mind, about the possibility that market pressure could be fueling too much weight loss on some of these drugs.
policy
Trump admin halts use of human fetal tissue in NIH-funded research
The Trump administration announced yesterday that NIH-funded research can no longer use human fetal tissue derived from abortions, an expansion on restrictions issued during his first term. The tissue, which otherwise would be thrown away, has been critical for certain research, including ways to fight HIV and cancer. Anti-abortion critics say there are alternatives, although many scientists disagree. Read more from the AP on the announcement.
As Politico reported, it was one of several anti-abortion announcements the administration made on the eve of today's March for Life. But conservative activists haven't taken their eyes off the prize: restricted access to abortion pills and expanding the Hyde Amendment, which already bars federal funds from going toward abortions.
No comments