Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Black Patients Dress Up And Modify Speech To Reduce Bias, California Survey Shows
A young mother in California’s Antelope Valley bathes her children and dresses them in neat clothes, making sure they look their very best — at medical appointments. “I brush their teeth before they see the dentist. Just little things like that to protect myself from being treated unfairly,” she told researchers. A 72-year-old in Los Angeles, mindful that he is a Black man, tries to put providers at ease around him. “My actions will probably be looked at and applied to the whole race, especially if my actions are negative,” he said. “And especially if they are perceived as aggressive.” (Sciacca, 3/10)
KHN:
Seniors With Anxiety Frequently Don’t Get Help. Here’s Why.
Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the U.S. In older people, it’s associated with considerable distress as well as ill health, diminished quality of life, and elevated rates of disability. Yet, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, influential panel of experts, suggested last year that adults be screened for anxiety, it left out one group — people 65 and older. (Graham, 3/10)
KHN:
Montana Considers New Wave Of Legislation To Loosen Vaccination Rules
When Deb Horning’s youngest daughter was 5, she got her measles, mumps, and rubella shot like many other kindergartners. But unlike many other moms, Horning had to stay away from her daughter for a week after the shot. Horning, 51, was diagnosed in 2014 with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer — the five-year survival rate for those older than 20 is 27%. Horning had been through chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, which severely weakened her immune system. Because the MMR vaccine contains live virus, she couldn’t get the vaccine herself and had to temporarily avoid her vaccinated daughter. (Larson, 3/10)
KHN:
Share Your Prior Authorization Story With Us
Originally intended to prevent doctors from deploying expensive and ineffectual treatments, prior authorization has morphed into an unwieldy monster that denies or delays needed care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. And new federal rules may not be enough to tame it. Do you have an experience navigating prior authorization to get medical treatment that you’d like to share with us for our reporting? (3/9)