Please welcome our newest members of AHCJ.
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Wednesday NIH webinar on women and alcohol highlights obscured problem
While recent headlines have pointed out the disastrous rise in opioid use during the pandemic, less attention has focused on alcohol consumption during the pandemic and relapses among those with alcohol use disorder. Even more under-recognized is the prevalence and burden of alcohol use disorder among women, who too often aren’t included in discussions about the condition.
Yet research from the National Institutes of Health shows that the gender gap between men’s and women’s alcohol consumption is narrowing — and that’s not a good thing. Higher levels of alcohol consumption had already been on the rise in older adults and particularly in women prior to 2020, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this health issue. Continue reading
STAT health tech reporter says speed in the sector is a double-edged sword
Erin Brodwin
Erin Brodwin is a San Francisco-based health tech reporter at STAT. Since 2019, she’s covered artificial intelligence in health care, written breaking news about health tech companies and covered wearable technologies and their impact on digital health. Her recent stories include a profile of the first chief medical officer of a maternal and family virtual care platform called Maven Clinic and an article about Apple’s new features for sharing health data with doctors and tracking trends. She also is one of four co-authors of STAT’s free biweekly Health Tech electronic newsletter. Previously, Erin covered health tech for Business Insider.
I interviewed Erin recently about some of the trends in health tech and her advice to AHCJ members looking to break into this space. She advises us to think about whom tech innovation benefits or harms, its significance more broadly and whether something billed as innovative truly is. (Responses have been lightly edited and condensed.) Continue reading
Stories to cover before the ACA’s special enrollment period ends
Karen Politz, Kaiser Family FoundationThe American Rescue Plan provides better subsidies for health insurance premiums for those whose income is 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL), which is $12,880 for an individual and $26,500 for a family of four, to 400% of FPL ($51,520 for an individual and $106,000 for a family of four).
The Biden administration reported on July 14 that 2.1 million Americans had signed up for health insurance coverage on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges during a pandemic-related special enrollment period that began February 15. The next day, the administration announced a “Summer Sprint to Coverage” campaign before the special enrollment period ends on August 15.
From February 15 through June 30, 1.5 million Americans signed up on HealthCare.gov, and 600,000 enrolled in the 14 states and the District of Columbia that run their own state-based marketplaces. Since April 1, the administration noted that among those new and returning consumers, 1.2 million (34%) selected plans that require premium payments of $10 or less per month. Those lower rates are the result of increased premium subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) that Congress passed in March. Continue reading
Recording, transcribing just keep getting easier with new apps
Photo: andreahelenajacobsen via Flickr
Until several years ago, I typed up my interviews as they were happening. The process gave me a headache and made my fingers ache, but I didn’t want to add extra hours of work transcribing a recorded interview.
Now that one of my editors has agreed to reimburse me for some professional transcribing and inexpensive voice recognition programs are improving every year, I no longer need to multitask during interviews. I can focus on the conversation and not worry that my fingers are in the wrong position on the keyboard and the last few paragraphs I typed are gibberish. Continue reading