- America Is a World Leader in Health Inequality The Washington Post by Carolyn Johnson—The divide between health outcomes for the richest and poorest Americans is among the largest in the world, according to a new study. Of people in households making less than $22,500 a year, 38 percent reported being in poor or fair health in a survey taken between 2011 and 2013. That's more than three times the rate of health troubles than faced by individuals in households making more than $47,700 a year, where only 12 percent of people reported being in poor to fair health, according to the findings published in Health Affairs. "Anything, any changes that are made that threaten to undo gains in insurance that have occurred since the Affordable Care Act . . . would risk setting us back in an area where the U.S. is in sore need of improvements," said Joachim Hero, who recently earned his doctorate in health policy at Harvard University and led the study.
- Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever The New York Times by Josh Katz—New data compiled from hundreds of health agencies reveal the extent of the drug overdose epidemic last year. Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times. The death count is the latest consequence of an escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50.