The pandemic continues to slow economic recovery in the US. The Labor Department reported today that job growth slowed sharply in September, with the hiring of just 661,000 new workers. While unemployment in September dropped to 7.9%, from 8.4% in August, the drop was primarily the result of people leaving the workforce — especially women. Millions of Americans have lost employer-sponsored health care coverage as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to climb.
For this Weekend’s Reading, check out Absolutely Essential, to read about potential impact of the ACA on biosimilar drugs, the critical role of Medicaid and the challenges of people facing loss of health insurance. Next, explore Sink Your Teeth Into This for dental-related articles including the FDA’s advisement that “silver” fillings should not be used for certain groups of people including individuals with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, or Parkinson’s disease, pregnant women, and others. Explore Dig Deeper – why we chose to follow some safety tips but not others, three steps to identify misinformation and more. Last but not least, do not miss Bears Attention – your vote is needed by October 6!
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. Absolutely Essential
- Bloomberg Law: Ginsburg Death Threatens Biosimilars in Looming Obamacare Case
- New York Times: Some Workers Face Looming Cutoffs in Health Insurance
- Kaiser Family Foundation: Eliminating the ACA: What Could It Mean for Medicaid Expansion?
- Insurance Net: Mich. Gov. Whitmer’s Healthy Michigan Plan Tops 800,000 Enrollees for First Time
2. Sink Your Teeth Into This
- FDA Press: FDA Issues Recommendations for Certain High-Risk Groups Regarding Mercury-Containing Dental Amalgam
- ADA: HPI poll: Dentists see increase in patients’ stress-related oral health conditions, More than half of dentists would consider raising fees if patient volume remains at current levels
- Washington Post: In these trying times, dentists are seeing more people with teeth-grinding and jaw- clenching — a.k.a. bruxism
- Washington Post: Millions have watched TikTokers file their own teeth. Now, two of these DIY dentists say: Don’t try it.
3. Dig Deeper
- Kaiser Family Foundation: We Follow Laws on Seat Belts and Smoking. Why Not on Masks?
- NPR: The Everlasting Problem – how a temporary solution created an everlasting problem.
- The Indianapolis Public Library: Learn to Spot Fake News in 3 Easy Steps
- STAT: How Pinterest beat back vaccine misinformation — and what Facebook could learn from its approach
4. Bears Attention
- NPR: May The Fattest Bear Win: Voting Opens For National Park’s Pre-Hibernation Contest
- Mashable: How to vote in Fat Bear Week
- Britannica: Bear in Mind Fact-or-Fiction Quiz
- USA Today: Fact check: Story about giant man-eating grizzly bear is a longtime tall tale
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
