In this Bloomberg video, MIT professor Jonathan Gruber discusses the discrimination in health insurance that increases costs for sick consumers. “For the very healthiest people premiums have gone up a lot, and that’s because they were essentially benefiting from discrimination and they no longer get to,” explains Prof. Gruber.
Wall Street Journal reporter James Hagerty writes about the life and legacy of Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation known for his work as a pioneering leader in the field of biotechnology.
Xconomy reporter Ben Fidler writes about the life and legacy of Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation who died at age 71. Institute Prof. Phillip Sharp explains that Termeer was, “a transformational leader in biotechnology of orphan diseases. Many children now have hope of a healthy life because of his vision and 40 years of creative business leadership.”
Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation who was known as one of the founding fathers of the biotech industry, died at age 71, write Robert Weisman and Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Termeer was, “a key leader in the biotech revolution that placed Massachusetts at the nexus of cutting-edge research and development.”
The New York Times' David Leonhardt writes about a study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein showing that as health care premiums rise, low-income families increasingly forgo insurance and use emergency care. Leonhardt explains that emergency care, “tends to be expensive, raising costs for other patients, and it’s often not as good as preventive care.”
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a device that can measure walking speed using wireless signals. The device can “also measure stride length, which may come in handy when studying conditions that are characterized by small steps, such as Parkinson’s disease.”
In a piece for WBUR about digital health startups, Rachel Zimmerman spotlights Cake, a company co-founded by MIT alumna Suelin Chen. Zimmerman explains that Cake is a web platform aimed at helping “make decisions about death feel easier.”
Graduate student Maimuna Majumder writes for NPR about her research examining what caused an outbreak of the mumps in Arkansas in 2016. Majumder writes that her research shows, “why herd immunity is so important. When we vaccinate, we protect not only ourselves but the most vulnerable members of our communities, too.”
A study by MIT and Harvard researchers provides evidence that a new executive order on immigration could reduce the number of doctors in portions of Appalachia and the Industrial Midwest, reports Sam Petulla for NBC News. "In these places, there are lots of incentives for American-trained doctors and foreign-trained doctors to move and work," explains graduate student Michael Stepner.
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer writes that a study by MIT and Harvard researchers examines how an executive order on immigration could impact the number of doctors in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. Doctors from the countries included in the order “handle about 14 million patient visits a year…often settling in areas where American doctors are reluctant to work.”
In an article for The New York Times, Shefali Luthra writes about innovative solutions to combat rising prescription drug prices. Luthra speaks with Jose Gomez-Marquez, an instructor at MIT, about his lab, which promotes do-it-yourself medical technology. “If you have extreme health care circumstances, you will find extreme health care ingenuity,” Gomez-Marquez explains.
Writing for The Huffington Post, Audrey Henkels spotlights MDaaS (Medical Devices as a Service), which was co-founded by MIT alumnus Oluwasoga Oni. MDaas supplies and services affordable medical equipment for hospitals in Nigeria, which allows them to provide “critical lifesaving tools they need to improve the health outcomes,” Henkels explains.
A study by MIT researchers examines how the growth in pet health care spending can provide insights into the increase in human health care costs, writes Austin Frakt for The New York Times. Emotional treatment spending may explain “high and sometimes heroic end-of-life health care spending whether on your dog or on your mother,” explains Prof. Amy Finkelstein.
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Visiting Lecturer Irving Wladawsky-Berger praises MIT’s Inclusive Innovation Competition, a contest that honors companies aimed at improving economic opportunities for all workers. Wladawsky-Berger writes that it’s heartening that MIT is “searching for breakthrough innovations to help improve [the] economic prospects” of workers impacted by advanced technologies.
A new study co-authored by Prof. John Gabrieli shows that the brains of people with dyslexia respond differently not only to words, but also objects and faces, reports Felice Freyer for The Boston Globe. The findings point to “the core biological difference in the brains of people with dyslexia,” explains Prof. John Gabrieli.