Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Getting The Lead Out Of Baltimore, Rehab Hustle In Delray Beach And More: Weekly Roundup

Atlantic Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Delray Beach, Florida. "You sit on Atlantic, you watch the Lamborghinis and the Bugattis go by." Addiction counselor Harold Jonas describes how local sober home operators profit from addicts in treatment.
Oskar Aanmoen via Wikimedia Commons
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

This week: The religious objection to Obamacare's requirement that birth control be free and available makes its way to the Supreme Court again. Baltimore's lead paint problem won't go away.  We've also got a sad tale about the exploitative side of Florida's addiction recovery industry, and some hopeful news that more doctors will soon be ready and able to treat people with substance abuse disorders. Plus, there's a turf war brewing over American livers. 

Anything we missed? Let us know at sideeffects@wfyi.org, Facebook or Twitter.  

A New Kind of Doctor: Addiction Medicine Specialist

We've  reportedbefore on the shortage of doctors qualified to treat addiction. As  Dr. Richard Blondell puts it, "There are more doctors out there prescribing heavy doses of narcotics than there are out there trying to help people get off of them.” But now, students at medical schools around the country will have the option to become addiction medicine specialists. Side Effects reporter Michelle Faust speaks with Dr. Blondell, who worked for years on the curriculum for the new credential

 

Religious Liberty v. Contraception Coverage In The Supreme Court

Though religious nonprofits are exempt from Obamacare's requirement to pay for employees' birth control, the plaintiffs say the government's work-around still makes them "complicit in sin." NPRhas a reportfrom Wednesday's hearing. And the Washington Post explainswhy the country's leading organization for pediatricianshopes the court rules for the Obama Administration.

American Liver Quest

If you need a liver transplant in the U.S., your best bet is to live in the Southeast or Midwest - or have the means to relocate. Bostonian Seth Doraiswami, who was born with liver disease, is one of those who hit the road in hopes getting a new organ.  WHYY's The Pulse has this fascinating story

Baltimore Struggles To Protect Children From Lead Paint

Baltimore banned lead paint all the way back in 1950, decades before the rest of the country. While lead poisoning has declined dramatically there amidst increasing regulation, hundreds of children are still poisoned each year. How can this be? NPR reports

 

In America's Rehab Capital, Substance Users Are Bought And Sold

In Delray Beach, Florida, you can get kickbacksfor signing up drug users for treatment programs and halfway houses. According to reporting from Buzzfeed News, these hustlers are profiting from health insurance dollars, while those trying to kick get sub-par treatment. Read the story.

Copyright 2020 WFYI Public Radio. To see more, visit .

Andrea Muraskin manages the social media and website for Sound Medicine News, and contributes web and radio reporting. Prior to joining the Sound Medicine News team, she was a freelance reporter and producer, notably creating the radio feature series’ The Neighborhood Project, The Life Stories Project, and Constitution Indiana at 90.1 WFYI. Andrea was a radio coach for the Indianapolis-based youth media organization Y-Press, where she had the privilege of working with some of the world’s best teen journalists.