Longer Looks: Colorado’s High Premiums; Dating Apps And STDs; And Studying Gun Violence
Each week, KHN's Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
FiveThirtyEight:
The Healthiest State In The Country Has Some Of The Steepest Premiums
When Dave Rossi visited Breckenridge, Colorado, in the summer of 2001, he intended to stay for a season and then return to California. But Summit County’s mountain lifestyle lured him into staying. He set up his own design and marketing business and built a life full of mountain biking, hiking, skiing and other outdoor pursuits. As a self-employed business owner, the fit 51-year-old buys his own health insurance on Colorado’s insurance exchange. (Christie Aschwanden, 11/13)
Vox:
Tinder And Grindr Don't Want To Talk About Their Role In Rising STDs
In 2015, health officials in Rhode Island released data showing a dramatic spike in cases of syphilis (79 percent), gonorrhea (30 percent), and HIV (33 percent) in the previous year. The uptick, they said, wasn’t an outlier — it was part of a national trend. And while some of the new cases could be attributed to better testing, officials for the first time said STD rates were rising because of certain high-risk behaviors, including using online dating sites “to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters.” (Julia Belluz, 11/13)
The Atlantic:
Why Can't Addicts Just Quit?
Mere blocks from the tourists swarming Pike Place Market, Stacy Lenny pointed out the tradecraft of some of her drug-dealing clients: “There’s Todd with a wheelchair—that’s good camo for a drug hustle,” she said, nodding toward one man sitting on the corner and dealing crack out of his motorized scooter. “Missy has a lot of drugs in that bag,” she said, about another woman passing by.
(Olga Khazan, 11/13)
Wired:
To Study Violence After Gun Shows, Researchers Turn To An Unlikely Source
The Big Show Journal is no ordinary gun magazine. The print periodical, which appears on newsstands nationwide six times a year, is also, according to its website, "America’s most interesting gun and knife magazine" and "America’s most accurate and complete gun and knife show calendar." Gun enthusiasts may dispute the former claim—but the latter is less subjective than you might think. In fact, The Big Show Journal might be the closest thing researchers have to a comprehensive record of gun shows in the US. (Robbie Gonzalez, 11/17)
The New York Times:
The Secret To Long Life? It May Lurk In The DNA Of The Oldest Among Us
As one of the exceedingly rare members of her species to live beyond age 110, Goldie Michelson had divulged her secrets to longevity countless times before dying last year at 113. “Morning walks and chocolate,” the Gloucester, Mass., resident and onetime oldest living American told the steady stream of inquisitors that marked her final years. (Amy Harmon, 11/13)