AT THIS HOUR

7: No, not the number of people in your dinner party that drive restaurant hostesses nuts but the number of healthcare payer priorities that jumped into the top 20 this year after being unranked in 2024. See where behavioral health and autism sit by checking the list here and to listen to my analysis, click here.

Science: There’s been some, but limited research around the root causes of hoarding - and the best ways to address it. The TV show on hoarders has drawn attention to the disorder, as did the recent Danny Devito role on Broadway where he played a hoarder. One study is underway by an academic center that suggests fixing hoarding is essentially impossible without addressing the psychiatric mental health issues first. In our own poll of families, 84% of adults who said they helped their mom or dad or family member stop hoarding but eventually had a negative result - like the parent becoming more angry or withdrawn.

Sport: Our documentary on the little running club for addiction recovery has won “Best Health Film” from the Cannes World Film Festival and “Most Inspiring Woman In A Film” from the Los Angeles Film Awards. To view the uncut 90-minute version of the bulldogs, click here.

Policy: A former Uber Eats executive has launched a peer support startup called Fello to connect people with a vetted and trained “peer” who has similar life experiences like grief, caregiving for a person with a mental or physical illness, career shifts, or women’s health. Background-checked peers receive up to 10 hours of training before being listed on the platform and matched with users. If a user opts for an hour-long session, they will pay $80 and the peer will receive $56. 

Perspective: Dunder Mifflin character Ryan once told his new boss in The Office TV show to “just lead me….but when I’m in the mood to be led,” a mindset I’m seeing show up in chronically ill patients and in my household. Column here.

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