5SR - October 23, 2023

Hitha on the portal, a historical House speaker race, and who benefits from abortion

Author

Hitha Palepu
October 23, 2023

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

Would you be surprised if I told you the majority of Medicare recipients’ insurance was administered by private insurers, and not the government?

Because that’s our reality - and has increasingly become so over the past 30 years.

Part of it is an administration issue. The government simply cannot handle administering traditional Medicare for everyone enrolled in the program, and has slowly been outsourcing parts of the program to the private sector. And while this is the case in other established nations like the Netherlands, the lack of regulation over these insurers are what’s contributing to the increasing cost and lack of access to healthcare in the United States.

“But asking private actors, with profit motivations, to administer government benefits to which people are supposed to be entitled brings risks. People are more likely to have trouble affording health care, and their claims are more likely to be denied; that is true in places like the Netherlands, compared to other countries with more direct government administration, and that is true of Medicare Advantage when compared to the traditional Medicare program.

To date, policymakers have seemed content to let Medicare Advantage grow without much moderation. Medicare beneficiaries have been attracted to its comparative simplicity. But the costs of funding the program, amid the political environment’s shift toward more fiscal restraint, and the problems experienced by patients have put the program under the microscope.”

Are You In The Portal? (Culture Study)

Everyone has their own definition of “the portal”, but Anja Tayson’s definition - “the weird spiritual / emotional / professional / transitional portal that women ages 37 to 45 are in.” - works for me, and for Anne Helen Petersen.

I could live without the hot flashes and the declining physical energy that I’m currently dealing with. But the creative rush and the lack of caring about other’s opinions is truly exhilarating, and referring to this space as “the portal” accurately describes how powerful this phase is and should be regarded.

Petersen interviews a number of women about their own experiences in the portal (including my dear friends Keren and Julia), and the consensus is that being in the portal is as messy, chaotic, and has trade-offs - same as any phase in our life. But the shedding of external expectations and allowing ourselves to live in nuance and hold conflicting feelings at the same time is what ushers us into a chapter that we get to write and live.

If you think this speaker race has been the most dramatic, let’s talk about 1856.

A single anti-slavery candidate (Nathaniel Banks) stood for election against a number of those who supported expanding slavery to new states and territories in the union. The Whig Party had fallen apart, giving way to the new Republican Party, the American Party, and others.

After 2 months and 133 rounds of voting, Banks finally won and served a single term after a dramatic turn of parliamentary procedure that I’ll spare you (but encourage you read the full article, if that’s your thing like it is mine).

It would behoove the 9 Republicans standing for the speakership to read this piece and not take any vote for granted. And while this particular Congress’ speaker drama will be in the history books one day, I hope future members heed the lessons from this turn.

One of my favorite nights of the year is next week - Diwali on the Hudson.

The annual event raises funds to support the Desai Foundation’s ongoing work in India (rooted in dignity and equity for girls and women). It’s also the first big Diwali event that has grown into a full season of events and celebrations in New York (which is another topic entirely).

Megha is my soul sister in many ways - a devoted football fan, someone who intended to help the family’s business and ended up running it. What she’s built alongside her team at the Desai Foundation is so impactful, and she’s never lost focus of her North Star.

I loved reading this interview with her, and I cannot wait to celebrate with her next week. Get your tickets here!

Abortion is a topic that’s all too often pushed into the binary, to our own tragedy.

Even our private conversations approach this topic in such stark terms. The rhetoric around this topic has fueled this narrative and way of thinking, and it’s often difficult to push through this to find the language and care we need when we talk about this healthcare decision.

Jill Filipovic does this masterfully in this piece, examining the factors and impact of Britney Spears’ abortion revealed in her memoir.

THIS is how we need to talk about abortion - with empathy, nuance, and the acknowledgement that we can hold multiple emotions at once and one of those emotions - regret - should not be weaponized to ban a necessary procedure entirely.

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