Perspectives: American Rescue Plan Will Expand ACA; U.S. Laws On Foreign-Trained Doctors Too Rigid
Editorial pages confront these public health topics.
CNN:
My Family's Health Scare Taught Me The Value Of Affordable Health Care
I learned what it feels like to have health insurance the day my mother was rushed to the hospital. I remember our fear and worry. I remember my father moving swiftly, decisively. And I remember that there was no question or hesitation to take my mother to the hospital. My father, a construction worker with a sixth-grade education, had health insurance through his union, Laborers' Local 185 in Northern California. It meant we didn't have to make a choice between my mother's health and our family's financial stability. Growing up, my family didn't have much, but we did have access to health care -- and importantly, the peace of mind that comes with it. (Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, 4/6)
Stat:
The U.S. Should Make It Easier For Foreign-Trained Health Professionals To Work Here
When people ask if they should call me “doctor,” I’ve always answered, “Please, call me Lubab.” Titles don’t matter to me. But what does matter to me is for America to acknowledge my medical training and the skills I honed as a physician in Iraq and to let me work here as a doctor, especially after having toiled on the frontlines of Covid-19 care alongside thousands of other foreign-trained health professionals: physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and others. We helped saved countless lives. (Lubab al-Quraishi, 4/9)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Should The Pa. Senate Pass A Bill To Expand Nurse Practitioner Care?
In February, Pennsylvania State Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R., Washington) reintroduced a bill to loosen requirements for physician oversight of nurse practitioners who offer primary care. The first version passed the Senate in 2017 but then stalled in the House. While its proponents argue the change would expand high-quality primary care, especially in underserved parts of Pennsylvania, others object that the current rules around nurse practitioner-physician partnerships are in the best interest of patients. The Inquirer turned to two health-care researchers and the president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American College of Physicians to debate: Is it time for Pennsylvania to pass Senate Bill 25 and expand nurse practitioner practice? (Kihwan Bae, Edward Timmons and Lawrence Ward, 4/8)
USA Today:
Obamacare Survives Donald Trump, Repeal, Replace And COVID-19 Pandemic
Mark Twain famously responded that a report of his death "was an exaggeration." He had nothing on Obamacare. At one time or another during his tenure, President Donald Trump declared the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act dead, ended, terminated and obliterated. "What we really have left is the carcass of Obamacare," Trump told Fox News a year ago. It was, in his words, a disaster and a joke. "Has anybody heard of Obamacare?" Trump mocked at a campaign stop in September. Actually, that would be a most definitive yes — particularly for the 20 million Americans who have health insurance today thanks to the 11-year-old federal sponsored health insurance program that was a signature achievement of President Barack Obama. (4/9)
Dallas Morning News:
This Set Of Bills Will Stabilize Texas’ Health Care Safety Net
Last legislative session, Texas made significant strides to our health care system, including eliminating surprise billing, increasing women’s health funding, and securing landmark waivers from the federal government to stabilize our health care safety net. My House colleagues and I are committed to building upon those successes this session by introducing Healthy Families, Healthy Texas, a bipartisan legislative package to ensure health care in the Lone Star State is accessible and affordable for all 29 million Texans. Healthy Families, Healthy Texas aims to improve the health of Texas mothers, create greater access to affordable health care coverage, and develop alternatives to the federal health insurance exchange. This is a bipartisan effort to better coordinate the continuum of care for Texans across the state. (Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, 4/8)
The Washington Post:
Why I Vetoed The GOP's Bill Restricting Transgender Youth Health Care
For over 40 years, I have been fighting to build the Republican Party by advancing the principles of limited government and individual liberty. Thanks to that focus, the GOP has become the majority party in Arkansas. Now, I am being attacked by some of my Republican colleagues for not being pure enough on social issues and for vetoing a bill that limited access to health care for transgender youth. Make no mistake: I am pro-life. I believe there are some issues where the stakes are so high that government must play a role in private life. I have fought my share of battles in defending the role of faith in our society. At the same time, while governor, I have lowered taxes, balanced the budget and defended the Second Amendment. Yet the reaction of some of my conservative friends now makes me wish they would remember President Ronald Reagan’s admonition that if someone agrees with you 80 percent of the time then they are your friend and ally — not the enemy. (Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, 4/8)
New England Journal of Medicine:
Effect Of Oxygen Therapy On Mortality In The ICU
Oxygen therapy is a key component of supportive care for patients who have hypoxemic respiratory failure and are being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Yet, although oxygen can be lifesaving for patients with severe hypoxemia, overzealous oxygen administration may be harmful. Furthermore, data to inform the use of oxygen therapy in patients with acute hypoxemia have been limited. (Dr. Paul J. Young, 4/8)
