Viewpoints: ‘Tedious Talking Points’ And The Obamacare Debate; Health Care’s High Costs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Bloomberg:
Obamacare Repeal Sinks Into Tedious Talking Points
In defending the unpopular and flawed House bill to replace Obamacare, a common Republican refrain is that it fully protects health-insurance coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. "Under this bill, no matter what, you cannot be denied coverage if you have a pre-existing condition," insisted House Speaker Paul Ryan, a talking point echoed by President Donald Trump. ... Such duplicity! People with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage outright but, as the Congressional Budget Office just reported, many of them would face huge increases in the cost. (Albert Hunt, 6/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
How To Make Medicine More Expensive
Registering outrage over the high price of medicine is a national pastime, especially for politicians whose solution is always handing themselves more power. The latest examples come from Nevada and Maryland, where legislators are passing bills to punish drugmakers for no benefit to patients. (6/4)
The New York Times:
Obama Unwittingly Handed Trump A Weapon To Cripple The Health Law
Obama administration officials knew they were on shaky ground in spending billions of dollars on health insurance subsidies without clear authority. But they did not think a long-shot court challenge by House Republicans was cause for deep concern. For one thing, they would be out of office by the time a final ruling in the case, filed in 2014, was handed down. They also believed that a preliminary finding against the administration would ultimately be tossed out. Finally, they figured that President Hillary Clinton could take care of the problem, if necessary. (Carl Hulse, 6/3)
The New York Times:
The Specialists’ Stranglehold On Medicine
Republicans are trying to cut health care spending. But hacking away at Medicaid, weakening coverage requirements and replacing Obamacare’s subsidies with a convoluted tax credit will not deal with the real crisis in American health care. The Affordable Care Act was misnamed; it should have been called the Access to Unaffordable Care Act. In 2015 health care spending reached $3.2 trillion — $10,000 for every man, woman and child in America. While our health care system is the most expensive in the world by far, on many measures of performance it ranked last out of 11 developed countries, according to a 2014 Commonwealth Fund Report. (Jamie Koufman, 6/3)
The Washington Post:
Why Are Republicans Getting So Little Done? Because Their Agenda Is Deeply Unpopular.
Every new president tries to claim a mandate for his agenda, that because he won the election that means the public supports everything he wants to do. But ask yourself this: Is there anything — anything — on the agenda of the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress that enjoys the support of the majority of the public? (Paul Waldman, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times:
A Big Health Insurer Is Planning To Punish Patients For 'Unnecessary' ER Visits
Anthem is the nation’s second-largest health insurer, with thousands of medical professionals on its payroll. Yet its Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia subsidiary has just informed its members that if they show up at the emergency room with a problem that later is deemed to have not been an emergency, their claim won’t be paid. It’s a new wrinkle in the age-old problem of how to keep patients from showing up at the ER for just anything. But medical experts say the Georgia insurer is playing with fire. By requiring patients to self-diagnose at the risk of being stuck with a big bill, it may discourage even those with genuine emergencies from seeking necessary care. And it’s asking them to take on a task that often confounds even experienced doctors and nurses. (Michael Hiltzik, 6/2)
The Des Moines Register:
Wellmark: How We Can Re-Enter Iowa's Individual Health Market In 2018
Over the last three years, many Wellmark members with individual health plans governed by the Affordable Care Act (generally people who have purchased new individual health insurance plans since October 2013) have endured double-digit premium increases. Despite these increases, Wellmark has lost $90 million in Iowa over this same time frame on these ACA individual plans. Other health insurance carriers in Iowa and their customers have suffered a similar fate. This is simply not acceptable or sustainable. (John Forsyth, 6/4)
Detroit News:
Health Insurance Doesn’t Equal Health Care
Health insurance does not equal health care. As Americans, we often conflate these two entities. But they are in fact separate. ... we’ve grown accustomed to a system in which health insurance covers everything, from flu shots to ICU. This may not be a terrible thing; we all need flu shots, and some of us may end up needing ICU care. The problem exists in how we pay for these services. If we continue to ask insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield and government entities like Medicaid and Medicare to pay for all of our health care services, from blood pressure medications to cardiac bypass surgery, costs will continue to be inflated. (Paul Thomas, 6/4)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Step Therapy Can Disrupt Best Care For Children's Health
Asthma is complicated. The disease poses many challenges in the diagnosis, treatment and management of the condition. Children who live with asthma are particularly vulnerable; as their bodies develop and grow, their treatment regimen will need to adjust. In addition, there is an increased prevalence of asthma in children living below the poverty line, and disparity in their asthma outcomes. In Ohio, asthma is a leading cause of hospitalization and emergency department visits for children. (Benjamin Kopp, 6/4)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
When TV Shows Like 'This Is Us' Hit On Mental Health Realities
Like many people this fall, my family fell in love with NBC-TV's new show "This is Us." The adventures of this outrageous but still believable family touched our hearts. I enjoyed the cute relationships and unexpected plot twists, but the moment I truly fell in love with the show was not until further into the season. In an episode, the character Randall Pearson suffers from a stress-induced panic attack. (Annabeth Suchy, 6/4)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
About Those Regulations Promoting Healthy Eating? Never Mind
Perhaps taking a cue from the boss’s taste in food, the Trump administration has begun dismantling Obama-era regulations intended to help Americans eat healthier. The rationale isn’t quite clear for the reckless process now afoot. It might be argued that nutritional rules are a product of the nanny state. But America has an obesity epidemic, particularly with its children. This is a fact, like global warming, that the Trump administration prefers to ignore. (6/4)
