Viewpoints: Tax Bill And Health Care; Are New Blood Pressure Guidelines Making Our Numbers Go Up?

Los Angeles Times: GOP Tax Bill Also Manages To Needlessly Screw Up The Healthcare System
Republicans are rushing to pass their cruel joke of a tax bill — legislation they claim will assist working families but in reality is an early Christmas present for corporations and the super-wealthy. Voting begins Tuesday. ... But the part that strikes me as most galling, and which has become almost an afterthought amid all the other damage the bill will do, is its incongruous and completely unnecessary repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. (David Lazarus, 12/19)

Sacramento Bee: GOP Tax Bill Will Kill The Affordable Care Act
Congress is quietly handing the American people a huge lump of coal in their holiday stockings: the repeal of the centerpiece of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. ... This will mean that millions of Americans will lose their health insurance coverage and many of us will face much more expensive, but less desirable health insurance options. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 12/18)

The New York Times: Why New Blood Pressure Guidelines Could Lead To Harm
In the week before Thanksgiving, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released new guidelines for the diagnosis and management of high blood pressure. This, probably more than anything else, made my blood pressure go up over the holiday. The problem was not the guideline itself but some of the news coverage it prompted, with pronouncements that millions more Americans would need to lower blood pressure or that nearly half of Americans now had high blood pressure. A lot of the coverage made it sound as if something drastic had happened overnight. (Aaron E. Carroll, 12/18)

Stat: Congress Must Fund Community Health Centers Now
It’s past time to step up the fight for community health centers in my state of Massachusetts and across the country. Community health centers are a big part of what’s working well in health care today — more coverage at lower cost. They are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. They provide preventive services and chronic disease management. They are taking the stigma out of mental health treatment. And they save money by promoting disease prevention, providing care coordination, and reducing the use of hospital emergency rooms. Across the country, community health centers care for more than 25 million people. (Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 12/18)

Lexington Herald Leader: Suicide Is A Community Problem, Not A Personal Failure
State Rep. Dan Johnson’s death last week by suicide seems an inexplicable event. We may be tempted to create a salacious caricature of a man who seemed to have lived an over-the-top life. ... Suicide is a behavior that cuts across all demographics, socio-economic status, personalities and occupations. While the science of why someone would kill themselves lagged for decades, we do know more now than ever. Being male and living in a rural county are risk factors, but, like other risk factors, tell us very little in identifying those who will end up taking their own lives. (Melinda Moore and Julie Cerel, 12/18)

Louisville Courier-Journal: Despite Medical Gains In Fight Against HIV And AIDS, There's Still Stigma
[W]hile HIV is becoming easier to diagnose, manage and prevent, much of the stigma surrounding it remains. In fact, stigma and discrimination are some of the steepest barriers to HIV prevention, treatment, and support. Too often, HIV stigma combines with other stigmas that people with HIV face as members of the LGBTQ, black or Latino communities. (Kim Greene, 12/15)

The Des Moines Register: Iowa Lawmakers Must Investigate Injuries At Wind-Blade Factory And OSHA's Oversight Role
This doesn’t seem too much to ask: Iowans should expect that their workplace will be safe, and they will be provided the proper equipment to protect them on the job. They should expect that state regulators will look into reports of injuries and make employers follow the rules. ... A Register investigation published Sunday showed that several workers have suffered skin problems at TPI Composites' wind-blade factory in Newton. Logs of Iowa's Occupational Safety and Health Administration show more than 300 recorded cases of skin injuries at TPI from the plant's opening in 2008 through 2016. (12/18)

Stat: Faster Concussion Diagnoses Are On The Horizon. Patent Filings Offer A Peek
As these technologies develop, a more robust understanding of the frequency and mechanics of concussions will improve our knowledge of the long-term risks and nature of traumatic brain injuries. This greater understanding of concussions and further development of products should make playing fields much safer for athletes. To support progress in concussion technologies, parents, school leaders, and athletic directors should press to transition these advances from the lab bench to the field so athletes won’t need to weigh their health against the sports they love to play. (Faith Bradley and Daniel Currie, 12/18)