Parsing Policy: GOP’s Final Push To Kill Health Law Is On Two Fronts; Stop Keeping Patients In The Dark On Prices
Opinion writers look at topics surrounding health care.
The New York Times:
Gnawing Away At Health Care
At the beginning of 2017, Republicans promised to release the kraken on Obamacare — to destroy the program with one devastating blow. But a funny thing happened: Voters realized that repealing the Affordable Care Act would mean taking health insurance away from tens of millions of Americans. They didn’t like that prospect — and enough Republicans balked at the backlash that Obamacare repeal fizzled. (Paul Krugman, 5/7)
The Hill:
As Election Looms, Policymakers Work Overtime To Finish Killing ObamaCare
As the battle over the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called ObamaCare, shifts to the states, there are movements afoot at both the federal and state levels that skeptical conservatives are keeping their eyes on. The first is the growing belief that in the absence of the individual mandate penalty, which was eliminated as part of federal tax reform legislation that passed in December 2017, the entire law is now unconstitutional, because without the mandate’s fine — or “tax,” as Chief Justice John Roberts declared in the 2012 case upholding the ACA — Roberts’ entire justification for defending the legislation has disappeared. President Trump could simply issue an executive order saying as much, and so long ObamaCare. (Sarah Lee and Justin Haskins, 5/8)
USA Today:
Medical Bills: Why Are Health Care Providers Keeping You In The Dark?
When you go to the hospital for a scheduled procedure, you ought to be able to find out the price in advance. Today, the chances of anything that consumer-friendly happening are slim to none, but times could be changing. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently told a group of hospital executives that the Trump administration was committed to transparency in health care pricing. And a number of states have already enacted laws requiring providers to post prices of the goods and services they are selling. Price transparency has never been more important. In recent decades, as the cost of American health care has skyrocketed, patients have been paying an increasing share of the burden, often through health plans that have higher out-of-pocket expenses. (5/7)
USA Today:
Health Care Costs Transparency Shouldn't Be Mandated
In contrast, Surgery Center of Oklahoma offers hundreds of procedures and lists the price of each on its website. Patients across the country can compare SCO’s clear prices with guesstimates from elsewhere. That saves patients money and puts pressure on prices, even in other states. Why not require every facility to be as transparent as SCO? (Robert Graboyes, 5/7)
The Washington Post:
What’s Really Obstructing Left-Wing Dreams
Almost always, when I point out the difficulties of enacting some social program much desired by the left, I am met with some version of the following rejoinder: “Other countries have managed to do this. We passed Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and most recently, Obamacare. It is obviously possible to do these sorts of things, even in America. The obstructionism of people like you is the only reason we can’t have nice things.” (Megan McArdle, 5/7)
The Federalist:
How President Trump Could End Obamacare With A Single Tweet
After more than eight years of promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Republican-led Congress has yet to pass legislation that would replace Obamacare, which has forced millions of Americans to lose their doctors, caused dramatic increases in health insurance premiums and deductibles, and pushed millions more into Medicaid. However, a relatively small provision included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December 2017, gives President Trump the ability to achieve what his party has failed to accomplish — ending the disastrous Obamacare program — and without the approval of Congress. (Justin Haskins and Sarah Lee, 5/7)
Lexington Herald Leader:
Farm Bill’s Food-Aid Cuts, Work Requirements Shortsighted
One in seven Kentuckians has food on their table in part thanks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The program lifts 164,000 Kentuckians, including 73,000 children, out of poverty. It sends nearly $1 billion a year to grocery stores and our state economy, and injects even more into our local communities during hard times when they most need it. For decades, SNAP has been a program with broad-based, bipartisan support because all of us value making sure everyone has enough to eat.But this vital assistance is in jeopardy if Congress agrees to the $17 billion in cuts to SNAP in the proposed Farm Bill. (5/7)
The Hill:
Medically Tailored Food Is The Future Of Health Care
Imagine you’re living with type 2 diabetes. You’ve been trying to manage the condition for years with a typical medication. What if instead of metformin — a drug that works to lower sugar in the blood, — our doctor could simply prescribe meals tailored to your unique diagnosis that help control your blood sugar? A growing body of research indicates that such a shift in treatment, away from Big Pharma and towards common-sense treatment measures, is the future of U.S. health care. (Karen Pearl, 5/7)
