Viewpoints: Here’s Hoping Trump Can Still Repeal The Health Law, Keep His Promise; Kavanaugh Unlikely To Side With A Weak Lawsuit
Opinion writers express views on these health topics and others.
The Wall Street Journal:
Will Trump Keep Obama’s Health Care Promise?
Like him or not, President Donald Trump has remained remarkably faithful to the agenda of his 2016 campaign. With the huge glaring exception of failing to address America’s $21 trillion federal debt with appropriate spending cuts, Mr. Trump has aggressively pursued the program he described before his election. In fact he’s kept so many of his significant promises that he’s now poised to keep one of his predecessor’s too. (James Freeman, 9/5)
The Washington Post:
The Latest Assault On Obamacare Is A Dog Of A Case. No Way Kavanaugh Disagrees.
A health-care case in federal district court in Texas has emerged as one of the focal points in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sought assurances from Kavanaugh on Wednesday that he would vote to uphold the constitutionality of the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires health insurance companies to cover people with preexisting conditions. The disruptive demonstrators in the room have made this issue one of their screaming points. Quite properly, Kavanaugh declined to provide the requested assurance. He could be asked to rule on the case if it reaches the Supreme Court. It is a pity that Kavanaugh could not weigh in, because the answer is, or should be, clear. The Texas lawsuit is borderline frivolous. I say that even though the Justice Department, for reasons that escape me (unless they are purely political), has declined to defend the Obamacare law on this point. (Michael W. McConnell, 9/6)
The Hill:
Kavanaugh Will Be A Fair-Minded Judge Who Is Likely To Vote On The Side Of The Law
Enter, stage-center, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who is being grilled in Senate confirmation hearings as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. After he put the Roe v. Wade question to rest — calling it "an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times" — the attention of his opponents turned to ObamaCare. What would Kavanaugh do if the Texas lawsuit reached the Supreme Court? There even has been speculation by many opponents of his confirmation that, because of his dissent in the 2011 appeal to his U.S. Court of Appeals District Circuit Court (he felt the court had no jurisdiction to rule on a tax that hadn’t yet been collected), this somehow means he would rule the law to be unconstitutional without the individual mandate. In fact, what it actually demonstrates is Kavanaugh’s judicial restraint. (Marc Siegel, 9/6)
The Hill:
Medicare-For-All: Too Costly And For Too Little Care
Last week, The Hill reported that the Congressional Budget Office is refusing to score a Medicare-for-All bill now before the House. That’s probably because the CBO doesn’t think it’s going to get a vote anytime soon — despite growing support from Democrats, 123 of whom have now signed on as cosponsors. The lack of reliable numbers from the CBO is hobbling the debate — which should be, like all policy discussions, essentially a cost-benefit analysis. We don’t know the costs. We do know the promised benefits: universal coverage. What is missing from the debate is the benefit we really want: care. Can we get it with Medicare-for-All? (Deane Waldman, 9/6)
The New York Times:
The Big Myth About Teenage Anxiety
We hear a lot these days that modern digital technology is rewiring the brains of our teenagers, making them anxious, worried and unable to focus. Don’t panic; things are really not this dire.Despite news reports to the contrary, there is little evidence of an epidemic of anxiety disorders in teenagers. This is for the simple reason that the last comprehensive and representative survey of psychiatric disorders among American youth was conducted more than a decade ago, according to Kathleen Ries Merikangas, chief of the Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. There are a few surveys reporting increased anxiety in adolescents, but these are based on self-reported measures — from kids or their parents — which tend to overestimate the rates of disorders because they detect mild symptoms, not clinically significant syndromes. (Richard A. Friedman, 9/7)
The State Press:
Mental Health Culture On College Campuses Needs To Be More Gender-Inclusive
The way mental health is perceived on college campuses must be changed to remove the difficulties men face when it comes to seeking help. A survey conducted by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors concluded that men represented about 43.6 percent of the student population but only 32.6 percent of clients at campus counseling centers. In addition, men are 3.5 times more likely than women to die by suicide, according to statistics from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (Jihan Reksodiputro, 9/5)
Lexington Herald Leader:
Building Resilience Inoculates Our Children From Suicide
Another parent has lost a child — this time a fourth-grader — to suicide. Appallingly, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children in Kentucky. Mental-health issues, a growing sense of individual isolation and our children’s immersion in technology contribute to the increase in this tragic epidemic. Identification and treatment of risk factors — depression and other mood disorders, suicide ideation, chronic disease or disability, and substance abuse — are the primary aspects of suicide prevention. (Kathryn Hendrickson, 9/6)
The Hill:
New Federal Proposals Are Already Hurting Immigrant Children — Long-Term Costs Could Be Worse
“Panicked.” “Very, very scared.” “Constant anxiety.” These words describe immigrant families’ reactions to recent White House proposals to deny legal status to immigrants who have relied on public benefits. In recent days, many immigrant parents have called local health providers demanding to be dropped from federal nutrition programs in fear that accepting federal aid could keep them from getting a green card. This trend is not isolated to one community. According to news reports, agencies in 18 states have seen enrollment drops of up to 20 percent, which they attribute largely to fears about immigration policies. (Anna Gassman-Pines, 9/6)
St. Louis Post Dispatch:
Aborting A Disabled Child Is Not Compassion; It's Hideous
Abortion does not ease pain; it causes it. As president of Missouri Right to Life, I was inundated with calls from concerned families who read the op-ed “Pro whose life?” (Aug. 23). The writer, Dr. Steven Rothman, indicated that some lives have more value than others and those with less value should be considered for abortion.One of those who contacted me was John Foppe, saying, “This doctor basically says that people with disabilities are a burden to society.” Foppe, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, leads 3,000 St. Louis-area volunteers in service to the poor and needy — including the disabled. (Steve Rupp, 9/6)
