Viewpoints: Sen. Warren’s Ideas About ‘Medicare For All’ Move U.S. Forward; It’s Time To Train All Adults About Child Sexual Abuse

Stat: Medicare For All Is A Good Step Toward Universal Health Care In The U.S.
Millions of Americans live with health care coverage that is either incredibly expensive or poor to nonexistent. It’s no surprise, then, that the push is on throughout the country for some form of universal health care, such as the Medicare for All plan promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Is the idea of a universal health care system that’s paid for and run by the government and has only trivial out-of-pocket costs truly plausible? I’ve been following health care for some 35 years. So just out of curiosity, I decided to look at European countries with universal health care. They’ve appeared to be the utopian goal for health care for many of us over the years, thinking “If we could only get there!” (Daniel Callahan, 10/16)

Boston Globe: The Role That Adults Can Play In Fighting The Stigma Of Child Sexual Abuse
We need to expand messaging beyond “Stranger Danger” and recognize that the problem exists and thrives much closer to home. Ninety percent of abused children suffer at the hands of someone they know and trust. (Aly Raisman, 10/15)

The Washington Post: Not All Senior Citizens Need Discounts. But All Low-Income People Do.
To stretch her tight budget, Beth Cote Dekis, 61, who describes herself as a disabled woman struggling to save her house, tends to shop at retailers like Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, which offer senior discounts on certain days of the week. “I am low-income since my husband died of cancer,” Dekis said. “Makes it very difficult to make ends meet.” (David Wallis, 10/15)

The New York Times: Held Hostage By Health Insurance
Health insurance rules my life. It decides my jobs, my aspirations, my retirement plans and, potentially, my citizenship. I am one of as many as 133 million Americans under the age of 65 with a pre-existing medical condition — in my case, intractable epilepsy — that for decades blocked me from obtaining individual health insurance. People like me gained visibility in 2010, after the Affordable Care Act required insurers to provide coverage for pre-existing conditions. I cheered that Americans would no longer have their life choices dictated by insurance. (Kurt Eichenwald, 10/15)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Dental And Medical Health Inextricably Linked
Health research has identified links between oral infection and a host of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. Statistics show that oral diseases are very common, with more than 46 percent of U.S. adults affected with periodontitis and 92 percent with dental caries (cavities), both of which are highly preventable. If you are like two-thirds of Americans, you have some form of dental benefits, 75 percent of which are from private plans and 25 percent from public benefits. ...What happens to those without dental insurance? (Tim Ingram, 10/15)

Bloomberg: Elizabeth Warren And The Death Of Genetic Privacy
In theory, taking a DNA test to reveal your ancestry is optional. But it’s on its way to becoming obligatory. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced Monday that she had submitted her DNA to ascertain that she does in fact have Native American ancestry — after President Donald Trump had taunted her by saying he would throw a testing kit at her. For those of us not in national politics, a study in the journal Science last week claimed that within a few years, it will be possible to identify some 90 percent of white Americans by using genetic databases that include their cousins. Even if you don’t take the test yourself, someone has taken it for you. The takeaway from these developments is simple: Genetic privacy is well on its way to becoming obsolete, thanks to the voluntary use of cheap DNA testing technology and the astonishing power of statistics. (Noah Feldman, 10/15)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Deals Final Blow To Lead Paint Manufacturers' Years-Long Effort To Avoid Cleanup Costs
The lead paint industry’s efforts to avoid a cleanup bill for more than $400 million has reached the end of the road. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review California state court rulings finding Sherwin-Williams, Conagra and NL Industries responsible for lead paint contamination in thousands of homes built before 1951. That date is when the companies said their predecessor firms ceased actively advertising lead-based paint as a residential product. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/15)

Stat: Digital Health Startups May Not Want To Do Randomized Trials, But They Need To
The general theme of digital health care is easy to grasp — maybe too easy. Somewhere, right now, a hopeful CEO is making a pitch to a potential investor about how its new digital product or service will transform health care and improve outcomes, reduce costs, and save time. The story works. Digital health care startups are attracting billions of dollars in risk capital, with aggregate investments reaching $7 billion so far in 2018, all in the hopes of modernizing our broken health care system. While the story is easy to tell, proving it poses a far greater challenge. (Joseph Smith, 10/15)

The Star Tribune: A Grain Of Salt To Go With Those Political Ads Attacking 'Single-Payer' Health Care
This campaign season, political attack ads are filling the airwaves with ominous warnings against a government-run “single-payer” health care system. As the funereal music escalates, it’s worth taking a step back and remembering that similar rhetoric abounded in the 1960s as Congress considered, then passed, a controversial government-run health care program. (10/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Reject Irresponsible Health Care Financing Measures
Palo Alto’s Measure F and Livermore’s Measure U win the award for the most irresponsible initiatives before Bay Area voters this fall. ...The measures would force every hospital and health care provider in the two cities to reimburse insurance companies and patients who are charged more than 15 percent above the industry-established cost of services provided. (10/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Vote No On Prop. 8: It Will Limit Dialysis Services And Raise Costs
Proposition 8 is a contradiction: Its promise to improve patient care at dialysis facilities and contain costs will not be realized — instead, the measure will negatively impact public health in California. The proposal to redirect health care resources is misguided and will lead to higher health care costs and barriers to care. (Cheung, 10/14)