Analyzing The Issues: Cadillac Plans, The ‘Single-Payer Trap’, Health Care Appropriations And Medicare’s Future
Opinion writers offer their takes on health policies that operate as context to the current congressional debate.
USA Today:
I Have A Cadillac Health Insurance Plan In A Land Of Jalopies. How Is That Fair?
My husband is a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, so I have a gold-plated health care plan that's similar in many respects to the insurance enjoyed by people who work for the federal government. In their case, no matter what plan they choose from the insurance smorgasbord, the feds subsidize 72% of the premium cost. (Jennifer Anne Moses, 7/26)
Bloomberg:
Democrats And The Single-Payer Trap
For seven and a half years, Republicans have campaigned and voted to replace the Affordable Health Care Act. When given a real chance at success, with governing control, they were impeded by a president who's ignorant on the issue. Then, after Republican senators slipped behind closed doors to come up with their own plans, they provided products that voters, even some Trump supporters, overwhelmingly spotted as frauds. (Albert R. Hunt, 7/25)
Huffington Post:
A Message For House Republicans: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee offered some promising phrases when describing their fiscal year 2018 Labor-HHS budget: “Invest in essential health,” “focus investments in programs our people need the most,” and “targeting investments in … public health. ”House LHHS Subcommittee Chair Tom Cole concluded, “This bill is one that reflects the priorities that Americans value, and will continue to support the well-being of Americans through funding these vital programs.” (Clare Coleman, 7/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Deadline To Kill The Death Panel
All eyes are on the Senate as it debates what to do about ObamaCare. But the House has a last chance this week to abolish one of the law’s most dangerous creations: a board with sweeping, unchecked power to ration care. The Independent Payment Advisory Board—what critics call the death panel—would be an unelected, unaccountable body with broad powers to slash Medicare spending. But the law contains a living will for IPAB. If the president signs a congressional resolution extinguishing the panel by Aug. 15, it will never come into existence. (Grace-Marie Turner and Doug Badger, 7/25)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Medicare Cuts Are A Raw Deal For Wisconsin Seniors
Unfortunately, a federal advisory panel is urging lawmakers to cut Medicare Part B, the program that covers chemotherapies, immunotherapies and other advanced drugs that must be administered by doctors. If Congress implements this recommendation, these trends could reverse, as Wisconsin seniors would lose access to life-saving medications. (Sandra Gines and Carrie Riccobono, 7/25)
