Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: GOP Hides Health Care Agenda In Political-ese And Coded Language; 'Medicare For All' Means Fewer Choices, Bigger Deficit
The Washington Post: Voters Must Catch On To Republicans’ Con On Health Care
A majority of working Americans have zero retirement savings. The three richest Americans hold more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of the country — some 160 million Americans. So Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), having pushed through a trillion-dollar tax cut that lards its benefits on the richest Americans, announces he wants to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and make another run at repealing the Affordable Care Act. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, 10/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Embrace Bernie’s Promise To End Pre-Existing Coverage
Fortunately at least someone in Washington is trying to inform the public about this latest consumer fraud in progress. Acting on its charge under the 1946 Employment Act to “formulate and recommend national economic policy to promote employment, production, and purchasing power under free competitive enterprise,” the White House Council of Economic Advisers is explaining the gargantuan costs of government-run health care in particular and socialism in general. (James Freeman, 10/23)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Did GOP Candidates Really Fight For Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage?
With a tight Nov. 6 election approaching, local Republican incumbents in Congress are trying to rewrite history regarding their unbridled effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Back in 2016 and early 2017, they could hardly contain their zeal to rip Obamacare to shreds. Today, as Obamacare’s popularity is surging, it’s a different story. (10/24)
Idaho Mountain Express: Medicaid Expansion Will Benefit Health Care And County Budgets
There are many reasons to vote to expand Medicaid this fall. It seems that the most important is to send a message to the majority of the current state Republican legislators, who are failing to solve a problem that is breaking the financial backs of Idaho families. It’s past time for action. As someone who is both a retired rural hospital administrator for Jerome and Blaine counties and a Stage 4 cancer survivor (with a 3-5 percent survival rate), I’m blessed to be here to vote “yes” for Proposition 2. Our legislature has demonstrated an inability to find other solutions and enact them. (Al Stevenson, 10/24)
The Washington Post: Low-Income Women’s Access To Contraception Is Under Attack
Congressional candidates have deluged voters in recent weeks with debates about the Trump administration’s efforts to peel away protections for Americans with pre existing health conditions. Yet there is another, equally insidious effort from the administration that could undermine access to health care, and Americans have no idea it is happening: a proposal to drastically reduce information on and access to contraception. (Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 10/23)
