Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Lessons On The Health Law's Success In Cost Control; Bernie's Onto Something About Women Being Better Off Giving Birth In Finland
Stat: The Affordable Care Act Has Saved Billions In Health Care Costs
Even before the Affordable Care Act became law, about 90 percent of the conversation and criticism of it was about coverage. Little has been said about its ability to control costs. March 23, the ninth anniversary of the ACA’s passage, presents a good opportunity to examine its legacy on cost control — a legacy that deserves to be in the foreground, not relegated to the background behind the exchanges, Medicaid expansion, and work requirements. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 3/22)
The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders Says It’s Better To Give Birth In Finland Than The U.S. He’s Right.
A few years ago, personal finance writer Ester Bloom, faced with a four-figure health-insurance deductible and a narrow network of doctors to choose from, attempted to price out how much giving birth to her younger child would cost her. It turned out to be an all but impossible task. I thought about Bloom on Wednesday, when reviewing a Twitter dispute between Bernie Sanders and former Trump administration official Nikki Haley over the high cost of giving birth in the United States. (Helaine Olen, 3/21)
The Wall Street Journal: Medicare’s Hospice Rules Could Make Your Doctor A Criminal
A doctor concludes that an elderly patient has less than six months to live. A second doctor disagrees. One of the predictions will be wrong. But was it false? For two years, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has wrestled with this question. The decision could ratify a trend of criminalizing medical judgments and jailing doctors based on disagreements with other doctors. (Kyle Clark and Andrew George, 3/21)
The New York Times: Don’t Make Health Care A Purity Test
We’re now in the silly season of the Democratic primary — a season that, I worry, may last all the way to the nomination. There are many honorable exceptions, but an awful lot of reporting seems to be third order — not about the candidates, let alone their policy proposals, but about pundits’ views about voters’ views of candidates’ electability. It’s a discussion in which essentially nobody has any idea what he or she is talking about. Meanwhile, however, there are some real continuing policy debates. (Paul Krugman, 3/21)
New England Journal of Medicine: Physicians As Border Guards — The Troubling Exam For Immigrants
Rules proposed by the Trump administration depend on physicians performing “exams” to spot immigrants who are sick enough to become reliant on the government for living costs. The impact would be devastating for immigrants who are denied visas. (Khameer Kidia, 3/20)
Kansas City Star: Kansas Senate Should Approve Expanded Medicaid Expansion
The future health of those “real people” now rests in the hands of the Kansas Senate and Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican. Wagle is an opponent of Medicaid expansion. Surely, though, the vote in the Kansas House is enough to convince her and other senators that expansion should at least get a vote in their chamber. (3/21)
