Different Takes On State Health Policy Issues: Michigan And Medicaid; Where Might Single-Payer Really Work?

Detroit News: Michigan Needs Medicaid
Since Republicans in Congress voted to rip health care away from 23 million people and gut Medicaid, I’m worried for my family’s future. I’m 61 years old. Severe osteoporosis has left me confined to bed. My bones are fragile, my teeth break easily, and I need help getting around. My husband is also disabled, which makes caring for our daughter, who has Down syndrome, particularly challenging. We’re able to live at home as a family — instead of separate nursing homes — thanks to home care services we receive through Medicaid. (Lisa Walker, 5/31)

Bloomberg: States Where Single-Payer Health Care Could Work (If It Could Work Anywhere) - Bloomberg
The second thing to say is that New York and California represent absolutely the best possible scenarios for single payer in this country. If they can’t make it work (and I’m betting they can’t), then single payer cannot be done in this country--full stop, end of story, print as written. These states are, obviously, extremely liberal and firmly under the control of the Democratic Party. That is a huge advantage in the battle for single payer. But it is not the only advantage that they have. New York and California are also, for example, very big. That’s important for a state looking to move toward single payer. (Megan McArdle, 5/30)

The New York Times: Gov. Walker Would Drug Test The Poor
As he prepares to run for a third term, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, ever the devotee of low-road, right-wing politicking, is hoping the Trump administration will allow his state to be the first in the nation to mandate the drug screening of childless individuals who apply for Medicaid help. “It borders on immoral,” Lena Taylor, a Democratic state senator, warned, accusing Mr. Walker of indulging in a “meaningless contest to see how cruel and discriminatory we can be to the poor.” (5/31)

The Washington Post: No State Would Be Immune From The GOP’s Health-Care Bill
In the wake of projections warning that the Republican health-care legislation would lead to 23 million more people not having health insurance, some might find comfort in the thought that progressive states would have the option to preserve some of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with health problems in their states. (Linda J. Blumberg, 5/30)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Self-Insurance Works For Quad/Graphics, And It Will Work For Wisconsin
Here in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed the state become self-insured in an effort to better control costs while at the same time improving the quality of health care provided to state employees. Quad/Graphics made the move to self-insurance 26 years ago without regrets. It has made health care coverage affordable for our company which, today, employs nearly 20,000 people nationwide and 7,500 right here in Wisconsin. (Joel Quadracci, 5/30)

The Des Moines Register: Democratic Party, McGuire Are Out Of Touch On Abortion
My friend, Dr. Andy McGuire, recently articulated her position on abortion in the Register (New abortion law puts government between a woman and her doctor, May 12). Dr. McGuire is a Democratic candidate for governor. I am a lifelong yellow-dog Democrat, but I disagree with her position and find it both inadequate to the moral questions inherent in abortion and politically anachronistic. Dr. McGuire argues that “for nearly every medical procedure, government should stay out of the way, so doctors and patients can make the best decisions.” Such a position simply cuts off any further discussion and makes medical decisions sacrosanct. It implicitly defines abortion as nothing more than a medical procedure. (George W. Appleby, 5/30)