Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up Coverage of Recent Opinions on Health Care System

The following are some recent opinion pieces regarding the state of the health care system:

• Detroit Free-Press: The Michigan Legislature must act to restore funding to Medicaid to fulfill the state's "promis[e]" of a "safety net of basic health," Spencer Johnson, president of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Carol Monson, president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association and Dorothy Kahkonen, president of the Michigan State Medical Society, write in an opinion piece. The authors note that because funding for the state's Medicaid program has been "slashed" in recent years, hospitals have been "forced" to forego new technology, reduce staffing levels and eliminate preventive care programs; physicians must cut staff, reduce services and limit hours; and emergency rooms are "jammed with patients" who have "no other option." According to Johnson, Monson and Kahkonen, the "solution to this problem" lies with the Legislature. Although lawmakers have "some tough choices to make" when it comes to funding, the authors say that "we cannot continue to try to balance the budget with excessive health care cuts." Johnson, Monson and Kahkonen cite a recent poll that found Michigan voters believe the Legislature should make health care funding one of its top priorities. They conclude, "We hope the Legislature will listen to the wisdom of the people it represents as it deliberates funding for health care in Michigan" (Johnson et al., Detroit Free-Press, 11/19).
  
• Tennessean: The confluence of "[f]ive major" health care issues could create the "perfect storm" and "destroy health care as we know it" in the United States, unless members of Congress act, Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) writes. According to Wamp, the five factors are a "shrinking" number of health care personnel; health care policy decisions being made by insurers; the rising cost of health care; the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance; and the "overwhelming" cost of indigent care. Wamp urges Congress to address these issues by implementing incentives to "educate, train and retain" medical professionals; passing a "strong" patients' bill of rights; passing legislation to allow U.S.-made drugs to be reimported from other countries and to restrict the amount pharmaceutical companies are allowed to spend on advertising; and passing "common-sense" limits on jury awards for pain and suffering and limiting "frivolous lawsuits." Wamp concludes, "Consumers should be worried that without timely action our private, fee-for-service health-care system faces a potential 'perfect storm' that will put families and small businesses in peril and ultimately cause the government to take over our health-care system" (Wamp, Tennessean, 11/19).