Several Recent Editorials, Opinion Pieces Address Health Care Reform

Summaries of several recent editorials and opinion pieces related to health care reform appear below.

Editorials

• Akron Beacon Journal: The "health care debate at its simplest is about how, as a nation, we ensure optimal health for citizens without going broke in the process," a Beacon Journal editorial states. According to the editorial, the "task should begin in earnest to fix a system that is proving increasingly dysfunctional for individuals as much as for businesses and governments." The editorial states, "The need to act is growing in urgency with a sputtering economy, as employers cut jobs that provided millions of families with some health benefits and cash-strapped governments roll back Medicaid and other publicly funded services to cover budget shortfalls" (Akron Beacon Journal, 11/17).
  
  
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress should seek to reauthorize and expand SCHIP, revise Medicaid rules issued by the Bush administration and expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research "as soon as possible," a Journal-Constitution editorial states. According to the editorial, "Obama heads toward his Jan. 20 inauguration with a compelling mandate for change that both he and Congress should take advantage of in the first 100 days of his administration" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/16).
  
  
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has released a proposal that would expand health insurance to all U.S. residents, and the plan "is a good place to start the discussion about fundamental reform of the system that provides health care to all of us," a Post-Dispatch editorial states. "It's unclear whether Mr. Baucus' plan, even with solid Democratic majorities in Congress, could succeed or whether it could win the backing of Mr. Obama, who generally has favored more incremental changes," the editorial states, adding, "But the consensus on the need for health care reform has never been broader (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/16).

Opinion Pieces

• Kelly McCutchen, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Obama in his "first 100 days must add policy substance to political eloquence" and "must choose between rewarding constituencies and special interests and demonstrating a thoughtful, practical approach to solving problems" in health care and other areas, McCutchen, executive vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, writes in a Journal-Constitution opinion piece. McCutchen writes, "In pursuing his goal of insuring more children, the new president should take care that government programs do not crowd out employers and individuals already paying for coverage." She adds, "Previous Medicaid expansions resulted in 50% to 75% reductions in private-sector health care spending, negating much of the benefits as people flocked to 'free' plans" (McCutchen, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/16).
  
  
• Eugene Declercq/Judy Norsigian, Boston Globe: Obama must "address the critical issue of why the United States has such poor health outcomes despite all the money we spend," Declercq, a professor of maternal and child health at the Boston University School of Public Health, and Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies Ourselves, writes in a Globe opinion piece. The authors write, "The first step in improving outcomes is recognizing that our problems go beyond access to care," adding, "Our poor showing can't be shrugged off as a function of some subgroup -- the uninsured, minorities, immigrants (some generic 'them') -- having health problems that undermine otherwise solid outcomes" (Declercq/Norsigian, Boston Globe, 11/17).
  
  
• Madeline Drexler, Boston Globe: Obama should "combine social and health policy" to "redefine the way we think about health" to "live up to his ambitious vision," Drexler, an author and former medical columnist for the Boston Globe Magazine, writes in a Globe opinion piece. "Over the past decade, a rich vein of research has detailed the links between large social forces -- from income and discrimination to education and neighborhood safety -- and a community's physical and mental well-being," according to Drexler. Obama first should "push for universal health care" and second should "weigh the health consequences of policies in taxation, business development, transportation, housing, agriculture, and so on" to make "improving population health and reducing health inequities a criterion for all government initiatives," Drexler writes. In addition, Obama should not use the "recession as an excuse not to act" (Drexler, Boston Globe, 11/18).
  
  
• Jim Gomes, Boston Globe: "Many people believe that American education and health care are overdue for reform," but "meaningful change is unlikely unless we recognize the irrational elements of both systems, flaws we may not even notice because we have become accustomed to them," Gomes, director of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at Clark University, writes in a Globe opinion piece. According to Gomes, although "no one is proposing that public education emulate our health care system" or vice versa, "it's easier to recognize" the problems with systems through such a "thought experiment." He writes, "Reforming these critical sectors will not be easy," adding, "But our economic competitiveness, quality of life and basic fairness all make change imperative" (Gomes, Boston Globe, 11/17).
  
  
• Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe: Obama must not allow "emerging needs -- whether additional economic stimulus measures or a rescue package for myopic Detroit" -- to "delay or crowd out health care reform and expansion," Globe columnist Lehigh writes. He adds, "It's true that the last time the Democrats pushed a comprehensive health care plan, things ended disastrously," but "times have changed." Lehigh writes, "The truth is, there will never be a perfect moment to proceed," but the debate over health care reform "is a battle worth having" and "one that can be won" (Lehigh, Boston Globe, 11/12).
  
  
• Wayne Woodlief, Boston Herald: "Now's the time for President-elect Obama and Congress to seize the moment and enact health care for all U.S. residents," Herald columnist Woodlief writes. Obama should follow the lead of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on health care, Woodlief writes, adding, "Passage of universal health care would be the capstone on Kennedy's legacy." Woodlief writes, "As soon as Obama takes that oath that Kennedy's slain brother took 48 years ago, he should start preaching and working for health care for all," and "Congress, which Kennedy has served for so long, should do it for Teddy -- and for the American people" (Woodlief, Boston Herald, 11/14).
  
  
• Ray Bellamy, Tallahassee Democrat: The U.S. should eliminate health insurers and establish a single-payer health care system, Bellamy, chair of the Capital City Chapter of the Physicians for a National Health Program, writes in a Democrat opinion piece. According to Bellamy, the elimination of health insurers "would save our country an estimated $350 billion a year, enough to provide comprehensive health care for all of us, including dental coverage, long-term care, full pharmacy and mental health benefits -- all with no copays or deductibles and at no additional cost to our country beyond what we now spend on health care" (Bellamy, Tallahassee Democrat, 11/14).