Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Parsing Policy: Health Law Protections Poised To Deliver Senate, House To Democrats. Even In Red States?
The Washington Post: A Remarkable New Ad From A Democrat Shows How Much Health Care Has Shifted
The fate of red-state Democratic senators is going to determine whether the Senate remains in Republican hands after November, or whether Democrats take over and potentially control all of Congress. What are those red-state Dems counting on to secure their victories? Protecting Obamacare. And this reveals just how far the debate over health care has shifted, both inside the Democratic Party — where the center of ideological gravity has shifted to the left on this and many other issues — and in the country as a whole. (Paul Waldman, 9/10)
The New York Times: Democrats Are Credible On Health Care
Last week, Ted Cruz, the unexpectedly endangered Republican senator from Texas, warned that Beto O’Rourke, his Democratic opponent, would turn the state into California, with “tofu and silicone and dyed hair.” Does Cruz really think every blonde in Texas — and every middle-aged man with remarkably little gray — is natural, and nobody has had work done? (Paul Krugman, 9/10)
Baltimore Sun: Trump Administration Turns Back The Clock On Health Care Reform
Last week, a federal court in Texas heard oral arguments in yet another lawsuit attacking the Affordable Care Act. The difference this time is that the Trump administration refused to defend the law — choosing instead to jeopardize the health care and financial well-being of tens of millions of Americans with pre-existing health conditions. (Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, 9/10)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: A Pre-Existing Condition Called Republican Orthodoxy
Barb Fleming knows what it is to stand at the precipice of America’s health care system and look down. It’s a place she doesn’t want to be again.Fleming, 58, of Bel-Nor, a self-employed sales representative, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2008. Upon attempting to renew her health insurance, the company wouldn’t cover the cancer because it was a pre-existing condition. This was standard industry practice at the time. (Kevin McDermott, 9/8)
Los Angeles Times: We Can't Make Economically Rational Choices On Healthcare. Our Brains Won't Let Us
Standing under a sign reading “pain relief,” I scanned the shelves, my legs throbbing after a 10K race that morning. I spotted a familiar red box: Tylenol Extra Strength, 100 pills for $7. Right next to it was the drug store’s generic version, offering 100 pills for $5. This should have been a no-brainer. I’m a physician, and I know the active ingredient, acetaminophen, is the same in both. It’s a simple molecule — a six-carbon hexagonal ring at the center with two side chains poking out — something any biochem major could manufacture in an afternoon. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also makes certain that generic and brand-named drugs are identical. There were only two differences here: the packaging and the price. (Robert Pearl, 9/10)
