Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Thoughts On Health Reform: Decision On Subsidies Due Today; Protect Kids In Medicaid
Los Angeles Times: The Entire Healthcare Industry Is Panicking That Trump Is About To Blow Up Obamacare
Organizations representing most of the healthcare industry — along with attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia — took desperate steps Friday in a last-ditch attempt to keep President Trump from blowing up the Affordable Care Act. ... Monday is a crucial deadline. On that day, the Trump administration has to tell a federal appeals court whether it will continue to defend the ACA against a legal attack by the House of Representatives. (Michael Hiltzik, 5/20)
The Hill: Keep Kids Off The Negotiating Table In Medicaid Reform
Discussions around repealing the Affordable Care Act are now taking place in the Senate, and Medicaid will once again be in the spotlight. That could spell trouble for the nation’s children. There will be new ideas, extended discussions and ultimately negotiations that try to improve our healthcare system. But while we applaud discourse and debate, and encourage our elected officials to weigh the pros and cons of all proposals, we have a simple request — as you debate Medicaid, protect children. (Irwin Redlener and Dennis Walto, 5/20)
San Antonio Express-News: Who Has Absolute Health Care Moral Authority?
As ever, absolute moral authority only belongs to those who preach civility and compassion for others -- while ramming their own policy preferences and values down our throats. Millions of us who wanted our individual market health insurance plans left alone were branded selfish or liars for the past eight years. Our stories were stifled; our cancellation notices derided; our accounts of skyrocketing health insurance costs and diminished access to doctors mocked. (Michelle Malkin, 5/20)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Better, Less Expensive Health Care Requires That We Reframe The Debate
The divisive debate over federal health care legislation incorrectly assumes that health care is like a balloon — squeeze one side and the air pops out someplace else... It is possible to reduce spending by increasing medical practice that is guided by evidence-based medicine, by both increasing high-value care and reducing the considerable amount of care that evidence shows us is often of no or low value. (Beth A. Bortz, 5/19)
Miami Herald: ‘With Friends Like This, I Could Get Myself Unelected!’
An oddly timed political commercial has been appearing on West Palm Beach television stations, aimed at voters in Florida’s 18th congressional district. The ad urges people to call Rep. Brian Mast and thank him for courageously standing with President Trump and working to repeal Obamacare. ... Obviously, the last thing Brian Mast needs right now is for everyone living in his district to be reminded over and over that he voted for a healthcare law that would bankrupt lots of sick people and abandon others. So it made perfect sense that the Democrats would launch the “thank Brian Mast” commercials, just to punk the freshman congressman. Not so. Incredibly, the ads are real. (Carl Hiaasen, 5/19)
