Viewpoints: Cut Planned Parenthood Funds Without Shutting Government; Drug Cost Concerns

The Wall Street: Government Shutdown Redux
Congress is back in Washington, which means more intra-GOP drama when funding for the government expires at the end of the month. Some conservatives are trying to force a showdown over Planned Parenthood, but we wish they’d explain how this would benefit the antiabortion movement or the Republican majority. Millions of Americans are appalled by the undercover videos that exposed Planned Parenthood’s fetal-organ trade, and stripping the organization of the $500 million or so that federal taxpayers supply each year is a laudable goal. The GOP is united on the policy but not the strategy. (9/8)

Bloomberg: Don't Lose Sleep Over A Government Shutdown
To keep the government's doors open, Republicans are expected to try to pass a short-term spending bill. Will they succeed? ... Republican leaders in Congress are publicly against using a shutdown threat. ... Of course, neither party wants to start bargaining by saying it will eventually give in, often at the last minute. Both sides owe it to their constituents to hold out to get the best possible deal. This kind of brinkmanship can lead to miscalculations that cause shutdowns lasting a day or two. But it isn't what leads to extended government shutdowns. (Jonathan Bernstein, 9/8)

Bloomberg: Make A Stand On Abortion, Without A Shutdown
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman who chairs the Democratic National Committee, sent out a fundraising e-mail about how mad she is that Republicans want to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood. She says they "are just fine with shutting down the government -- again." Cynics may suspect that Wasserman Schultz would in truth be delighted if the government were to shut down over this issue. In any case, the Republican leadership in both houses of Congress isn't "just fine" with a shutdown. It is desperate to avoid one -- maybe too desperate. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 9/8)

Health Affairs: Quantifying Planned Parenthood’s Critical Role In Meeting The Need For Publicly Supported Contraceptive Care
Over the past few months, legislative attempts to defund Planned Parenthood have flared at both the federal and state levels; these moves are clearly an attempt to shutter Planned Parenthood health centers, potentially depriving women of the contraceptive services and counseling, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, and breast and cervical cancer screening that they provide. Although proponents of closing Planned Parenthood argue that other providers would be easily able to fill the hole torn in the safety net, credible evidence suggests this is unlikely. (Jennifer Frost and Kinsey Hasstedt, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: Can ZendyHealth Be The Priceline Of Healthcare?
[I]n his new book, "Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World," former Sony executive Robert Tercek argues that the changes wrought by high-speed, ubiquitous Internet connectivity are bound to spread broadly across the economy. As tasks once performed by specialized machines are translated into software programs, and physical products become digitally delivered services, basic functions of commerce are being transformed, traditional sales channels are being displaced and established players are being circumvented. A good illustration of this is ZendyHealth, a Los Angeles-based start-up that wants to bring Priceline's model for discounted airfare and hotel rooms to healthcare. (9/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Higher Drug Costs Are Consumers’ Biggest Cost Worry
The emerging issue in health care is drug costs — despite the fact that most people say they can afford their drugs and greatly value the role drugs can play in making their lives better. One likely reason this is the case: Drug costs are the first thing people think of when they think of the growing out of pocket costs they are paying for health care, at a time when their wages have been relatively flat. (Drew Altman, 9/8)

The New York Times: The Solution To Drug Prices
We're paying too much for prescription drugs. The price for cancer drugs like Yervoy, Opdivo and Keytruda routinely exceeds $120,000 a year. Some other specialty drugs have even higher prices. Cerezyme for Gaucher disease costs about $300,000 per year for life. Kalydeco for cystic fibrosis also costs about $300,000 per year. Despite representing about 1 percent of prescriptions in 2014, these types of high-cost drugs accounted for some 32 percent of all spending on pharmaceuticals. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 9/9)

The Detroit Free Press: Without Action, A Shortage Of Doctors Stands
America is in the midst of full implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. Among the objectives of that legislation was to expand access to health care for more people. In Michigan, and in many other states, that objective is hampered by a current and looming shortage of primary care physicians. In a recent study, the Citizens Research Council found that many Michigan counties have insufficient numbers of primary care physicians, including family doctors, internists, pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists, general surgeons, and especially psychiatrists. Many of the most severe shortages are in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, but southeast Michigan is not immune — especially the city of Detroit. (Eric Lupher, 9/7)

Bloomberg: Uncle Sam Wants You (To Quit Smoking)
There's good news this month from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: In 2015, the smoking rate among adults in the U.S. fell to a new low of 15 percent. Within the military, though, smoking rates remain substantially higher. This not only harms the health of soldiers but also impairs military performance, which is why Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter should push to further discourage smoking in the military. (Peter R. Orszag, 9/9)