Viewpoints: Democrats Need Much Better Explanations On Health Care Reform; Lessons On Banning Assault Weapons
Opinion writers weigh in on these and other health topics.
San Jose Mercury News:
Democratic Candidates Are Still Unclear On Health Care
Candidates must answer legitimate questions about transition. Harris deserves the suspicion generated by her proposed 10-year transitional timeframe, more than two full presidential terms. But suspicion is also due those who fail to address transition, notably Sanders and Warren. Do they think the half-million Americans who would lose jobs with the elimination of the private insurance-sector under their plan, or those who would lose negotiated health benefits beyond the new universal benefit-package, should be compensated? (Ann Mongoven, 8/9)
The New York Times:
Banning Assault Weapons Works
We have a huge problem with guns. Assault weapons — military-style firearms designed to fire rapidly — are a threat to our national security, and we should treat them as such. Anyone who pretends there’s nothing we can do is lying — and holding that view should be disqualifying for anyone seeking to lead our country. I know, because with Senator Dianne Feinstein I led the effort to enact the 1994 law that banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for 10 years. Those gun safety reforms made our nation demonstrably more secure. They were also, sadly, the last meaningful gun legislation we were able get signed into law before the N.R.A. and the gun manufacturers put the Republican Party in a headlock. (Former Vice President Joe Biden, 8/11)
Stat:
Medicare's 'New Technology' Payment Plan Doesn't Go Far Enough
Within the past week, CMS announced it will institute a broad coverage policy for Medicare beneficiaries who have indications for CAR-T and will increase the rate it pays hospitals administering CAR-T and other new therapies from 50% to 65% of the cost of the product as part of what are called new technology add-on payments (NTAPs). While this is a step in the right direction, it represents a piecemeal approach to a systemic problem and one that leaves hospitals with unsustainable expenses. While patients see CAR-T therapies as lifelines, hospital administrators look at them and see substantial financial risk. That view often delays or stops institutions from becoming certified to provide CAR-T therapies. (Roy Silverstein, 8/9)
The Hill:
Banning E-Cigarette Sales Will Do More Harm Than Good
Those favoring banning e-cigarette sales hope their efforts will prevent teens from vaping. As San Francisco Mayor London Breed expressed it, “We need to take action to protect the health of San Francisco's youth and prevent the next generation of San Franciscans from becoming addicted to these products.”Mayor Breed’s and other’s concerns are well-intended. The earlier in life an addiction develops, the longer it tends to stick, making youth particularly vulnerable. Unfortunately, history suggests their efforts are extremely unlikely to succeed. (Raymond Marsh, 8/9)
The Washington Post:
No, Lyme Disease Is Not An Escaped Military Bioweapon, Despite What Conspiracy Theorists Say
Could Lyme disease in the United States be the result of an accidental release from a secret bioweapons experiment? Could the military have specifically engineered the Lyme disease bacterium to be more insidious and destructive — and then let it somehow escape the lab and spread in nature? Is this why 300,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with this potentially debilitating disease? It’s an old conspiracy theory enjoying a resurgence with lots of sensational headlines and tweets. Even Congress has ordered that the Pentagon must reveal whether it weaponized ticks. And it’s not true. (Sam Telford, 8/11)
The Hill:
The US Can Learn From Rwanda On Stamping Out Cervical Cancer
A recent study in the journal "Lancet" made a big splash when its authors concluded that cervical cancer could be eliminated worldwide “if sufficient population-level vaccination coverage can be reached.” Rwanda is certainly doing its part. The tiny African country decided a decade ago to prioritize the reduction of cervical cancer, and in 2013 it started offering 11 and 12-year-old girls immunization against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of most cervical cancers. The country now has a 93 percent vaccination rate among young girls. The U.S. needs to be more like Rwanda. (Lisa Kearns, Arthur Caplan and Kathleen Bachynski, 8/10)
The Washington Post:
End-Of-Life Directives Are Crucial, So Why Are They So Hard?
I of all people should know how to do this. As an ICU nurse, I see every day how agonizing it is for families to make end-of-life care decisions for loved ones who have not made their wishes clearly known. I know what I want. I know what the legal options are. But when I sit down to fill out the papers, I stall. The form remains incomplete. All of my experience urges me to act. I think of the anguished adult son trying to decide whether his elderly, unconscious mother would want to live permanently connected to a ventilator. (Andrea Useem, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times:
After My Mother's Disastrous Hospice Experience, We Filed A State Complaint. It Came To Nothing
My mother did not die well. She was discharged in January from a Bay Area hospital and transported to a residential care home in distress, writhing in agony at times.... Incensed by her poor treatment, I filed a complaint against the hospice agency with the Licensing and Certification Program of the California Department of Public Health. I’ve now received a letter detailing the agency’s findings. “L&C was not able to validate the complaint allegation through direct observation, interviews, and/or review of documents.” (Steve Lopez, 8/10)
WBUR:
Hope For The Homeless And Sick
In the short term, these hospital-based housing specialists are trained in helping patients navigate transitional housing, finding temporary housing or shelter housing. In the long term, these specialists help patients maneuver through the complicated web of siloed services and get patients off the streets and into permanent supportive housing. (Alister Martin and David Velasquez, 8/12)
Los Angeles Times:
San Diego’s City Attorney Is Taking Away Hundreds Of Guns From Those Who Shouldn’t Have Them
So in 2016, [Mara] Elliott ran for San Diego city attorney and won, promising to be a champion of gun control. She specifically pledged to seek firearms restraining orders against gun owners who showed signs of potential violence. Today, the 51-year-old Democrat is California’s most aggressive planter of so-called red flags on suspicious gun owners who act like they shouldn’t be anywhere near a firearm. The goal is to seize guns from wackos. (George Skelton, 8/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Needs Safe Parking For People Who Live In Cars
With housing and shelter beds in short supply, the trend of people using their vehicles as homes has become increasingly common in cities across the state. That’s why Sacramento is rightly considering the creation of safe parking zones where people who live in their vehicles can safely park. In doing so, Sacramento would join several cities across the state – including Oakland, San Luis Obispo, San Diego and Santa Barbara – in creating legal spaces for homeless people who live in cars. (8/9)
