Viewpoints: Emergency Services Crippled By Patients With Mental Illness; Solution For Lower Costs, Better Health: More Food, Please?

Stat: We Need To Find A Better Place To Treat Mental Health Emergencies
When I walk through my hospital’s emergency department, I’m sometimes overwhelmed by the number of people languishing there as they wait for help with a mental health issue, like the woman clutching her chest as if she’s having a heart attack but is really suffering from a panic attack. It’s her third time here in a week. She is just one of the hundreds of patients who will be admitted this year to my emergency department in the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska, experiencing psychiatric emergencies. Many stay in the emergency department for hours; some even stay there for a few days. The practice, called psychiatric boarding, occurs when an individual with a mental health condition is kept in an emergency department because no appropriate mental health care is available. It’s rampant around the country. (Anne Zink, 10/18)

The Wall Street Journal: In The Battle Over Health-Care Costs, Food Could Be A Weapon
When it comes to health care, food pays. That’s the message from a growing body of evidence that should grab the attention of numerous health plans and facilities that accept financial risk for the cost of their patients’ care. (David Blumenthal, 10/17)

The Detroit News: Transparency, Competition For Health Care
It’s no secret Americans are worried about the rising costs of health care. Over the next decade, health care costs are projected to grow at an average rate of 5.5 percent per year and reach a total of $5.7 trillion by 2026, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Additionally, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicates rising health care costs remain a primary issue for voters. ...One tried and true solution is increased transparency and competition within the health care industry, a strategy already embraced by some states looking to make health care more affordable and accessible. (Sarah Lee, 10/17)

USA Today: Medicare For All Won't Work. We Need Choices.
Under a “single safety net,” basic, government-funded health care is available to every American — with no holes in the net. The program could either be a single national program or have state variations. States would be required to pay a certain amount, but above that, could perhaps decide the level of funding that would determine what is covered, such as expensive drugs. The single safety net would not compete with private insurers. (Arthur "Tim" Garson Jr, 10/18)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Plan To Reduce Drug Prices Might Be Unconstitutional. It Also Won't Help Much 
The Trump administration on Monday unveiled its latest proposal for reining in the cost of pharmaceuticals: requiring television advertisements for prescription drugs to display the price tag of the medication being promoted. For the 10 drugs seen most often on TV, the administration says, those list prices range from $535 to a whopping $11,000 per month or per course of treatment. Like the administration’s other efforts to address this issue, the mandate is a small response to an enormous problem. (10/17)

The Washington Post: How The Gun Debate In 2018 Has Changed
It has been just eight months since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., brought the issue of guns to the top of the political agenda, and according to a new poll from Gallup, 61 percent of Americans think America’s gun laws ought to be made more strict. That’s down slightly from the 67 percent that Gallup recorded just after Parkland, but it’s still higher than the norm in the last decade. Which leads to the question: Why isn’t this a bigger issue in the 2018 election? (Paul Waldman, 10/17)

The Hill: Fetal Tissue Research Is The Victim Of Special Interest Politics 
As a biomedical researcher I am deeply troubled that the Trump administration is yielding to special interest groups and launching an attack on important biomedical research. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement that it will review all fetal tissue research runs the risk of playing politics with an important resource that’s key to developing new therapies to treat human disease. Fetal tissue has been essential in research used to develop therapies that have saved millions of lives and it continues to be necessary to understand how human tissues develop and are impacted by disease. An important fact is that the fetal tissue used in this research can only be used if it would otherwise be discarded. (Lawrence Goldstein, 10/17)

Bloomberg: Why Public Universities Are Getting Shortchanged 
Over the past decade, state government funding of higher education in the U.S. has fallen by $7 billion after inflation. The implications include increased tuition, which has received much public attention, but also a reduction in the relative quality of public higher education, which has gone largely unnoticed. Surprisingly, the most important driver of these trends at public institutions has little to do with education directly: it is instead the rising cost of health care. (Peter R. Orszag, 10/17)

Boston Globe: Stand Up For Equality: Vote Yes On 3
Two years ago, Massachusetts joined 17 states and Washington, D.C., by enacting protections for transgender individuals in any space — such as restaurants, libraries, and bathrooms — that serve the general public.Opponents have vowed to repeal the law since the day Governor Charlie Baker unceremoniously signed it . And here we are today. On the Nov. 6 ballot, Massachusetts voters face a simple decision: to uphold common-sense public accommodations protections for transgender individuals by voting yes, or to set back equal access by voting no. The Globe wholeheartedly endorses the Yes on 3 campaign. (10/18)

WBUR: A 'Yes' On Question 3 Is A Vote For Public Health
This November, Massachusetts voters will be given the chance to repeal a state law banning discrimination against transgender people in places of public accommodation. The law, passed in 2016, guarantees transgender people the same access to spaces like bathrooms, sports arenas, restaurants, movies theaters and parks enjoyed by populations who are less vulnerable to exclusion and harassment. The option of repeal will be presented to voters as Question 3 on the Nov. 6 ballot. (Sandro Galea, 10/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Bad Bedside Manner In Massachusetts
Massachusetts has some of the best medical care in the world, but a ballot measure next month could start its erosion by raising costs and reducing access. The culprit is the Massachusetts Nurses Association. (10/17)

Arizona Republic: Kyrsten Sinema Can't Protect Medicare By Doing Nothing
Kyrsten Sinema and her independent campaign allies claim that Martha McSally wants to cut Medicare, while Sinema vows to protect it. One could claim with equal veracity – which is to say, not much – that Sinema wants to cut Medicare hospitalization benefits by 22 percent. (Robb, 10/17)