Viewpoints: Government-Made Generics Would Restore Marketplace Competition; CVS-Aetna Merger Would Be ‘Penny Wise And Pound Foolish’

The Washington Post: It’s Time To Let The Government Manufacture Generic Drugs
Forty-seven states and the Justice Department are investigating a price-fixing conspiracy that’s driving up the cost of generic drugs in the United States. One investigator called it “most likely the largest cartel in the history of the United States .” This crisis calls for action. That is why I’m introducing legislation to authorize the public manufacture of generic drugs wherever drug companies have warped markets to drive up prices. Drug companies use the “free market” as a shield against any effort to reduce prices for families. But they’re not operating in a free market; they’re operating in a market that’s rigged to line their pockets and limit competition. (Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 12/17)

The Hill: Put The Brakes On The CVS And Aetna Merger To Sustain Competition And Choice
One person stands between the American public and further increases in health-care costs and further decline of care: U.S. District Judge Richard Leon. He is single-handedly questioning the government-approved $70 billion merger between CVS and the health insurer Aetna over public interest concerns. A court hearing is scheduled for today, where Judge Leon may demand the companies halt integration while he reviews the antitrust issues. CVS and Aetna have argued that the vertical integration of their businesses would lead to better and more efficient care for consumers. (Ken Fisher and Marion Mass, 12/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Single Payer’s Misleading Statistics
Critics of American heath care—and advocates of single-payer insurance or other forms of socialized medicine—point to poor U.S. rankings in infant mortality and life expectancy. It turns out both are grossly flawed calculations that misleadingly make the U.S. rank low. America’s rate of infant mortality—death within the first year after birth—was 5.9 per 1,000 live births in the latest statistics, 32nd among 35 developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But these aren’t apples-to-apples comparisons. Unlike many other countries, the U.S. strictly adheres to the World Health Organization’s definition, recording as a live birth any baby, “irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy,” who “breathes or shows any other evidence of life.” (Scott W. Atlas, 12/17)

Stat: Did Merck Circumvent Its Duty To Warn On 'Fosamax Fractures'?
The women suing Merck claim that the company failed to warn them about a known adverse event. Merck is claiming that the FDA did not allow the company to change the label, making it impossible for Merck to warn women or their doctors. If Merck prevails, the disingenuous tactic it used for Fosamax could be replicated by other pharmaceutical companies and have far-reaching effects. (Suzanne Robotti, 12/18)

USA Today: Improve Addiction Treatment By Rating The Providers.
Addiction is a treatable disease with success rates comparable to other chronic illnesses. But the treatment system for addiction is broken, fragmented and centered on outdated models. Only one in 10 Americans with a substance use disorder receives any treatment at all — and far fewer receive treatment based on proven research. Desperate families need credible informationThis is unacceptable. Access to legitimate addiction treatment shouldn’t be a roll of the dice depending on where you live, what kind of insurance you have or what hotline you happened to call for help. (Gary Mendell, 12/18)

Stat: Coordinated Care Teams Can Improve The Doctor-Patient Relationship
There’s no question that the doctor-patient relationship is sick in some ways. But I directly witnessed how a disciplined approach to coordination through CARE could improve my own relationship with my patients. Our intervention included building integrated teams of social workers, care navigators, nurses, and physicians — and supporting them with technology — to help them quickly identify patients who needed help after a hospitalization, transportation to an upcoming appointment, or access to community services to address challenges at home. These changes drove my team to see the value of engaging patients outside of the office so we could spend more quality time addressing their pressing needs and health issues when they came to see me. (David Rubin , 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: 7-Year-Old Jakelin Caal Maquin Died At The Border. What Happened To Her Is Not An Aberration
A Customs and Border Protection spokesman insisted to the Washington Post that “Border Patrol agents took every possible step to save the child’s life under the most trying of circumstances.” That may well be technically true. But even if individual Lordsburg agents rushed to save Jakelin’s life, it won’t erase another truth: The institutional culture of the Border Patrol regularly dismisses even the most basic needs of detained migrants. (Francisco Cantu, 12/18)

Miami Herald: Medicare Advantage Should Provide What Patients Truly Need, Not Just What’s Covered
Beginning in January, Medicare Advantage, or MA, Medicare’s managed-care plans, will offer some relief by providing health-related supplemental benefits to beneficiaries with chronic conditions. Some plans will offer new benefits such as smoking cessation programs, in-home personal assistance, caregiver support and adult daycare.But that’s not enough. (Katherine Jett Hayes, 12/17)

Columbus Dispatch: DeWine Must Make Medicaid PBM Reform A Top Priority
We’ve learned a lot over the past year about one glaring problem: an enormous lack of transparency in the deal taxpayers are getting from pharmacy benefit managers, the middleman companies that control what drugs Medicaid will pay for and who will pay how much. In Ohio, a big piece of that will change in January, with a new rule requiring more transparency in those contracts. That’s a significant improvement, but it won’t guarantee an end to abuses that stem from the PBM model. The state should continue reform efforts. In particular, it should look to West Virginia, where that state’s Medicaid program has shed PBMs altogether, relying instead on a state university to do the work. (12/16)

WBUR: Good Childcare Is Out Of Reach For Too Many. It Doesn't Have To Be This Way
If Massachusetts ensured that families never paid more than 10 percent of their income toward childcare for children from 0 to 3, it could be revolutionary. It would also be a massive undertaking and hugely expensive. But the costs do not represent a net loss. (Elizabeth Gibbons, 12/18)

The Lexington Herald: We Have A Moral Obligation To Ensure Black-Lung Benefits
Hal Quinn, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, argued in a recent commentary that a boost to the black-lung fund was an unfair burden on the industry.It’s worth pushing back on some of his talking points, which we can expect to soon hear parroted back from Sen. Mitch McConnell and our state representatives when they meet in January. (Jim Brutsman, 12/14)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Moving Ohio’s Medicaid Debate Forward
On Jan. 14, 2019, Mike DeWine will be sworn in as the 70th governor of Ohio. Three months later, he will have to submit his first two-year budget proposal to the Ohio General Assembly. One issue likely to get a lot of attention in this first budget is Medicaid -- the single largest source of health-care coverage in the state -- covering one out of four Ohioans. (John Corlett, 12/16)

Tampa Bay Times: Thank Pam Bondi If Floridians Lose Health Care Benefits
Now the future of those benefits, from coverage on the federal marketplace to protections for people with pre-existing conditions, has been put at risk by a partisan lawsuit from Republicans who have failed for years to improve the Affordable Care Act or craft a viable alternative. Those plaintiffs include the most partisan Florida attorney general in memory, who fortunately has just three weeks left in office before she heads to Fox News or parts unknown. Merry Christmas, from Pam Bondi. (12/17)

Cincinnati Enquirer: It's Time To Stop Workplace Violence Against Nurses
Regardless of the genesis of the violence, members of the Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA), the professional association for nurses, felt it imperative that a group of nursing leaders and administrators from across the state come together to begin dialogue about the events and craft some responses toward a solution. To that end, the KNA recently hosted a "Workplace Forum," and those attending stressed the critical importance of bringing this safety concern that impacts nurses and health care workers, to the forefront of public discussion. (Ruth Carrico, 12/17)