Viewpoints: ‘Medicaid Shenanigans’ In Florida; The Need For Better Food Safety
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Washington Post:
GOP Governor’s Resistance To Obamacare Is So Strong That It’s Jeopardizing His Quest For Tax Cuts
A battle over the Medicaid expansion has erupted among Republicans in Florida, and it has created a strange situation: Republican legislators are urging GOP Governor Rick Scott to accept the expansion, but he is reluctant to do so, even though it is imperiling his drive for tax cuts. Scott can’t seem to decide which priority is more important: Turning away federal money to expand health care for hundreds thousands of his own constituents; or cutting taxes. (Sargent, 4/8)
Tampa Bay Times:
We Must Be Stupid To Put Up With Tallahassee's Medicaid Shenanigans
We are morons for allowing a handful of selfish, egotistical, politically driven hucksters to waste billions of our tax dollars while also playing games with people's lives. ... In this case, the buck has to stop with us. It is our responsibility to shout so loud and so long that it becomes impossible for the reverse populists in Tallahassee to continue to ignore reality. And the reality is by failing to address Medicaid expansion, our elected leaders are guilty of political malfeasance. You might have heard Gov. Rick Scott has changed direction — once again — on this issue. He's back to singing the same tired tune as the sock puppets in the state House. (John Romano, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Let Paramedics And Nurse Practitioners Handle Some 911 Calls
There's nothing — nothing — that irritates people more about the department they otherwise love than watching a 50-foot firetruck with a crew of fully suited firefighters show up to a 911 call for a heart attack or bee sting. Inevitably, someone watching the drama will gripe, "Why can't they just send an ambulance?" It's a valid question. The answer is an unnecessarily complex one that dates to a time when fighting fires was still the main mission of most fire departments. But times have changed. "Structure fires" are fewer and farther between. Today, nearly 90% of the calls to the Los Angeles Fire Department are for medical service. (4/8)
The New York Times:
A Shortage Of Funds For Food Safety
A farsighted food safety law enacted in 2011 has faced obstacles to meaningful enforcement ever since, including delays in issuing necessary rules and a shortage of money. Now, in what may become the latest shameful chapter, Congress seems unwilling to provide enough money to effectively carry out regulations that are about to be issued. The losers, of course, will continue to be consumers, who live with the hazards of an unsafe food supply. (4/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Robert Kennedy Jr., Not Your Garden-Variety Anti-Vaxxer
I don’t quite understand Robert Kennedy Jr., smart and dedicated environmental lawyer, scion of a revered political family—and opponent of required vaccinations. Look, there are plenty of anti-vaxxers—though Kennedy doesn’t quite fit in that category, having had his own kids vaccinated—but I can understand their reasoning, even if it isn’t grounded in science. ... Kennedy is going in logical circles on the question of childhood vaccines. He’s making great shows, but so far he’s not making great sense. (Karin Klein, 4/8)
Bloomberg:
Run for Your Life Insurance
Someday soon, Big Brother may be watching you. Only his name will be "John Hancock." The insurer is rolling out a program in the U.S. similar to ones already deployed in other parts of the world, where your life insurer tracks your fitness levels, then gives you rebates depending on how active you are. ... I'm sure this makes sound business sense in an industry that isn't exactly experiencing roaring demand growth. But if it becomes common, I'd expect some pushback. After all, this is exactly the sort of sound underwriting we just outlawed in the health insurance market. (Megan McArdle, 4/9)
JAMA:
What Is The Right Number Of Clinic Appointments?
In the United States, patients make 1 billion visits to physicians’ offices every year. These visits are the principal way patients access health care and are the building blocks of the patient-physician relationship, at an estimated annual cost of nearly $600 billion. Payment system changes are fueling growth in alternatives to the traditional office visit, raising the question of how often patients should visit and interact with their clinicians. The large variation in practice, the paucity of research on the subject, and the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs), in which health systems uphold quality standards and assume a share of financial risk for patient costs, present new impetus to examine this question from an individual and a population health perspective. (Ishani Ganguli, Jason H. Wasfy and Timothy G. Ferris, 4/6)
