Viewpoints: Murkowski Explains Her Opposition To Individual Mandate; Cost-Sharing Burdens
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner:
Alaskan Senator Supports Free Choice For Health Care
I have always supported the freedom to choose. I believe that the federal government should not force anyone to buy something they do not wish to buy in order to avoid being taxed. That is the fundamental reason why I opposed the Affordable Care Act from its inception and also why I cosponsored a bill to repeal the individual mandate tax penalty starting as early as 2013. And that is why I support the repeal of that tax today. (Sen. Lisa Murkowski, 11/21)
Huffington Post:
Lisa Murkowski Says She’s OK With Killing The Health Insurance Mandate
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) cast a decisive, dramatic vote to save health care for millions of people over the summer. The chances of her doing it again just went way down. With Republicans preparing to vote on tax cut legislation next week, Murkowski announced on Tuesday that she would not oppose the bill simply because it includes a provision repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. (Jonathan Cohn, 11/21)
Axios:
The Biggest Health Issue We Aren’t Debating
Thanksgiving is always a time to think about those in need. How about, then, a group we don't worry about enough: the many lower and moderate income Americans who can't cover their cost sharing if they get sick? It raises the question: How much cost sharing is too much? (Drew Altman, 11/22)
Los Angeles Times:
There's A Grim Reality Behind Your Thanksgiving Turkey
No animals raised on factory farms are kept and killed under worse conditions than turkeys and chickens, which make up most of the animals raised for food in the U.S. Nearly 9 billion chickens are slaughtered each year for food. And because poultry is exempt from the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture enforces, there are not even minimum federal standards governing how they live or die. (11/22)
