Viewpoints: Obamacare Through The Lens Of 2016 Politics; Desmond Tutu On Dignity In Dying
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The New England Journal Of Medicine:
Past As Prologue — Presidential Politics And Health Policy
All presidential campaigns are unique, and the current one, as George Orwell might have said, seems more unique than most. When it comes to health care, however, there is continuity between the 2016 presidential contest and past elections, reflecting deep underlying political forces and historical experiences with health care politics and policy. (David Blumenthal and James Morone, 10/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Clinton Vs. Clinton On ObamaCare
When Bill Clinton emerges as an ObamaCare critic and even President Obama admits in a recent interview that his entitlement has “got real problems,” the discipline of the law’s apologists must be fading. The question now is whether Republicans can capitalize to improve U.S. health care from its ObamaCare bottom. For years liberals have depicted the law as an end-of-history achievement, dismissing genuine problems as partisan inventions. ObamaCare remains as unpopular today as when Democrats rammed it through Congress in 2010, but they claimed it could never be repealed or changed. (10/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump’s ObamaCare Silence
There is such a thing as a political goof. It should not be confused with a cosmic political error, mind-boggling in its inanity, inexplicable on any level, the electoral equivalent of stuffing your opponent’s ballot box. An example of the latter is Donald Trump’s failure to jump on ObamaCare as an excellent path to the White House. (Kimberley A. Strassel, 10/6)
The Washington Post:
Archbishop Desmond Tutu: When My Time Comes, I Want The Option Of An Assisted Death
Now, as I turn 85 Friday, with my life closer to its end than its beginning, I wish to help give people dignity in dying. Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths. Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth. I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative care that exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted death. (Desmond Tutu, 10/6)
The New York Times:
Your Surgeon Is Probably A Republican, Your Psychiatrist Probably A Democrat
We know that Americans are increasingly sorting themselves by political affiliation into friendships, even into neighborhoods. Something similar seems to be happening with doctors and their various specialties. New data show that, in certain medical fields, large majorities of physicians tend to share the political leanings of their colleagues, and a study suggests ideology could affect some treatment recommendations. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 10/6)
The Baltimore Sun:
Evergreen Needs To Do More Than Stay In Business
For the sake of competition in Maryland's Obamacare marketplace — particularly for those who buy insurance as individuals, not through their employers — Evergreen Health needs to survive. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield had 80 percent of Maryland's individual insurance market in 2014, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, up from 74 percent three years before. Evergreen, with nearly 40,000 members and growing fast, is expanding in the state at a time when other carriers are pulling back. (10/6)
WRAL (Raleigh, N.C.):
Transcend Petty Partisan Politics And Expand Medicaid
Nowhere is there greater evidence of the depths of petty partisan politics than in North Carolina’s stubborn refusal to expand Medicaid. Voters must elect legislators who WILL EXPAND Medicaid. Any legislator seeking re-election, who opposed expansion in the past and won’t publically promise to back it now, should not be re-elected. (10/6)
Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader:
The Truth About Medicaid Expansion
I recently noticed some billboards pushing Medicaid expansion which, like the (Un)Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), is basically another form of socialized medicine. Like Obamacare, the goal of Medicaid expansion and its proponents is not to provide care, but to create an ever increasing dependence upon government. Socialized medicine does not, and never has, benefited the patient. (Marianne Gasiecki, 10/6)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Loss Of Federal Funding Raises Concerns About Women's Health Care
Women’s health care advocates in Missouri are bracing for potentially severe reproductive care consequences as the state patches together plans to fund the Women’s Health Services Program. Some other states that rejected federal money in an effort to punish Planned Parenthood saw a rise in maternal mortality rates, unintended pregnancies and HIV transmission. (10/7)
Forbes:
Digital Health Entrepreneurs Raising More Capital Than Ever (Probably)
A trio of new reports shows the fundraising landscape for new digital health ventures remains promising. New York’s Startup Health, an investor and accelerator, has released its report on the digital health venture market for the third quarter. Startup Health estimates $6.5 billion has been invested in digital health deals in the first three quarters of 2016, more than the $6.1 billion invested in all of 2015. (John Graham, 10/6)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Medicare Choices On Table For Senior Adults, Beginning Oct. 15
This fall, as Americans make their choices in a host of local, state and national elections, including 2016 presidential, gubernatorial and congressional races, seniors and those eligible for Medicare in the New Orleans area must pay special attention to the decisions they face during another important election— the Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP). During this year's Medicare AEP, which lasts from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, it's important for people with Medicare to understand that the choice they make can affect their health throughout 2017. As with any major decision, thoughtful research will go a long way toward making the best care coverage choice that maximizes value based on your individual health needs. (Laura Trunk, 10/6)
The Washington Post:
Giving Cancer A First-Person Voice
I finished reading a remarkable book on the subject called “When Breath Becomes Air,” written by Dr. Paul Kalanithi and completed by his wife, Lucy. ... It is a vivid picture of a driven and accomplished professional — a neurosurgeon — on the verge of a brilliant career, facing a disease that humbles and then kills him. It is a situation we sometimes see from a distance. It is a gift to be given an honest account from inside. (Michael Gerson, 10/6)
San Antonio Press Express:
Vaccines Save Many Lives
One in 5 Americans believe that immunizations cause autism and that vaccines fall into the category of a medical conspiracy contrived by physicians and governmental officials whose motives are purely suspect. That was the conclusion of a study in JAMA Internal Medicine two years ago. These individuals share a distrust of science, not unlike those who are convinced the FDA is hiding homeopathic cures for cancer to protect drug company profits or that health officials know cellphones cause cancer but are doing nothing to stop it. (Bryan Alsip, 10/6)
RealClear Health:
Effective Opioid Recovery Is Unobtainable For Many: Urgent Action Is Needed
Drug overdoses have surpassed car crashes as the number one cause for accidental death in America, with a staggering 47,000 lives lost to addiction in 2014 alone. However, the systems largely responsible for combatting the disease of opioid addiction – public policy, insurance and criminal justice - are just beginning to publicly address the problem, and in some cases, even hinder the pursuit of safe and effective treatments. (Newt Gingrich, Patrick J. Kennedy and Van Jones, 10/6)