Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: On Obamacare, Appeals Court Needs To Let Policy Created In Congress Stand; Stop Frightening Everyday People About Health Care Change
The Washington Post: It’s Time For An Appeals Court To Right The Ship On Obamacare
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will consider on Tuesday one of the most outrageous rulings of the past year: the one in which a U.S. district court judge in Texas struck down the entire Affordable Care Act based on widely condemned legal reasoning. The question before the court is whether its appellate judges will taint themselves by associating with preposterous arguments. The Trump administration and the other Affordable Care Act challengers claim a key piece of the law is suddenly unconstitutional and, as such, the law can no longer work as intended. Obamacare, the argument goes, is an intricately designed system. (7/8)
Stat: After 50 Years Of 'Health Crisis,' Chuck The Chicken Little Rhetoric
Although Americans love anniversaries, we have overlooked the political importance of July 10, 1969. Speaking on that date from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, President Richard Nixon became the first president to declare that America faced a “massive crisis” in health care in the absence of “revolutionary change.” Similar predictions of impending catastrophe have, incredibly, persisted through each presidency for a half-century. The Trump administration, for example, has warned that “the system we have is unsustainable and it cannot continue.” Given the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, in which respondents picked health care as the top priority for the federal government, as well as the evidence from the first two Democratic presidential candidate debates, this election season will surely bring more of the same. (Michael L. Millenson, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times: Doctors Aren’t Much Better At Picking The Best Medical Treatments Than Laypersons
In recent years, the idea has spread that forcing consumers to pay more for healthcare — giving them “skin in the game” is the usual mantra — will prompt them to become more discerning medical shoppers. The goal is to improve the efficiency of the healthcare system by saddling consumers with higher costs if they opt for less useful or more overpriced services. Experts have identified numerous flaws with this concept, as we’ll get to in a bit. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/8)
Washington Examiner: Trump's Healthcare Executive Order Is A Win For Everyday Americans
In late June, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to make healthcare prices more transparent. The order calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose rules that would require hospitals to publicly post standard prices for medical care in an "easy-to-understand, consumer-friendly" format that will "allow patients to compare prices across hospitals." It also aims to ensure that doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies "provide or facilitate access to information about expected out-of-pocket costs for items or services to patients before they receive care." This is a worthwhile effort. When patients can easily access the price of healthcare, costs tend to go down. (Sally Pipes, 7/8)
The New York Times: Even Researchers Don’t Know Which Doctors Medicare Advantage Covers
If you try to use Medicare Advantage, figuring out which doctors are available (and where) can be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. Medicare Advantage is the government-subsidized, private plan alternative to the traditional public Medicare program. It has had strong enrollment growth for years. (Austin Frakt, 7/8)
The Washington Post: We Can’t Despair About Our Antibiotic Crisis
When the media covers antibiotic-resistant bugs, they typically describe them with a sense of alarm, fear and helplessness. Much of this is warranted: Antibiotic resistance is undermining the foundations of our modern medical system. No longer can we count on these drugs for a broad array of critical situations: for patients needing joint replacements or open-heart surgery or Caesarean sections; for immune-compromised individuals receiving cancer treatment or organ transplants; for people undergoing other increasingly commonplace, high-tech invasive procedures. (Michelle A. Williams, 7/8)
The Hill: Parents In Large Private Companies Turn To Medicaid For Their Kids
Health care is back in the limelight with primary season heating up. However, if you have been listening to the debate about the future of the American health-care system, you haven’t heard much, if any, discussion about the urgent problems developing for children’s coverage. As a primary care pediatrician for two decades, I am highly attuned to the challenges my patient families face. I recall in particular seeing a child with multiple medical conditions who hadn’t continued care with their many specialists, despite my reminders about the importance of follow-up. (David Rubin, 7/6)
Boston Globe: Trump Wants To Deny Transgender Rights On Religious Grounds. But What If Gender Identity, Itself, Is A Matter Of The Soul?
If religious faith is an intimate and fundamental determination, which no one should be able to coerce or punish, then gender surely should be, too. What about the right of trans and gender variant people to discern this incredibly personal matter for ourselves? What of the sacredness of our convictions? (S.I. Rosenbaum, 7/5)
The Hill: If Washington Takes A Short-Sighted View, Seniors Will Pay The Price
When Congress passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) in 2014, it included an important provision related to clinical laboratory services. Section 216 of the law ended use of a static fee schedule, replacing it with a plan to utilize private sector prices to set Medicare reimbursement rates. The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) supported this shift, recognizing that reimbursement for some laboratory tests would be reduced, but believed the use of laboratory market data to set Medicare rates would provide the sustainable, predictable reimbursement system that Medicare beneficiaries need. (Julie Khani, 7/8)
Arizona Republic: Hacienda HealthCare Is Not The Hellhole You've Heard About On The News
This week, family members of residents of the Hacienda HealthCare Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) spoke out in defense of the unit our loved ones call home. We could no longer stay quiet while this outstanding facility suffers attacks by disgruntled former employees leaking half-truths and rumors, political opportunists and sensationalizing reporters. (Alan Strobel and Heidi Reid-Champigny, 7/5)
Los Angeles Times: Diesel Trucks Are Among California’s Biggest Polluters. Smog-Check Them
Requiring a smog check for trucks is long overdue. Currently, with the number of unhealthy smog days in Southern California on the rise after years of improvement, it’s especially important to finally crack down on truck pollution. Smoggy, unhealthy air is particularly bad in inland communities in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, where trucks play a crucial role in the agriculture and goods-movement industries. About a million heavy-duty diesel trucks operate in California each year, which is a small fraction of the total number of vehicles on the road. Yet diesel trucks account for nearly 60% of the smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 80% of the soot from motor vehicles. (7/9)
Austin American-Statesman: New Law Provides Safeguards For Pregnant Prisoners
House Bill 1651, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed last month, won’t make headlines, but it will have a large impact on the health of more than 4,000 pregnant women incarcerated in Texas county jails each year — not to mention the health of their unborn offspring. Texas Jail Project, an Austin nonprofit that works to improve conditions in Texas’ 241 county jails, presented information to legislators about the need for mental health care for veterans, jailer training and personal recognizance bonds, as well as demographic data on inmates. However, much of our work focused on the unique vulnerability of pregnant inmates. (Diana Claitor, 7/5)
