Viewpoints: Politics And The Health Law; Health Care’s Trust Gap; Medicare And Drug Costs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Forbes:
Leaked Clinton Memo Acknowledges Obamacare's Exchanges Are Failing
WikiLeaks published a stunning memo, dated November 23, 2015, to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and John Podesta, the chairman of her campaign, from Chris Jennings, the former Deputy Assistant to President Obama for Health Policy, about serious problems with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Though intended only for internal viewing, the document is now in the public domain. Similar to the Jonathan Gruber statement of how policymakers intentionally mischaracterized key ACA provisions because of the “stupidity of the American voter,” this memo shows how ACA supporters’ public optimism contrasts with private concern about the law and a need to change course. According to Jennings, “the health insurer and enrollee participation issues in the exchanges are, at best, disconcerting. There are also adverse risk selection and health plan payment issues that are equally troubling and merit scrutiny.” (Brian Blase, 10/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Despite Doom And Gloom, Experts See Solutions To ACA Exchange Woes
On Friday, actuaries across the country will offer proposals via Twitter to the problems facing the Affordable Care Act exchanges. It's the start of a competition sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Milliman to develop ideas for improving the performance of the nation's struggling individual insurance market. (Harris Meyer, 10/18)
Stat:
Stop Insurers From Making End Runs Around Patients With Preexisting Conditions
For years, insurers dropped sick people from their plans or denied coverage due to preexisting conditions like cancer, keeping them from the care and medicines they needed. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to make it unlawful for insurers to refuse coverage to such individuals or charge them more for health insurance. But it is still happening. No longer able to keep patients off their plans outright, insurers have resorted to other ways to discriminate and avoid paying for necessary treatments. Specifically, they have imposed specialty tiers and high copays or coinsurance for prescription drugs that effectively force sick people to delay needed care or to find a different health plan. So much for the end of preexisting conditions. (Ron Cohen, 10/19)
RealClear Health:
Big Tobacco 2.0: Time To Get Smart About Marijuana Reform
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in five states this November. Many perceive these measures as aimed at ending a racially-biased war on drugs, or boosting tax revenue for education and infrastructure. However, a closer read of the actual initiatives reveals a different reality: These ideals, while important, are simply not reflected in the text of the initiatives themselves. Instead, an exploitative new industry, reminiscent of Big Tobacco, has hoisted the banner of “Ending the War on Drugs” for an ulterior, but far more straightforward motive—making a lot of money at the expense of public health. (Kevin Saber, 10/18)
The Health Care Blog:
The Trust Gap In Healthcare: Findings From The 2016 Healthcare Trust Index
Healthcare is an industry wherein trust is foundational. ... Distrust in providers and payers is a systemic challenge in our system. The data show some organizations perform better than others but pervasive distrust is a problem for all organizations. ... The trust gap between insurers and providers is wide and long-standing. It did not happen overnight nor will it be solved quickly. In the new world order of healthcare, shared risk arrangements between the parties is now the norm. Unless and until distrust is addressed, these efforts will disappoint and results will be negative. (Paul Keckley, 10/18)
Columbus Dispatch:
Mental Illness Challenges Courts
Since the decades-ago emptying of state mental hospitals — a well-meaning but poorly thought-out effort — families and courts have struggled to find a balance: How can they assure that those rendered incapable of making rational decisions will continue their treatment and medication, yet not inflict unnecessary hospitalization? One answer was a 2014 law hailed as a way to empower courts to order outpatient treatment. But roughly two years after, it had yet to help a single family in Franklin County. (10/19)
WBUR:
My Last Act Of Love As Her Mother: Aborting A Daughter Who Could Not Survive
In addition to requiring a woman to listen to her baby’s heartbeat, the bill signed by [Indiana Gov. Mike] Pence would also have banned abortions based solely on a fetus’s disability or genetic anomaly. This restriction, had it not been blocked by a federal judge, would also have affected my family. ... I hope that when considering whom to vote for in November, voters look beyond party platforms and ideology and look at the very real impact restrictions on abortion can have on a woman and her family. (Abby Flanagan, 10/18)
USA Today:
Vote Against Assisted Suicide In Colorado
[O]n the Colorado ballot this year is Proposition 106, which would legalize doctor-assisted suicide in our state. The End of Life Options Act is modeled after the law passed last year in California. There are a number of reasons to oppose this particular initiative, even if one is not personally opposed to the idea of assisted suicide. ... And yet, as a citizen of Colorado, none of those issues troubles me as much as the message Prop 106 gives to students, veterans and others struggling to find the will to live. We already have a suicide problem in this state. Now is not the time for the state to officially endorse it. This is not only the wrong act. It’s the wrong act at the wrong time. (John Stonestreet, 10/18)
