Viewpoints: Pros And Cons Of Mergers Between Retailers, Insurers; Sorry, GOP: No Obamacare Death Spiral

Los Angeles Times: Walmart And CVS Have 15,000 Combined Stores. Why Are Both Trying To Buy Health Insurance Companies?
The economics of healthcare in America is making for some strange bedfellows. CVS, the behemoth pharmacy chain, plans to buy Aetna, a 22-million member health insurer, for $69 billion. Less than two weeks ago, it became public that Walmart, where one in four Americans shop each week, is considering an acquisition of another insurer, Humana. Why would these two massive retailers want to buy health insurers? Think millions of customers under one roof buying insurance, visiting health clinics and — importantly — filling prescriptions. These merged insurer-retailers could have lots of price-setting leverage in dealing with pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. But consolidation like this also can threaten competition — and in healthcare markets, that is a demonstrated danger. (Dana P. Goldman and Erin E. Trish, 4/10)

Bloomberg: The Medical Marketplace Is Changing Fast
Marketplace disruption is reshaping health care in the U.S., with headline-grabbing mergers and the formation of new companies. These moves are breaking down traditional silos in health care. And further change can be expected, as calls grow louder for better health-care value for the dollar. Four trends are driving the shift: an ongoing movement toward value-based payments; improved health-care data analytics; innovations in medical science; and increasing demand from consumers for greater convenience and value. Although health-care costs have been growing more slowly than they once did, the U.S. still spends far too much, and there's great variation across the country in both prices (especially for employer-sponsored insurance) and utilization (especially for Medicare). Fee-for-service payment is a major reason spending is so high and varies so much from region to region. The shift toward value-based payments -- including bundled payments and accountable care organizations -- is a necessary though not complete solution. (Peter R. Orszag and David Gluckman, 4/9)

The New York Times: Obamacare’s Very Stable Genius 
Front pages continue, understandably, to be dominated by the roughly 130,000 scandals currently afflicting the Trump administration. But polls suggest that the reek of corruption, intense as it is, isn’t likely to dominate the midterm elections. The biggest issue on voters’ minds appears, instead, to be health care. (Paul Krugman, 4/9)

Portland Press Herald: Health Insurance Rate Increases Were Avoidable
This fall, millions of Americans who are already struggling to afford health insurance will once again experience double-digit premium increases because of election-year politics at its worst. What is most regrettable is not only that those increases could have been prevented but also that the cost of health insurance actually could have declined by as much as 40 percent in the individual market over the next two years. (Sen. Susan Collins, 4/8)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland's Year Of Health Care
The General Assembly session that ends at midnight on Monday has seen its share of controversial issues, from gun control to medical marijuana, and of memorable moments, perhaps the most notable of which was when Republican Del. Meagan Simonaire gave a floor speech endorsing a ban on so-called “conversion therapy” for gay youth, which she said her father, Republican state Sen. Bryan Simonaire, suggested she try after she came out as bisexual. The session has had some election-year political jockeying, too, as Gov. Larry Hogan sparred with Democrats over changes to the state school construction program. But the most significant thing that’s likely to emerge from the 90 days of lawmaking came with little fanfare or controversy — one of the most aggressive efforts in the country to protect the state’s Affordable Care Act insurance exchange from collapsing under a series of blows from the Republican Congress and President Donald Trump. (4/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Food Stamps Shouldn’t Pay For Junk
The Food Stamp Program started as a way to help people whose shelves were empty. It certainly helped my family. My mother was a single parent who struggled to make ends meet in wealthy Darien, Conn., during the 1970s. We relied on food stamps until I was 16. Since then, the program has grown considerably. Renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, it supported more than 40 million Americans in 2017. Even though SNAP is generally well-intentioned, what it puts on shelves is not always helpful or healthy. SNAP rules allow stores to distribute candy, soda, cheese products, energy drinks, processed meats and lots of other items that end up seriously compromising the health of SNAP recipients. (Moby, 4/9)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: What I Did After Getting A Fetal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome Should Be No One Else's Business
State legislators in Harrisburg believe they are empowered to make decisions about what women can and cannot do during pregnancy. Legislation before both the state House and Senate would prohibit a woman to have an abortion because of a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome. This legislation – House Bill 2050 and Senate Bill 1050 – is unconstitutional, unenforceable, and wrong. (Jennifer Schrad, 4/9)

Columbus Dispatch: Childbirth Presents Great Risk To Black Women
The anticipation of bringing a new bundle of joy into the world — and all that comes with it — can be both exciting and stressful for moms-to-be. But if you are an expectant black mother, there is much more at stake, according to a recent study and last Sunday’s Dispatch.com article “Central Ohio hospitals ramp up efforts to reduce maternal mortality deaths amid growing national crisis.” Having a baby comes with several risk factors, and too many black moms die during and shortly after childbirth. (Linda Post, 4/9)

Portland Press Herald: Gov. LePage To Blame For Maine's Protracted Fight Over Overdose Antidote
Gov. LePage wrote this week of the state’s response to the opioid epidemic: “The Legislature’s focus on naloxone as the most important tool is sadly misplaced.” Sometimes, you’ve got to wonder where he’s been. (4/6)