Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: The Rule Of Law And Subsidies; Anticipating CBO's Score On The GOP Health Plan
Bloomberg: Rule Of Law Actually Applies To Democrats, Too
Yes. Congress can mandate subsidies without also mandating a funding source. Medicaid is another example. This is crazy, but there it is. For once the Constitution is admirably clear on how the executive branch should handle this quandary: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.” The law appropriated no money for these cost-sharing reduction payments. But the Obama administration went ahead and paid them anyway. (Megan McArdle, 5/23)
The New York Times: How To Read The C.B.O. Score Of The Health Bill Like An Expert
Today, the Congressional Budget Office will issue important numbers about the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act, the Republican bill to repeal and replace portions of the Affordable Care Act. Although the budget office had analyzed an early version of the bill, the House on May 4 took the unusual step of voting before the budget office could gauge how several last-minute amendments might affect the deficit or the number of uninsured. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 5/24)
RealClear Health: Why Nutrition Standards And Policies Should Continue
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said recently it will delay the implementation of school lunch rules aimed at lowering the amount of sodium and raising the whole grain content of meals served to kids. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration announced it will delay for one year the implementation of Obama administration rules to require calorie labels on menus and prepared food displays. (Deborah A.Cohen, 5/24)
WBUR: America's Food Access Problem Starts On The Farm
Given that we’re tangled in knots over how to pay for health care, it’s remarkable that food and farm policy isn’t more in the public’s mind. Heads of hunger programs and food banks have begun to grasp the obvious; as one told WBUR, “food is medicine, food is health,” with good health impossible in the absence of nutritious eating. (Rich Barlow, 5/23)
San Jose Mercury News: Single-Payer Detracting From Big Medi-Cal Fight
Sen. Ricardo Lara’s single-payer legislation was a non-starter in California from day one, even before it was given an eye-popping $400 billion price tag. ... It’s merely an exercise in politics, which is all well and good except that it detracts from a far more important California health care issue: Can the state fight off President Trump’s inhumane effort to slash the nation’s Medicaid budget by more than $880 billion through 2026? (5/23)
Stat: Risk Scores For Preventing Heart Disease, Stroke Must Take The Long View
Back in 1998, researchers with the legendary Framingham Heart Study created the first heart risk calculator. Using answers to questions about age, cholesterol and blood pressure levels, tobacco use, and the presence of diabetes, it estimated an individual’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. Since then, this calculator has been revised and many others have been developed, including ones that extend the time horizon out to an individual’s lifetime. Yet much to our surprise, the use of these single-point-in-time risk calculators does little to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke compared with not using such calculators. ( Kunal N. Karmali and Mark Huffman, 5/23)
On the Ground: Our Teeth Are Making Us Sick
The left side of Jacquelyn Garcia’s face throbbed fiercely. She had tried taking Tylenol and Excedrin for the pain, but threw them up. On a Monday morning straight after working the night shift as a custodian, she rushed to the N.Y.U. emergency dental clinic. Here a student delivered the verdict: decay so deep it had reached the nerve. The tooth needed to be pulled. (Zoe Greenberg, 5/23)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Must Do Far More To Address Lead Hazards In Homes
Lead poisoning maims young minds. It steals kids' futures. For too long, Mayor Frank Jackson and his top staff have failed to confront that reality or instill a sense of urgency or direction to city officials to crack down systematically on landlords with toxic housing. (5/23)
The New York Times: Vermont’s D.I.Y. Approach On Marijuana
Vermont is on the verge of becoming the ninth state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but, being Vermont, it is taking an earthier, grow-it-yourself approach — one that could become a model for others. (5/24)
