Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Trump And GOP Orthodoxy; Limiting Abortions; Lower Price For New Statins
The New York Times: Trump Is Right On Economics
Mr. Bush has chosen to attack Mr. Trump as a false conservative, a proposition that is supposedly demonstrated by his deviations from current Republican economic orthodoxy: his willingness to raise taxes on the rich, his positive words about universal health care. And that tells you a lot about the dire state of the G.O.P. For the issues the Bush campaign is using to attack its unexpected nemesis are precisely the issues on which Mr. Trump happens to be right, and the Republican establishment has been proved utterly wrong. (Paul Krugman, 9/7)
The Wall Street Journal: Disabling Entitlement Reform
To glimpse the Democratic Party’s idea of entitlement reform, consider the “One Social Security Act” introduced this summer by California Rep. Xavier Becerra, the ranking Democrat on the House Social Security Subcommittee. His bill would merge Social Security’s disability and retirement trust funds, thus papering over the problems that have pushed the disability-insurance program toward insolvency. (Andrew G. Biggs, 9/7)
The New York Times' Upshot: Is Trump The Candidate Reform Conservatives Are Seeking?
For the last few years, a small but prominent group of conservative writers and thinkers has urged the Republican party to rethink its economic agenda with a greater focus on the needs of the middle class. The so-called reform conservatives have criticized the G.O.P.’s economic prescription of cutting entitlement programs and tax rates (especially on high earners) as unresponsive to the concerns of workers earning stagnant wages. ... the polls show that Republican voters have not yet punished [Donald Trump] for his praise of single-payer health care (in other countries) or his past support for a wealth tax. (Josh Barro, 9/8)
Los Angeles Times: Planned Parenthood And The Cynical Attack On Fetal Tissue Research
As with all orchestrated uproars, the current political attack on Planned Parenthood employs distraction and misdirection to keep people from focusing attention on facts and reality. In this case, the distraction involves an attack on the use of fetal tissue in medical research, which may well become collateral damage in the campaign against Planned Parenthood. If that happens, it would warrant our moral outrage. It's time to set the record straight. The prominent bioethicist R. Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin does so incisively in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/4)
USA Today: States' Abortion Limits Erode Right To Choose: Our View
A constitutional right that's almost impossible to exercise isn't much of a right at all. Yet the right to an abortion — guaranteed 42 years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court — has been saddled with so many onerous strictures in so many states that for millions of women, it has become almost meaningless. (9/7)
USA Today: Abortion Industry Rejects Oversight: Opposing View
It should be a national scandal that the abortion industry fights viciously against any kind of medical standard of care to protect women, even when those efforts mirror its own internal recommendations. The industry simply rejects accountability. (Charmaine Yoest, 9/7)
The New York Times: The Price For Lowering Cholesterol
Two new, powerful and expensive drugs to treat very high cholesterol are raising concerns about the ability of public and private insurers to pay and whether the benefits the drugs bring will outweigh their long-term costs. ... At first glance, the new cholesterol drugs appear less expensive than the costly new drugs to treat hepatitis C, whose exorbitant prices have raised alarms among health experts, insurers and patients. ... But the [cholesterol] drugs, which cured a vast majority of patients in clinical trials, are essentially a one-time cost. The cholesterol drugs, by contrast, will be taken for a lifetime. (9/8)
Los Angeles Times: Doctor's Attempt To Bring Lower-Price Diabetes Drug To Market Thwarted
Dr. Mayer Davidson has long been frustrated by the rising cost of prescription drugs, especially in his area of expertise — diabetes. ... Davidson had reason for hope after he and colleagues came across research suggesting that a World War II-vintage malaria drug called Plaquenil, or hydroxychloroquine, could improve the blood-sugar counts of people with Type 2 diabetes. ... Unfortunately, even though Davidson received a research grant, he never got to fully test his hypothesis. As with many generics, the price of Plaquenil has risen in recent months. Davidson said the wholesale price of the drug was 50 cents a pill last year. It's now $1.75 — a 250% increase. The retail price is about $3 for each 200-miligram dose, according to price-comparison site GoodRX.com. Davidson said his team's modest funding couldn't support such a price hike. (David Lazarus, 9/4)
The Washington Post: It’s Time To Get Chewing Tobacco Out Of Baseball
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some dismaying findings last week. Though combustible tobacco use is down among high school students, smokeless tobacco use is up among high school athletes. If professional sports leagues don’t do more to stamp out this horrid addiction, local governments should step in and do it for them. (9/7)
Los Angeles Times: A Smart Step For The VA In West L.A.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) plans to introduce a bill this week that would give the Department of Veterans Affairs new authority to provide housing for homeless veterans on its sprawling West L.A. campus by building units or renovating existing ones. ... The bill is a smart and necessary next step for the VA as it broadens the mission of its West LA facility to include housing with therapeutic services for homeless veterans, as well as to provide recreational and educational facilities for all vets. Supportive housing is desperately needed in Los Angeles County, with its more than 4,300 homeless veterans — the largest number in the nation. (9/6)
Alaska Dispatch News: Let's Stick To Facts On Alaska Medicaid Expansion And Work Together
Ever since the Affordable Care Act passed without bipartisan support, it has been one of the most dividing political issues of our time. Republicans generally oppose it and Democrats almost universally embrace it. When an issue inspires such political passion, it’s a challenge to step back and think rationally. It’s far easier to construct, grasp at and, yes, even make up facts to support our positions. It is in this context that we continue to debate Medicaid expansion in Alaska. Unfortunately, it’s hard to have a debate based on facts in such a politically charged environment. (Becky Hultberg, 9/6)
The New York Times: For Teens In Crisis, The Next Text Could Be A Lifesaver
The message to the Crisis Text Line was answered by Aaron Amrich, a volunteer crisis counselor based in California. It was sent by a 19-year-old woman who wrote that she was feeling hopeless and beginning to give up on life. Amrich, a veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, has himself suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. ... For the past year, he has been able to draw upon his experiences to assist this woman and others by volunteering with the Crisis Text Line — a free, confidential 24-hour service accessible via the number 741741. (David Bornstein, 9/4)
