Viewpoints: Trump Questioned On Single Payer; Kasich Doesn’t Cower From Medicaid
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Wall Street Journal:
The Republican Rumble
The field may be too large to fit in a single stage, but Republican voters should be pleased that they have several plausible would-be Presidents to choose from. ... [Donald Trump's] appeal is attitude, not substance. You know, the art of the deal. The limits of that kind of appeal came through when the businessman was asked about his past support for “single-payer,” or government-run, health care. He replied that it works well in other countries and would have worked well here in the past, though it wouldn’t now for reasons he didn’t explain. He then flopped around with an answer that seemed to be about letting companies negotiate insurance rates across state lines, which large corporations can do already. Individuals and small business are the prisoners of state insurance exchanges. ... Debates are rarely definitive, especially this early. But the forum served the useful purpose of giving voters a chance to size up the field side-by-side for the first time. (8/7)
The Washington Post:
The First Republican Debate: The Trump Show, The Kasich Dissent And Everybody Else
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, playing on his home turf in Cleveland, stood out as decidedly different from all his foes. He was “compassionate conservatism” come back to life. A Republican who not only accepted the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare but actually fought for it, Kasich didn’t back away. Instead, he offered a passionate and spirited defense of the program and a description of the good it does. Praising Medicaid is something that’s just not done at GOP events. (E.J. Dionne Jr., 8/7)
Slate:
A Republican Presidential Candidate Just Gave One Of The Most Stirring Defenses Of Medicaid You’ll Ever See
Unsurprisingly, moderator Megyn Kelly asked Kasich about his Medicaid move (and St. Peter argument). And, once again, he didn't back down, instead delivering one of the most succinct and stirring defenses of the health care program for America's poor that I've ever seen. (Jordan Weissmann, 8/6)
The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire:
Debunking Budget Myths Before They Become Part Of 2016 Campaign
Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits and thus should not be touched. While one might expect to hear this more at a Democratic candidate debate, some Republicans have been arguing this. The fact is, most beneficiaries get more out of these programs than they paid into them, as CBO’s most recent long-term budget outlook showed: on average 10% more from Social Security and 250% more out of Medicare. That goes well beyond any reasonable definition of “earned.” We will hear a lot about repealing Obamacare in the coming campaign cycle, so it’s worth noting: Full repeal of the Affordable Care Act would increase the debt. Congressional Budget Office estimates published in June showed that repeal could cost $100 billion to $350 billion over the next decade. There are many ways to change the law that would save considerable money, but identifying those measures will require more than a simple promise to repeal Obamacare. (Maya MacGuineas, 8/6)
The New York Times' Opinionator:
It’s Time To Compensate Kidney Donors
Last week I wrote about Iran, the only country in the world that pays kidney donors. Iran shows that a kidney market need not resemble organ trafficking. Indeed, its market is closely regulated and has pre-empted the exploitative and abusive illegal markets found in many other countries. Iran’s program has flaws, such as lack of follow-up for donors and limited support for poor recipients, that are typical of an underdeveloped health system. But the program also has lessons for countries like the United States, where the wait for a kidney can be as long as a decade. ... In the United States, some prominent kidney doctors believe we might learn something from Iran. (Tina Rosenberg, 8/6)
The New York Times:
Missing The Warnings On Legionnaires’ Disease
The recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx, the largest in New York City’s history, shows how little is known about the cooling towers for air-conditioning systems that are the main incubators of the disease-causing bacteria. Even more dismaying has been the city’s sluggishness in responding to early-warning signs of a potential health problem. (8/7)
The Charlotte Observer:
Wos Steps Down, Not A Moment Too Soon
Usually when Aldona Wos makes headlines, it’s a bad sign for North Carolinians. She was back there Wednesday, though, and for once the news was good: She’s leaving. Gov. Pat McCrory’s health secretary announced that she wants to spend more time with her family. We’re sure she’s a wonderful wife and mother. But she was an overwhelmed leader of one of state government’s biggest departments. (8/6)
Roll Call:
Dental Medicaid Hurdles Must Be Addressed
In the half century since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicaid into law, it has helped to transform the American health care system, providing access to care to many of our most vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members. But Congress left out a key component of good health care – dental care. While dental coverage is part of the Medicaid benefit package for children, it is optional for adults and many people on Medicaid suffer from poor oral health. It is time to close that gap. (Maxine Feinberg, 8/7)
The Chicago Sun-Times:
Abortion Rights Founded On A Core Dishonesty
For decades, I believed that displaying grisly photographs of aborted babies was the wrong way to make the pro-life case. Disturbing images, I thought, would only repel viewers, not persuade them. I now think I was wrong. There are many ways to make an argument. The Center for Medical Progress has demonstrated that a 2 x 4 has its uses. The videos the Center has released, precisely because they are graphic, shatter the complacency and denial that are essential for a regime of mass violence to proceed. They undermine the reassuring fiction that birth is a bright moral line. Five seconds before the baby emerges, it has no moral worth. Five seconds after — all moral worth. That is untenable logically and pitiless psychologically. (Mona Charen, 8/6)
Los Angeles Times:
Setting A California Standard For EMT Certification In Fire Departments
An L.A. Times investigation published in March revealed that a quarter of Compton firefighters aren't certified as emergency medical technicians. This prompted the county to strip most of Compton's firetrucks of automated external defibrillators, a device than can mean the difference between life and death for someone in cardiac arrest. (8/6)
JAMA:
The Arc Of Health Literacy
It is a troubling paradox. In the midst of rapid expansion of medical knowledge intended to benefit many, too few actually understand medical information well enough to improve their health. A landmark 2006 report notes that only about 12% of US adults had a proficient state of health literacy whereby “individuals can obtain, process and understand the basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions.” ... As a result, despite abundant messaging from health professionals, the media, the Internet, and other sources, too many patients still have difficulty with seemingly routine tasks such as taking the right medicine at the right time, properly self-managing diabetes, or correctly following hospital discharge instructions. ... Now, an array of forces has catalyzed a reframing of the field. (Howard K. Koh and Rima E. Rudd, 8/6)
The New England Journal of Medicine:
Combating Emerging Threats — Accelerating The Availability Of Medical Therapies
Public health leaders need to take action before the next new threatening infectious disease emerges. One high-priority action will be the development and prepositioning of scientifically sound and widely accepted protocols by global public health authorities, to have them ready for use at the onset of a deadly outbreak wherever it strikes. In addition, work is needed to augment global clinical trial infrastructure, streamline processes for careful ethical review of multisite international studies, and establish model agreements for managing data and addressing intellectual property issues. If we are to act on lessons learned, there is no time to waste in getting this work done. (Luciana Borio, Edward Cox and Nicole Lurie, 8/5)