Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Warren's 'Medicare For All' Plan Adds Up For Middle Class; Anti-Abortion Case Before Supreme Court Is About Protecting Women's Health This Time
The Wall Street Journal: Warren, Unlike Sanders, Makes The Medicare Math Add Up
Bernie Sanders released an updated plan last week to pay for Medicare for All. The plan is light on details, but leaves the senator at least $12.5 trillion short of covering the cost of his health-care proposal over 10 years. It calls for some tax increases on working families, but the real burden may be much higher than advertised: Mr. Sanders may have to raise taxes on American workers by 16 percentage points or more to avoid multitrillion-dollar deficits. Fortunately, Elizabeth Warren’s financing plan for Medicare for All offers a better alternative. (Simon Johnson, 3/2)
The Hill: 'Fixing Healthcare' Is A Disservice To Society
We all know — and the presidential candidates keep reminding us at every debate and in the run-up to Super Tuesday — that our health care system is struggling to provide Americans with affordable care. While we broadly agree that health care needs to be fixed, the conversation on “how” is headed down the wrong path. Instead of looking for solutions to patch up the current system, we should think anew for higher efficiencies, lower costs and, most importantly, better outcomes. (Anat Lechner and Ian Mark, 3/2)
The New York Times: The Heartbeat Bills Were Never The Real Threat To Abortion
What if the heartbeat bills — those bans on abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy that made headlines last spring in states from Georgia to Missouri — were not the real story? What if the most serious threat to Roe v. Wade were far more subtle — and based on arguments similar to those that the Supreme Court has already rejected? (Mary Ziegler, 3/3)
The Hill: Reproductive Well-Being Of Future Generations Is Hanging In The Balance
On Wednesday, March 4, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a case with the potential to severely limit Louisiana women’s access to abortion. The case before it is June Medical Services v. Russo and the court is considering the constitutionality of a Louisiana law requiring those who provide abortion care to have to admit privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where they provide abortion services. There is no medical reason for requiring admitting privileges for those who provide abortion care. (Ginny Ehrlich, 3/2)
Stat: Precision Medicine: Course Correction Urgently Needed
An undeclared civil war is breaking out in biomedicine. On one side is precision medicine, with its emphasis on tailoring treatments to ever-narrower groups of patients. On the other side is population health, which emphasizes predominantly preventive interventions that have broad applications across populations. Which vision will provide the most durable and efficient path to improved health for all? (Richard Cooper and Nigel Paneth, 3/3)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore: Poised For A Revolution In Health Business
The region’s politicians and business leaders are mourning the fact Baltimore stands to lose another headquarters of a prestigious, publicly traded company with the news that Legg Mason Inc. was acquired by Franklin Resources Inc. But investors should remain bullish about the city’s business future. The acquisition of Legg Mason was part of a natural cycle of industry consolidation and not a measure of Baltimore’s business climate. In fact, Baltimore and the surrounding region are poised to lead a business revolution in health. (Alex Triantis and Christy Wyskiel, 3/2)
