Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: What's Really Behind The Reason Americans Will Never See Medicare-For-All?; Waiting For A Replacement Plan In Case ACA Is Struck Down Is Absurd
The New York Times: Why America Will Never Get Medicare For All
The weirdest thing about the Democratic primary is how un-American it sounds. For all their differences, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden — the last men standing — both call for a robust expansion of government programs. Mr. Sanders wants “Medicare for all”; Mr. Biden wants a “public option” to compete against private insurance. Both call for a vast increase in Section 8 housing vouchers. Mr. Sanders wants to build 10 million affordable housing units. (Eduardo Porter, 3/14)
Modern Healthcare: If The ACA Is Struck Down With No Replacement, Then What?
The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 has been followed by a seemingly nonstop series of legal and legislative fights over its existence that are expected to carry on into the foreseeable future. And while we knew the party that had passed the ACA was invested in keeping uninsured rates low, the GOP and this administration express reservations about “forcing” people to have coverage and don’t seem to talk about what would happen to the uninsured. (Aurora Aguilar, 3/14)
Stat: Methadone Rules Need To Be Changed To Account For Covid-19
In cities across the country, morning is peak time at almost any opioid treatment program. The line stretches from the front counter to the back door as patients wait to get their daily dose of methadone. It’s an absolutely essential gathering, but one that runs counter to containing the Covid-19 outbreak. Efforts by health systems and governments to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, have revealed gaping cracks in our nation’s public health and safety net infrastructure. The virus appears to have an outsized effect on vulnerable Americans. (Ximena A. Levander and Sarah E. Wakeman, 3/17)
Stat: Mending The Broken Social Contract For Pharma Pricing, Innovation
The biopharmaceutical industry is under unprecedented assault by the public and politicians. Hostility over launch prices for new drugs and post-launch price increases is broad and bipartisan, reflected in increasingly draconian legislative proposals and aggressive rebate payer negotiations. The net price of drugs — that’s the list price minus rebates and other reductions — is being squeezed, and the pressure won’t let up. (James C. Robinson, 3/13)
The New York Times: We’re Finally Winning The Fight Against Conversion Therapy
As a national advocate for a nonprofit organization working to protect the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. youth in America, I spend a lot of time looking down on wheat fields from tens of thousands of feet in the air. The constant flights from coast to coast and state capital to state capital give me plenty of time to reflect on the world in which today’s L.G.B.T.Q. young people are growing up. My recent reflections have been focused on the onslaught of harmful bills that discriminate against transgender and non-binary youth, and how to ensure they never pass into law. (Sam Brinton, 3/12)
The Wall Street Journal: Mississippi’s Biggest Loser
Nearly 40% of Mississippians struggle with obesity, but the state’s occupational licensing regime is truly corpulent. The state Department of Health is now throwing its considerable weight against anyone who dares to offer weight-loss advice without government permission. Mississippi’s latest target is Donna Harris, a personal trainer at Madison County gym. She recently created an eight-week program for adults who want to slim down but are otherwise healthy. For $99, participants would receive one-on-one weight-loss coaching from Ms. Harris, among other perks. Seventy clients signed up, but Ms. Harris’s program also caught the attention of the state Department of Health, which can gobble entrepreneurs whole. It claimed Ms. Harris was working as an unlicensed dietitian, ordered her to cease and desist, and threatened her with up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, criminal charges and a civil suit. (3/15)
Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell Puts Profit Over People
Two weeks ago I received a letter from Angie, a working mom. She wrote to me about her 12-year-old daughter, Addison, who has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 3. Sometimes, Angie and her husband, Steve — who have insurance — pay as much as $1,000 out of pocket per month for the medication and supplies their daughter needs to stay alive. That’s in addition to the $1,250 she and her husband are paying every month for their health insurance premiums. Angie has been fighting with insurance companies for nine years to get coverage for her daughter’s lifesaving health needs. And she’s not alone. As I talk to Kentuckians across the state, the No. 1 concern I hear about is access to affordable, quality health care. Kentucky has some of the worst health statistics in the nation. We have the highest mortality rate for cancer and among the worst rates of lung disease, diabetes and heart disease. Yet as Kentuckians struggle, Sen. Mitch McConnell has fought to make our health care system and its outcomes even worse. (Amy McGrath, 3/16)
