Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: What's With Always Making Health Care The No. 1 Priority?; Focus On Savings That Would Come From Having 'Medicare For All'
The New York Times: Medicare Mania
If you’ve watched the Democratic debates so far, you may have noticed a theme. The discussion, especially during the first hour, has focused on one issue: Medicare. That discussion has often felt repetitive, with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren arguing for one approach to expanding Medicare while the other candidates argue for a different approach. Enough already. (Leonhardt, 10/28)
Miami Herald: Fund Healthcare Without Harming Low, Middle-Income Americans
Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have struggled to explain how they would pay for “Medicare for all.” This is puzzling. A single-payer approach like Medicare for all can reduce overall health spending. Other wealthy countries that have universal coverage spend far less on healthcare than the United States as a share of their gross domestic product.A lack of money is not the problem. That’s why it should not be difficult to devise a way to pay for Medicare for all to benefit the vast majority of us, particularly low- and middle-income earners. (Stephen Marks, 10/28)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Obamacare's Successes, Despite GOP Sabotage, Should Figure In 2020 Vote
Nearly a decade after its controversial implementation, it’s clear the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is saving lives. Yet the Republican Party continues its relentless campaign to kill it. Defeating that campaign could be a matter of life or death for people like Bonnie Sparks, a heart patient profiled in a recent Washington Post deep dive on the real-world effects of Obamacare. Without it, “I would be dead or I would be financially ruined,” said Sparks, relating how she risked — and then suffered — a heart attack because she couldn’t afford her prescribed blood thinner. She now has coverage through Obamacare. (10/27)
Stat: I Used To Work On Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug. Is It Spinning Bad Data?
When I learned last week that Biogen had completed a retrospective analysis of the aducanumab data — the same data that seven months earlier the company had said justified stopping work on the drug — I thought of my father, my friend, George Scangos, and people around the globe with Alzheimer’s, ALS, and other diseases for which there are no cures. I hope that Biogen made a mistake in its futility analysis back in March. But if it didn’t, and this is another example of the American public watching big pharma trying to spin bad data, then I can’t help but wonder if Biogen, and perhaps the industry, has lost its way. (Ted Whitford, 10/28)
The Hill: End Harassment At VA Hospitals
When I ran the VA’s Center for Women Veterans, one of my highest priorities was changing the culture throughout the organization to be more welcoming of women veterans, who make up a small but rapidly growing percentage of our nation’s veterans. That work is deeply necessary: Alarming research by the department found that one in four women veterans using VA health care “reported inappropriate and/or unwanted comments or behavior by male veterans on VA grounds.” Unsurprisingly, women who experienced that harassment were less likely to feel welcome, which could lead to them delaying or missing needed care. Just like in the military, younger women are at higher risk of experiencing that harassment. (Kayla Williams, 10/28)
The Hill: Democrats And Republicans Running For Office: Take The Tulsi Challenge
Rarely would the head of the largest pro-life grassroots student organization, the former head of Planned Parenthood and an abortion supporting political candidate agree on commonsense limits on abortion. But in a political season in which Democratic candidates for president have more to say on saving the planet for future generations than on the practice of ending those generations in the womb, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) has some advice for my family's former party that Democrats really should consider if they want to win. At last week’s Democratic debate, Gabbard has had the nerve to state the obvious; that abortions in the third trimesters when preborn babies can feel pain, when the risks to women dramatically rises, and as babies can live outside the womb should be curtailed. (Kristan Hawkins, 10/28)
Kansas City Star: USDA Subsidies In Kansas City Will Hurt Missouri Taxpayers
On Monday, Port KC’s board — virtually without discussion or debate — gave initial approval to what could be millions in public subsidies to benefit the federal government, which is relocating more than 500 jobs here from Washington, D.C. The nation’s taxpayers will get a break because the incentives are designed in part to lower the government’s expenses for local office space. But Missouri taxpayers will pay the price in reduced funding for schools, health care and other state services. (10/29)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Needs To Put An End To Youth Vaping
Several states have already placed a temporary ban on the sale of electronic smoking devices (ESDs). The Iowa Statehouse needs to take action and recognize youth vaping as a growing public health emergency. Legislators must recognize the nicotine in ESDs comes from the tobacco plant; therefore, vaping products like e-cigarettes should be considered tobacco products and receive the same regulation. (George Belitsos, 10/28)
Nashville Tennessean: Surprise Medical Billing Critical In Rural Communities
Surprise billing is one of several issues in our health care system that must be addressed. However, the benchmarking approach in Senator Alexander’s bill would make things considerably worse for rural health care access. That’s because this approach would end up hitting rural hospitals and emergency rooms with substantial financial losses as it would set artificially low rates for physicians. (David May, 10/28)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: End Federal And State Bans Denying Abortion Access To Low-Income Women After Rape Or Incest
Back in April, Ohio legislators passed and Gov. Mike DeWine signed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country. This so-called Human Rights Protection Act outlaws abortions as early as five or six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women even know they’re pregnant. The law, which is not in effect and currently blocked by the courts, doesn’t allow for exceptions in cases of rape or incest. As a sexual-assault survivor, I know that carrying your rapist’s baby is the worst scenario imaginable for survivors. As extreme as Ohio’s new law is, I also know that barriers to abortion access have existed for decades, impacting the most vulnerable people. (Siqi Cheng, 10/28)
