- KFF Health News Original Stories 3
- California Exchange Targets 'Hot Spots' With High Rates Of Uninsured
- You Can Buy Insulin Without A Prescription, But Should You?
- Connecticut Governor Targets Hospital Funds To Close Budget Gap
- Political Cartoon: 'Made Of Money'
- Health Law 2
- Tuesday Marks First Deadline In This Year's Health Law Open Enrollment Season
- Mindful Of Federal Fees, Oregon Mulls Running Its Own Exchange -- Again
- Marketplace 2
- Valeant Taps Attorney, 'High-Stakes' Crisis Public Affairs Firm
- States To Have Big Role Helping Decide Insurer Mergers
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
California Exchange Targets 'Hot Spots' With High Rates Of Uninsured
Tuesday is the deadline to sign up for health coverage that begins in January, so Covered California is boosting enrollment efforts in certain underserved communities. (Barbara Feder Ostrov, )
You Can Buy Insulin Without A Prescription, But Should You?
Versions sold that way are based on older formulas and make tight control of blood sugar harder. But they are cheaper and might save the life of a diabetic patient whose alternative is to go without. (Sarah Jane Tribble, Ideastream, )
Connecticut Governor Targets Hospital Funds To Close Budget Gap
When Gov. Dannel Malloy pushed to tax Connecticut hospitals in 2012, he said the money would come back to the institutions through state funding. Now the hospital association says he is reneging, and they are threatening a lawsuit. (Jeff Cohen, WNPR, )
Political Cartoon: 'Made Of Money'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Made Of Money'" by Marty Bucella.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
OREGON MAY RECLAIM ITS HEALTH EXCHANGE
Maybe it wasn't
So bad: state reconsiders
Running health website.
- Anonymous
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Tuesday Marks First Deadline In This Year's Health Law Open Enrollment Season
Dec. 15 is the deadline to enroll for coverage that will begin Jan. 1, 2016.
The Associated Press:
Crunch Time Again For Health Law; Tuesday Sign-Up Deadline
Rising premiums and downbeat forecasts from some major insurers have cast a cloud over sign-up season for President Barack Obama's health care law. Now, it's crunch time again. Tuesday is the deadline for millions of still-uninsured procrastinators to sign up in time to have coverage begin Jan. 1. (12/14)
The Baltimore Sun:
First Deadline For Health Coverage Under Obamacare Is Dec. 15
They're using a rock band and social media to attract young people, bilingual radio ads to draw Spanish speakers and needle exchange vans to reach out to drug addicts. Grass-roots groups and health workers around the state have deployed these tactics to persuade the persistently uninsured to sign up for health plans under the Affordable Care Act. The first deadline in this year's open enrollment period is Dec. 15 for people who want to get coverage by Jan. 1. (McDaniels, 12/13)
Meanwhile, Marketplace examines issues related to the "Cadillac tax" -
Marketplace:
Why The 'Cadillac Tax' Is Such A Tough Pill To Swallow
Everyone loves to talk about how Americans are spending too much on healthcare. And there’s a provision in Obamacare — often called the Cadillac Tax — that’s designed to at least help slow down this spending habit by taxing high-priced health insurance plans. But word from Washington is lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking at ways to delay the provision — which is slated to take effect in 2018. (Gorenstein, 12/11)
Mindful Of Federal Fees, Oregon Mulls Running Its Own Exchange -- Again
If it does so, though, Oregon officials say they will use another state's software. Also, Covered California hopes to boost enrollment in certain underserved communities, and MNsure extends the deadline for coverage beginning Jan. 1.
The Associated Press:
Faced With Federal Fee, Oregon Reconsiders Own Exchange
With a new fee for some states using the federal health insurance portal on the horizon, Oregon says it’s looking into running its own exchange again, but with another state’s software. Oregon officials say they’re planning to solicit proposals this month for technology that’s successfully running an existing health insurance exchange. (Wozniacka, 12/11)
Kaiser Health News:
California Exchange Targets 'Hot Spots' With High Rates Of Uninsured
Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Barbara Feder Ostrov writes: "Tuesday is the deadline to sign up for health coverage that begins in January, so Covered California is boosting enrollment efforts in certain underserved communities." (Feder Ostrov, 12/11)
Minnesota Public Radio:
MNsure, Health Insurance Companies Extend Enrollment Deadline
MNsure and Minnesota health insurance companies announced on Saturday an extension of open enrollment for 2016 health plans. The joint announcement means Minnesotans now have until Dec. 28 to comply with the federal mandate that nearly all Americans have coverage Jan. 1 or pay a penalty. The deadline had been Dec. 15. (Zdechlik, 12/12)
In news on Medicaid expansion, Louisiana lawmakers are showing more interest -
The Associated Press:
Analysis: Medicaid Expansion Moving Closer To Reality In La.
Republican lawmakers who have repeatedly rejected efforts to expand Louisiana's Medicaid program and provide government-funded health insurance to the working poor are showing much more interest in the idea. It's hard to keep turning down the offer of billions of federal dollars for a cash-strapped state. But perhaps more importantly for the debate, the Republican governor who ran a failed presidential campaign that included strong opposition to the federal health care revamp is leaving office in January. (Deslatte, 12/13)
In other news related to how states may want to revise their health law programs -
Modern Healthcare:
HHS Guidance On State Waivers Sets Strict Rules Preventing Limited Or Expensive Coverage
HHS is working to ensure that the poor maintain coverage in states that end up seeking a 1332 waiver through new guidance posted Friday. According to a statute in the Affordable Care Act, beginning Jan. 1, 2017, states can request that the federal government waive basically every major coverage component of the ACA, including exchanges, benefit packages, and the individual and employer mandates. (Dickson 12/11)
Valeant Taps Attorney, 'High-Stakes' Crisis Public Affairs Firm
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, a small, year-old startup is working to stabilize the prices of generic drugs.
Reuters:
Valeant Hires Attorney, Crisis Management Firm As U.S. Scrutiny Mounts
U.S. pharmaceuticals firm Valeant, under mounting pressure from Congress and prosecutors over its drug pricing, has hired an attorney in Washington, D.C., and crisis public relations experts with political connections, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move, confirmed by sources and through documents viewed by Reuters, signals a shift for Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which does not maintain a large presence on Capitol Hill. (12/13)
The Boston Globe:
Nonprofit Vows To Lower Generic Drug Costs
It’s a long way from Manhattan, where Turing Pharmaceuticals this fall raised the price of a generic drug to fight parasitic infections by 5,000 percent. The aim, in the words of founder Martin Shkreli, was “to make as much money as possible.” But in this Central Massachusetts town, a small team of drug industry veterans has launched a startup to counter Turing and other biopharma price gougers by making affordable generic medicines to treat critical diseases. And they’re doing it as a nonprofit (Weisman, 12/14)
Some consumers are dealing with the high cost of prescriptions by bypassing doctors and taking matters into their own hands -
Kaiser Health News:
You Can Buy Insulin Without A Prescription, But Should You?
As anyone who needs insulin to treat diabetes can tell you, that usually means regular checkups at the doctor’s office to fine-tune the dosage, monitor blood-sugar levels and check for complications. But here’s a little known fact: Some forms of insulin can be bought without a prescription. (Tribble, 12/14)
States To Have Big Role Helping Decide Insurer Mergers
State-based regulators can likely modify -- or altogether block -- pending deals between big insurers Anthem and Cigna as well as Aetna and Humana. Elsewhere, Millennium Health's bankruptcy plan clears a big hurdle, and an Ohio insurer decides to end commissions for some small group and individual insurance plans in Obamacare.
Modern Healthcare:
States Hold Key Role In Big Insurer Mergers
The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust probe of two massive proposed insurance mergers has dominated the spotlight as hospitals, doctors and lawmakers fret over the impact of allowing Anthem to absorb Cigna Corp. and Aetna to swallow Humana. But insurance regulators in most states also have a shot at derailing or modifying the deals and will spend the first half of 2016 crunching data and holding public hearings. (Schencker, 12/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Millennium Health Chapter 11 Plan Clears Crucial Hurdle
Millennium Health LLC’s chapter 11 plan cleared a major hurdle Friday when a bankruptcy judge brushed aside objections to the plan, which funds a $256 million settlement of fraud accusations with the Justice Department. Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved the bulk of a reorganization strategy designed as a fresh start for the drug-testing company. Millennium hasn’t admitted to civil charges that it fraudulently billed taxpayers. The judge withheld her signature while pondering the form of the order she is being asked to sign. (Brickley, 12/11)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
HealthSpan Backs Away From Obamacare Plans; Dissolves Northeast Ohio Physicians Group
Cleveland-based insurer HealthSpan is disbanding its physicians network and has notified brokers it will stop paying commissions for small group and individual customers, citing concerns about its financial viability in those markets. The company, which insures 200,000 people statewide, also said it has laid off employees in its small group and individual sales units. The decision to back away from those markets raised alarms among local brokers who stand to lose commissions and assistance from HealthSpan in serving their clients. (Ross, 12/12)
Weary 9/11 Health Bill Supporters Wonder, Why Won't It Pass?
The popular legislation has become a political chit, and advocates are frustrated as they watch responders die waiting. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Republicans are expected to block Democrats' proposal to federally fund gun violence research.
The Washington Post:
How Health Care For 9/11 Responders Became Just Another Political Football
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan assured House Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting that the 9/11 health program would be taken care of. But it remains uncertain exactly how that will happen. “Everyone said they were for it,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney on Thursday. "But if everyone’s for it, why couldn’t you pass it?" (DeBonis, 12/14)
In other congressional news, the Senate held a hearing on why agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, do not always listen to their watchdogs --
The Washington Post:
All That Advice On How To Save Money? Lots Of It Goes Down The Drain, Watchdogs Tell Congress
Federal watchdogs told Senate lawmakers Thursday that thousands of their recommendations for eliminating millions of wasted dollars every year get swept under the rug and simply never implemented. ... The auditors have made many recommendations for savings to Medicare, but although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would take auditors’ findings into consideration, as of April 2015 the agency has not established a time frame for improving the accuracy of its adjustments. (Rein, 12/11)
Planned Parenthood Files Preemptive Suit To Block Ohio Action On Fetal Tissue
The reproductive health organization's action came after Attorney General Mike DeWine's report that facilities in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland improperly disposed of fetal remains.
USA Today:
Ohio Planned Parenthood Sues To 'Protect Abortion Access'
Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit Sunday to "protect abortion access" in Ohio following Attorney General Mike DeWine's report that facilities in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland improperly disposed of fetal remains. DeWine announced Friday that a four-month investigation of the three facilities found aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio in Mount Auburn and the Columbus clinic contracted with a company that heats the tissue to kill bacteria and disposes of the remains in a Kentucky landfill. (Butts, 12/13)
The Columbus Dispatch:
Planned Parenthood Files Federal Suit To Block Ohio Action On Fetal-Tissue Disposal
State officials were expected to seek an injunction against Planned Parenthood after an investigation by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine found it violated the state Administrative Code requiring “humane” disposal of aborted fetuses. Now that action will depend on whether Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. of U.S. District Court in Columbus grants Planned Parenthood’s request for an immediate court order to prevent the state action. (Rowland, 12/14)
The Hill:
Ohio AG: Planned Parenthood Aborted Fetuses End Up In Landfills
Aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio are ending up being disposed of in landfills, according to an investigation from the state’s attorney general. The investigation, according to a Friday press release, concluded that the three Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio have sent fetal remains to companies that in turn disposed of them in landfills. (Sullivan, 12/11)
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood Sues Ohio In Dispute Over Fetal Tissue
The federal lawsuit filed in Columbus follows an investigation by the state's attorney general into the organization's three facilities in Ohio that provide abortions. Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the probe in mid-July after anti-abortion activists began releasing undercover videos they said showed Planned Parenthood personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs. (12/13)
Reuters:
Planned Parenthood Files Federal Lawsuit Against Ohio Health Department
[The lawsuit] comes two days after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican, said he would file his own injunction to block those facilities from sending fetal remains to companies that then disposed of them in landfills. DeWine said doing so violated state administrative rules. (12/13)
In addition, Planned Parenthood funding issues continue to be in play in Texas and Arizona -
The Texas Tribune:
After Sound And Fury, Planned Parenthood Still Funded
Almost two months after Texas Republican leaders announced they would kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid, it hasn't happened. The organization is still receiving federal and state funds to provide health care for about 13,500 low-income women a year, and the state officials who called for a cutoff, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have fallen silent on why the funding continues. (Ura and Walters, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
GOP Lawmakers To Try Blocking Planned Parenthood Funds Again
Republican lawmakers in the Arizona Legislature on Friday promised to try again to block all funding for Planned Parenthood in the coming legislative session. The announcement from Senate President Andy Biggs comes despite a 2014 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld rulings preventing Arizona from stopping non-abortion funding through the state's Medicaid plan to the group. (Christie, 12/12)
And in other news, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report notes a drop in abortions -
PBS NewsHour:
Abortions Drop By 35 Percent Since The 1970s, Report Says
Abortion rates in the United States are at their lowest levels since the government started tracking them in the 1970s. A report issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics said that in 2012, the year with the most recent data, there was a 35 percent drop in abortions during the past two decades 0r about 13 abortions for every 1,000 women. (Regan, 12/13)
Iowa Hospitals Press Judge To Stop State From Revamping Medicaid Program
The hospitals and some enrollees are concerned that the plan to move to a private managed care plan in January will limit the number of hospitals and doctors available to patients. News outlets also examine Medicaid news from California and North Carolina.
The Des Moines Register:
Hospitals Ask Judge To Delay Medicaid Privatization
A Polk County judge heard pleas from Iowa hospitals Friday to delay the state’s shift to private management of its Medicaid program. But a lawyer for Gov. Terry Branstad urged the judge to leave the decision to federal experts, who are determining if the state is ready to take the privatization plunge on Jan. 1. Judge Robert Hanson must decide whether to grant an injunction requested by the Iowa Hospital Association, which says Branstad’s plan is rushed and illegal. (Leys, 12/11)
Des Moines Register:
Iowans Warned: Medicaid Patients May Lose Doctors
At least one health care provider is warning patients that Iowa's plan to switch to privatized Medicaid management may force them to find new doctors. And the state last week acknowledged the possibility after the Hematology & Oncology Center of Iowa distributed fliers warning its patients of the possibility. That’s because Iowa has contracted with four separate corporations that will work like insurance companies to oversee management of the 560,000 poor and disabled Iowans on the program, which is slated to launch on Jan. 1. People with multiple doctors may find that some of their current physicians haven’t contracted with and won’t accept some — or even any — of the four insurers. (Clayworth, 12/14)
California Healthline:
Dual Opt-Out Numbers Are Slightly Better This Month
The Cal MediConnect program got a little good news in the latest enrollment numbers: The percentage of [the] dual eligible opt-outs dropped slightly from 47% in October to 45% in November. Excluding Los Angeles County, which has the state's largest number of residents dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, the percentages looked even better, with a 30% opt-out rate this month, compared to 37% a month ago. (Gorn, 12/11)
North Carolina Health News:
Medicaid Reform Plan Short On Details, Long On Questions
When lawmakers in the N. C. General Assembly passed their long-awaited Medicaid reform bill this past September, they all acknowledged that the 14-page bill would not be the final word on the future of the $13 billion program. The quote from legislators, lobbyists and advocates heard frequently in debate and around the halls of the legislative building over the past few years of debate over Medicaid has been that the “devil will be in the details” as the state reforms the program. (Hoban, 12/14)
News outlets report on health care developments in Connecticut, Missouri, Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, Tennessee and Washington.
Kaiser Health News:
Connecticut Governor Targets Hospital Funds To Close Budget Gap
When Gov. Dannel Malloy pushed to tax Connecticut hospitals in 2012, he said the money would come back to the institutions through state funding. Now the hospital association says he is reneging, and they are threatening a lawsuit. (Cohen, 12/11)
The Associated Press:
Delays, Criticism Hampering Laws To Remedy Physician Shortage
A new Missouri law offered a first-of-its-kind solution to the physician shortage plaguing thousands of U.S. communities: Medical school graduates could start treating patients immediately, without wading through years of traditional residency programs. Following Missouri's lead, similar measures were enacted in Arkansas and Kansas and considered in Oklahoma. The idea appeared to be a new model for delivering medical care in regions with too few physicians to meet needs. Yet more than 18 months after that first law passed, Missouri regulators are still trying to make it work. And not a single new doctor has gone into practice in any of the three states as a result of the new laws. (Lieb, 12/13)
The Cleveland:
Cleveland Hospital Systems Agree To Stop Diverting ER Traffic By Feb. 15, Accept EMS Patients 24/7
In a breakthrough agreement, Cleveland hospital systems have struck a deal to stop the periodic closure of their emergency rooms to help ensure more timely and effective care for the region's patients, city and hospitals officials said. The accord means that by Feb. 15 of next year, emergency rooms in the city will be accepting EMS patients around the clock, regardless of their traffic volumes. (Ross, 12/11)
The Associated Press:
Massachusetts Lawmakers To Hold Hearing On Ban On Microbeads
Massachusetts lawmakers are holding a public hearing this week on a bill that would ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products and over-the-counter drugs. The ban would be phased in over the next few years and fully take effect by 2021. The bill — sponsored by state Sen. Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat — is one focus of Tuesday's public hearing before the Public Health Committee at the Statehouse. (12/13)
The Boston Globe:
As Charlestown Opioid Crisis Deepens, A New Clinic Opens
Charlestown has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. [Michael] Cain, a 51-year-old recovering addict who is active in drug-prevention work, estimates that nearly every family in the neighborhood has been affected by addiction either directly or indirectly. Help is on the way. A second health clinic opened in the neighborhood last week to provide comprehensive care to a population whose struggles with drugs often have gone unnoticed and untreated. (MacQuarrie, 12/13)
ProPublica:
Tyson Foods' Secret Recipe For Carving Up Workers' Comp
About five years ago, one of the nation’s largest corporations, Tyson Foods, drew a bullseye on the official who oversaw Iowa’s system for compensating injured workers. As workers’ compensation commissioner, Chris Godfrey acted as chief judge of the courts that decided workplace injury disputes. He had annoyed Tyson with a string of rulings that, in the company’s view, expanded what employers had to cover, putting a dent in its bottom line. (Grabell, 12/11)
Dayton Daily News:
Odd Fellows Home Closure Imminent
The Odd Fellows Home — an assisted-living facility tucked away in a quiet neighborhood off Rivermont Avenue — will close for good in three weeks following numerous complaints, repeated violations and systemic deficiencies. According to the Virginia Department of Social Services’ website, for at least five years residents and employees have filed numerous complaints against the home and the state has cited the facility for violations that put residents in harm’s way. (Trent, 12/13)
McClatchy:
Feds' Zeal To Pare Costs Targets Nuclear Workers' Health Benefits
Inside a closely guarded 16,000-acre facility in the Texas Panhandle, nuclear workers have the perilous task of taking apart aging nuclear warheads and rebuilding them into upgraded nuclear weapons. The secretive toil at the Pantex Plant, 17 miles north of Amarillo, is part the U.S. government's push to modernize its entire nuclear arsenal, an ambitious effort estimated to cost upward of $1 trillion over the next three decades. But even as the federal government ramps up spending on refurbished nukes, it has been looking for ways to cut costs. (Wise, Berard and Peterson, 12/13)
The Washington Post:
Tenn. Woman Charged With Attempted Murder For Failed Coat Hanger Abortion
Anna Yocca was 24 weeks pregnant when police say she filled a bathtub with water, untwisted the wire of a coat hanger and plunged it into her womb in an attempt at “self abortion.” Now, Yocca is facing an indictment for first-degree attempted murder. (Kaplan, 12/14)
The Seattle Times:
State Changing Vitamin Rule In Wake Of Birth Defects Probe
Amid a growing cluster of birth defects in Central Washington, state officials are rewriting a Medicaid-coverage rule to give more women access to vitamins that can help prevent the deadly disorder. The move follows a Seattle Times investigation into the state’s response to a yearslong spike in the birth defect. Among the findings: The state has mistakenly limited coverage for the crucial vitamins, even in the three counties affected by the deadly cluster, where up to 80 percent of births are paid for by the state (Aleccia, 12/12)
The Seattle Times:
Flawed Tracking May Mask Birth-Defect Clusters Across U.S.
It’s difficult, often impossible, to uncover the cause of a birth-defect cluster. But the task is made tougher in Washington state and across the U.S. by a scattershot system that doesn’t routinely or accurately track cases that might signal alarm. In Central Washington, it took an astute nurse at a small hospital to notice that an unusual number of babies were being born with anencephaly, a tragic neural-tube defect. She flagged the problem, triggering the investigation that continues today. (Aleccia and Mayo, 12/12)
Viewpoints: Watch Out For Single Payer In Colo.; Drug Costs; Flu Shots For Hospital Workers
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Wall Street Journal:
Don’t Let ObamaCare’s Failures Snowball Into Single Payer
Like an avalanche, the Affordable Care Act has swept through the Rocky Mountain State, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. At the end of 2013, 335,000 cancellation notices went out to customers whose plans were now deemed illegal by federal regulators. ... As for Colorado HealthOP, the state’s co-op, which was the largest insurer on the ObamaCare exchange, it shut down in October .... Huge premium increases loom for the remaining exchange plans .... It shouldn’t be a surprise that many Coloradans want to abandon ObamaCare and replace it with something new. What’s worrying is that the state’s liberals and progressives have been mobilizing to replace it with a single-payer system. (Nathan Nascimento, 12/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Health Of Obamacare
More than five years ago, the Affordable Care Act—what most of us call Obamacare—was passed into law with two big declared goals: to reduce the number of Americans who lack health insurance and to cut health spending that doesn’t give good value for money. Has the law been a success? The country is sharply divided. The most recent Gallup and Kaiser Family Foundation tracking polls show public opinion almost evenly split, with Democrats largely supporting the law and Republicans opposing it. ... What is different now is that we have a few years of direct experience of Obamacare. The most recent research on the law’s real consequences is more ambiguous than either side usually lets on. (Daniel P. Kessler, 12/11)
The New York Times:
Senator Rubio Makes Life Tough For Small Insurers
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is boasting about his efforts to sabotage a program intended to keep health insurance markets stable and premiums low during the start-up years of the Affordable Care Act. He claims to be the only Republican presidential candidate who has scored a victory over Obamacare. There is a smidgen of truth to that — his sabotage effort actually became law and was not just a symbolic vote to “repeal Obamacare.” His blow will cause temporary inconvenience for hundreds of thousands of people covered by small insurers. Fortunately, it will not undermine the viability of health insurance markets for the long haul. (12/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
John Kasich Vs. ‘Obscurity’
Mr. Kasich is trying to merge traditional conservative economics with his social gospel. “I’m the hardest person to beat,” he says, “because I’m the hardest person to label.” He frequently speaks of the homeless, the mentally ill and the sick, of drug addicts and ex-cons, of “people living in the shadows.” He challenges Republicans to show sympathy for Americans who aren’t like them, especially the poor and minorities. “If you look at the record,” he says, “the record is loud and clear about who I am, and what I believe, and what my values are, and the conservative nature of how I’ve solved problems.” (Joseph Rago, 12/11)
The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire:
Prescription Drugs’ Sizable Share Of Health Spending
The cost of prescription drugs is the hot health-care issue, but almost every discussion about it includes this caveat: As big a problem as rising drug prices have been for consumers and payers, drug spending represents only 10% of national spending on health. Yet ... drug spending represents almost double that share of health spending (19%) in employer health insurance plans. That is not too much less than the 23% employers spend on inpatient hospital care. (Drew Altman, 12/13)
Rapid City Journal:
Medicaid Expansion Can Work For State
Many Native Americans in South Dakota are not able to be served by [the Indian Health Service], however. This can be because there is no IHS facility in their area or IHS lacks specialists or because IHS funding for the fiscal year is exhausted. No matter the reason, when a Native American who is Medicaid eligible does not seek care through IHS part of the cost is shifted to the state. If more Native American health-care expenditures could be 100 percent federally funded the state could save up to $67 million per year — enough to cover the state’s costs to expand Medicaid. (South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, 12/14)
The Washington Post:
Iowa’s Radical Privatization Of Medicaid Is Already Struggling
On Jan. 1, 31 days before Iowa caucus-goers cast the first votes of the 2016 presidential race, the state will gain another national distinction, but of a dubious variety: It plans to launch the most sweeping and radical privatization of Medicaid ever attempted. (Dana Milbank, 12/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Flu Shots For Hospital Workers Save Lives
Seasonal flu caused as many as 55,000 deaths in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It may surprise you to know that some of these deaths are likely the result of health-care workers transmitting the influenza virus to their patients. Hospitals have begun requiring their staff to get vaccinated, or wear masks if they cannot or will not get vaccinated. The mandates work: A CDC survey this year showed that hospitals, physician offices, long-term care facilities and other clinics with mandatory vaccination achieved 96% coverage for their workers, compared with 44% coverage in institutions that don’t. (M. Todd Greene and Sanjay Saint, 12/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
How Bureaucracy Hinders Help For Disabled Children
Imagine this: You have a child with a disability. Perhaps he’s on the autism spectrum. Or maybe she didn’t get enough oxygen during birth. To get on with life, you might need to find someone to change your child’s feeding tube at 3 a.m. so that you can sleep, and get to work the next morning, and keep a roof over your family’s head. Or you might need a therapist who can help put words into your child’s mouth. There are many offices and bureaus that can help. But the layers of bureaucracy present an impenetrable wall. (Margaret Mikol, 12/13)
Los Angeles Times:
'I Have Terminal Cancer. And I'm Dying In A Yearish.'
The enormity of the news didn't sink in fully, not at first, even after my doctor uttered the words: “I'm sorry, we did find cancer.” My husband, Dave, and I had only the faintest sense that evening that our lives had been hijacked forever. Early 2014 brought major surgery, then six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. Eight months later they found cancer again, so it was Christmas surgery and more of the same. When a scan in June showed new tumors, the outlook turned bleak. The cancer, a rare type — metastatic squamous cell head and neck carcinoma of unknown primary — had gone systemic. ... I have turned my attention to the question How do I best spend the time I have left? (Melinda Welsh, 12/11)
The New York Times:
To Reduce Suicides, Keep The Guns Away
As Americans debate how the country should respond to gun violence, they should not lose sight of the biggest category of firearm deaths: suicides. About two-thirds of people killed by guns, or 20,000 a year, kill themselves. The rate at which Americans commit suicide with guns has been increasing for several years, even as the rate of gun homicides has declined. Research shows that the increase is correlated with higher gun ownership. (12/14)
The Seattle Times:
More Than A Name Change At Stake In Group Health-Kaiser Deal
When a key player in a merger proclaims “This is an exciting new chapter,” as Dr. Steve Tarnoff, president of Group Health Physicians, said of Kaiser Permanente’s pending acquisition of Group Health Cooperative, one must always ask, exciting for whom? Oh, and define exciting. Adding Group Health and its 600,000 members in Washington and northern Idaho to its portfolio would be a coup for Kaiser Permanente, a large, complex and storied managed-care organization. (Jon Talton, 12/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Uncounted Trillions In The Inequality Debate
These data seem to show a country whose wealth is highly concentrated. But the true picture is hardly as stark as critics of inequality claim, because it leaves out the large amount of wealth held in the form of future retirement benefits from Social Security and Medicare. Moreover, the public’s traditional financial wealth is depressed because the current entitlement programs lower people’s real incomes and deny them the higher returns available through investment-based retirement savings like IRAs or 401(k)s. (Martin Feldstein, 12/13)