Today’s Op-Eds: Uncertainties Ahead for Health Care Reform; Medicare’s ‘Soviet’ Fee Structure; Taming Health Care Spending
Owning The Problem National JournalFor all of the turmoil around reform, few of the health industry's key players would be entirely satisfied reverting to the trends that were straining the system before reform passed. And, like them or loathe them, the alternatives to President Obama's blueprint that Republicans have offered so far are not likely to alter those dynamics much one way or another (Ronald Brownstein, 11/11).
Gov. Bredesen Offers Way Past Health Care War Roll Call
Bredesen's plan has aspects that should appeal to both parties. For Democrats, it's universal and comprehensive, guaranteeing basic health care for everyone, financed through a trust fund akin to Social Security. For Republicans, it includes vouchers, offers free choice of health care plans, replaces Medicare and Medicaid, and limits medical malpractice awards (Morton M. Kondracke, 11/11).
Medicare's Soviet Label The New York Times
Soviet label notwithstanding, the relative fee structure underlying the Medicare fee schedules imposed in 1992 - the so-called "resource-based relative value scale" - has by now been widely adopted by many private health insurers in the United States as the basis for negotiating fees with physicians (Uwe E. Reinhardt, 11/12).
GOP's Kabuki Theater on Health Care Law The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here's a prediction: Republicans won't do it. They won't even make a wholehearted effort because they know it's not nearly so unpopular as that poll seems to suggest. It remains controversial because [Speaker-elect John] Boehner and his band of conservative fiction-writers persuaded the public that it's a "government takeover" that will destroy "the best healthcare system in the world" (Cynthia Tucker, 11/12).
Proof That Health Care Sunk The Dems? Nope The New Republic
I've always believed, and see no new evidence that points the other way, that once the bill came to the House floor in 2009, the Democrats had little choice but to pass the thing. ... [T]here are at least as many reasons to believe that dropping health care reform might have been just as damaging as moving ahead with it (Jonathan Bernstein, 11/11).
Five Strategies To Tame Health Care Spending St. Louis Dispatch
Since sweeping victories in the midterm elections, Republican leaders have renewed calls to "repeal and replace" federal health reforms. But when it comes to what should be replaced by what, they've been mostly silent. Instead, they've offered slogans over specifics. No one can be sure that the health reform bill will tame runaway spending. But we can be absolutely sure that political ambiguities and lame excuses won't (11/11).
Some Real Facts About Health Care Reform The Missourian
Remember death panels? Rationing? Government takeover? Budget busting? Cutting Medicare? Those were all prominent in the campaign. None of them was true, but none was effectively refuted. It's no wonder that a lot of voters, including a depressing number of my fellow senior citizens, wound up confused (George Kennedy, 11/11).
Health Costs Rise And 50 Million Americans Have No Insurance The Seattle Times
While some workers will simply opt out of coverage because of higher premiums, most will try to keep paying their share and maintain coverage, but may find high deductibles or co-pays daunting and opt to delay or skip medical appointments, tests and filling prescriptions (Lee Bowman, 11/10). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.