Viewpoints: GOP Win Bolsters Health Law Foes; Ill. Cuts Medicaid Costs; CDC’s Ebola Blunders
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Washington Post:
Which Republican Party Won The Midterms?
[Senate Republican leader Mitch] McConnell and his fellow candidates talked after their victory about coming together to govern, but they’re also on record pushing to repeal Obamacare and roll back other core Obama policies. If anything, the breadth and depth of the Republican victory will convince the party base — and the conservative activists, talk-radio hosts and bloggers animating it — that the obstruction of the past several years worked beautifully, that they have the power and the mandate to push radical anti-government policies, and that any compromise would be abandonment and betrayal. ... There is a reason why Republicans have not come up with a clear alternative to Obamacare, why they discuss entitlement reform only in general terms .... It is just not easy to come up with concrete policies aimed at solving problems without creating schisms in the party’s ranks or an outcry from its base. (Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, 11/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
What To Expect From The Next Congress On The ACA
Republican control of the next Congress is likely to bring ACA challenges in two flavors. There will be early “statement legislation” to repeal the law and possibly to repeal the ACA’s individual mandate, a linchpin of the law that spreads risk and makes its insurance market changes work. ... Then there is likely to be a series of legislative efforts to chip away at the ACA. ... But none of these likely proposals strikes at the core of the ACA: its coverage expansions and insurance reforms. These would continue regardless of whether such changes were made or how fiercely the battle over them is waged. (Drew Altman, 11/7)
Los Angeles Times:
This Boehner/McConnell Obamacare 'Fix' Could Hurt Millions Of Americans
The GOP manifesto published obligingly by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday over the names of Republican leaders John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., included a tweak to the Affordable Care Act they say would provide Americans with "more hours and better pay." Don't you believe it. Their proposed change would threaten the livelihoods of as many as 81 million workers. It would have precisely the opposite effect they claim. And their reasoning for it is specious, too. The bottom line is that it would be a handout to cheeseparing employers, not a gain for their workers. (Michael Hiltzik, 11/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Reversing The Medicaid Tidal Wave In Illinois
Every state is struggling with the explosive growth and cost of its Medicaid program. Illinois, however, found a way to reduce Medicaid spending significantly, freeing up money for other important projects—or better yet, tax cuts. ... Rep. Patti Bellock garnered bipartisan support to pass legislation in 2012 that included several Medicaid reforms. One of the most important was a provision to establish the Illinois Medicaid Redetermination Program to “redetermine” if Medicaid enrollees were still eligible to participate. The federal government requires states to do an annual audit of the Medicaid rolls to ensure that participants are eligible, but in most states few people are removed. (Merrill Matthews, 11/7)
Billings (Mt.) Gazette:
Montana Should Invest In Federalism
Obamacare has created uncertainty among patients, providers, and insurers. This is a perfect time to rebuild Montana’s Medicaid program, with our own funds and innovative solutions, and close the coverage gaps for the neediest in our society, especially the disabled. Montana need only look to the innovative solutions from other states that improve quality and reduce costs, including: Broadening the licensure of health care professionals; identifying and focusing resources in those particular geographic areas where the gap is the widest; conducting semi-annual audits of patients and providers to ensure money is spent appropriately; beginning managed care for the disabled; enhancing the use of public clinics for primary care; and extending Medicaid eligibility for parents, veterans, and the disabled earning less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level. (State Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich, 11/10)
The New York Times' The Upshot:
Shortage Of Medicaid Doctors? Not If You Ask Patients
One longstanding concern about Medicaid is that too few doctors will accept it, because it tends to pay providers less generously than private plans do. This concern shows up in news articles about Medicaid, driven by evidence from doctors’ offices. But if you ask Medicaid enrollees directly, they reveal that access to primary care is comparable to that for private plans. (Austin Frakt, 11/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Don't Blame Obamacare For High Deductible Plans
If last week's election proved anything, it showed we're far from finished with the debate over 2010's massive - and massively misunderstood - health-care reform, a law that strangely seems to get blamed for stuff it didn't cause. Senate leader-apparent Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner are once again promising Obamacare's repeal, arguing that it's "hurting the job market along with Americans' health care" - an odd critique of a law that has insured nearly 10 million people while the nation's jobless rate continues to fall. (Jeff Gelles, 11/9)
The New York Times:
The Ethics Of Infection
“First, do no harm” is supposed to be the guiding principle of health care workers. And within civil societies, at least, not harming others is considered every person’s moral, ethical and even legal responsibility. The heated debate over whether it’s responsible for health care workers who treated Ebola patients to go grocery shopping or bowling or get on a cruise ship before the end of the disease’s 21-day incubation period raises a larger question: What is everyone’s duty to prevent transmission of infectious diseases? (Kate Murphy, 11/8)
The Washington Post:
The Ebola Fight Is Far From Over
The Ebola outbreak is moving into a new phase that, in many ways, requires even greater attention and action than it has to this point. In addition to fears about the reach of the unforgiving virus and the spread of unfounded global panic, another concern has been added to the list: declaring “mission accomplished” too soon. (UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, 11/7)
Los Angeles Times:
The CDC Can't Seem To Get Its Ebola Messages Straight
The government’s response to Ebola overseas has been praiseworthy; the mishandled part has been at home. Not because Americans have much, if anything at all, to worry about in terms of an outbreak of disease here, but because the repeated missteps and continual changes in direction and message by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have contributed to an outbreak of fear and mistrust in the United States. (Karen Klein, 11/7)
The Washington Post:
The World Can’t Hide From Pandemics
Epidemics and pandemics are like earthquakes. Tragic, inevitable and unpredictable. It starts as a random event. A virus jumps species from a bird, bat or other animal to “patient zero” — who passes it on to other human beings. More likely than not, over the course of this century we will face an influenza pandemic similar to the one in 1918 that killed an estimated 50 million people . (Lawrence Summers, 11/9)
The New York Times:
Pregnant, And No Civil Rights
With the success of Republicans in the midterm elections and the passage of Tennessee’s anti-abortion amendment, we can expect ongoing efforts to ban abortion and advance the “personhood” rights of fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. But it is not just those who support abortion rights who have reason to worry. Anti-abortion measures pose a risk to all pregnant women, including those who want to be pregnant. (Lynn M. Paltrow and Jeanne Flavin, 11/7)
The New York Times:
Medical Records: Top Secret
In a digital age when we can transfer money to purchase a house online or view a college transcript by logging on to a secure website, why is it so often difficult for patients to gain access to their medical data? And who controls our health information? ... But the reality is that many hospitals and doctors have created a series of hurdles that must be cleared before patients can get their information. And many of those hurdles, experts say, are based on the economics of medicine. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 11/8)
The Washington Post:
How A National Food Policy Could Save Millions Of American Lives
How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans’ well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality and the federal budget. Yet we have no food policy — no plan or agreed-upon principles — for managing American agriculture or the food system as a whole. That must change. (Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Ricardo Salvador and Olivier De Schutter, 11/7)
The Baltimore Sun:
Don't Lose State's Momentum Treating Heroin
Once largely relegated to Baltimore City, heroin use and its related adverse consequences are spreading to every part of the state, and an increasing number of Maryland's citizens are dying of heroin overdoses. The response to this increase in overdose deaths must be multi-faceted and include local prevention messaging, physician training on proper prescribing of opioid medications, federal and state law enforcement to reduce large-scale heroin trafficking, and efforts to increase the availability of treatment for those in need. (Robert P. Schwartz, 11/10)