Today’s Opinions And Editorials
Obama Plan Is Stealth For Single Payer System The San Jose Mercury NewsBut the president's rhetoric doesn't match the reality of his proposals. In fact, he and congressional Democrats have designed their reform proposals to put the government in charge of Americans' health care - albeit gradually (Sally Pipes, 8/27).
Kennedy Saw Health Care Reform Fail In The 70s The Washington Post
Asked about his greatest regret as a legislator, Ted Kennedy would usually cite his refusal to cut a deal with Richard Nixon on health care (Steven Pearlstein, 8/28).
Till Debt Does Its Part The New York Times
Right now deficits are actually helping the economy. In fact, deficits here and in other major economies saved the world from a much deeper slump (Paul Krugman, 8/27).
Congress Must Change Perverse Payment Incentives The Billings (Mont.) Gazette
No one involved in health care quality improvement is suggesting that providers be mandated to improve every service or to change their services immediately. Rather, change will take years of work. And standards of care should only be mandated where they have been proven to work well for patients (8/28).
Fixing Health Care Is Good For Business Wall Street Journal
The real horror story is not what health-care reform will bring. It's what's already happening (Gary Locke, 8/28).
Straight Talk About Health Care? Forget About It CQ Politics
One of the things that makes it so interesting to watch is the way conservative ideologues have so effectively demonized the federal government, and by association Medicare. It reveals just how little Americans know about Medicare that so many see it as a government-run health program (John Edgell, 8/28).
Reform Won't Prevent Seniors From Getting Health Care The Nevada Appeal
What health insurance reform will do is prevent overspending and waste on care that doesn't actually improve seniors' health. It will target waste, fraud and abuse that do not improve care (Scott Watts, 8/27).
The Party Of Medicare Forbes
Today, the GOP not only doesn't oppose entitlements, it has become their defender. This is perhaps the biggest reversal in American politics since the Democrats went from being the party of Southern racists for 150 years to being the party of civil rights in the 1960s (Bruce Bartlett, 8/28). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.