Today’s Opinions: Rep. Ryan’s Plan To Aid Medicare; The Burden On Health Law Supporters In Va.; Evaluating Medicare Actuary’s Estimates
A Road Map To Saving Medicare The Washington PostOnly in Washington could the government raid one entitlement program to finance a brand-new one and still claim that deficits have been reduced and entitlements have been reformed (Rep. Paul Ryan, 8/13).
Medicaid Rescissions Worse Than Private Insurers Kaiser Health News
Private insurers whose commitments are enforced by contract law have to raise premiums when costs rise; but when state legislative bodies say "no" to Medicaid's need for funding, Medicaid revokes its commitments to the insured instead (John Goodman, 8/12).
When The Doctor Doesn't Look Like You The New York Times
Our professor had been born abroad and immigrated to the United States after medical school. But despite clinical accomplishments and professional accolades in this country, I knew, like my fellow resident, that there were patients and physicians whose initial impulse was to dismiss him or any other doctor with an accent or an international degree (Pauline Chen, 8/12).
Health-Care Mandate's Proponents May Have A Hard Time Richmond Times-Dispatch
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's preliminary victory against Obamacare in federal court has put its defenders on notice: They will have to make an affirmative case for the individual mandate (A. Barton Hinkle, 8/13).
Romneycare Is Bankrupting Massachusetts The Dayton Tribune
One of big benefits to Romneycare (Massachusetts government run healthcare) and Obamacare is that their supposed to cover everyone and do it at a significantly reduced cost all could afford. The government run healthcare of Massachusetts is not only a petri dish experiment showing this not to be the case, but that the exact opposite effect takes place (Stephanie Lieber, 8/12).
Create Iowa Office Of Health Reform The Des Moines Register
Passing health reform was no easy task for Washington lawmakers. Implementing the thousands of pages of the new law will not be easy for states. Iowa must do more to create the infrastructure necessary to handle the complicated task (8/13).
Without Health Care Reform, Medicare's Future Looks Grim St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Alas, Mr. Foster's track record isn't any better than that of the Medicare trustees, or the Congressional Budget Office, which routinely has overestimated the costs and underestimated the savings of Medicare changes (8/12). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.