Today’s Opinions: Waste In Health Care; Keeping Your Coverage; Overburdening ERs; The Real Price Of Care
Fudging Obamacare Costs The Washington TimesIncomplete and misleading estimates before the vote gave politicians some cover to support a bill hated by the public (5/18).
Waste In Health Care? For Some, It's Profit The Boston Globe
As Congress turns to the must-do task of cutting Medicare costs - and considers Cambridge-based health care innovator Donald Berwick to lead the effort - it's worth reminding ourselves what Berwick surely knows. It's not just that many of Medicare's problems are well-known. So are many of the solutions (Joanna Weiss, 5/18).
No, You Can't Keep Your Health Plan The Wall Street Journal
The bottom line: Defensive business arrangements designed to blunt ObamaCare's economic impacts will mean less patient choice (Dr. Scott Gottlieb, 5/18).
Keeping Routine Medical Care Out Of Hospital Emergency Rooms The Washington Post
So it's clear that an influx of patients seeking help for non-emergencies - a sprained ankle or seasonal allergies - could further impair the ability to care for the critically ill or injured (Jennifer Brokaw, 5/18).
Learning To Live With Imperfect Health Care Plan The Indianapolis Star
It is futile to advocate for our cherished free-market principles as the answer to correcting a dysfunctional health-care system (fundamentally unchanged by this legislation) that does not follow the usual rules of economics (Dr. Richard Feldman, 5/18).
Future Of Health Care Looks Bright The Galveston County (Texas) Daily News
The raw material that will shape the health care industry of the future is present in today's classrooms, and these students are intelligent and committed (Dr. Michael Warren, 5/18).
Consumers Should See Health Care Price Tag The Portland (Maine) Press Herald
Patients and doctors are in the dark as to how much anything costs, in part because prices for services are negotiated by insurance companies and providers, in talks that don't involve the ultimate decision-makers (5/18). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.