Viewpoints: GOP Candidates’ Health Plans Shift Benefits; Kasich’s Moderate Stance Debated
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Wall Street Journal:
The Post-ObamaCare Debate Begins
We interrupt the Donald J. Trump summer jam for something slightly more substantive: the emerging debate in the Republican field about how to wind down ObamaCare and repair health-care markets. Scott Walker rolled out a pragmatic center-right plan on Tuesday, and the other candidates ought to follow the Wisconsin Governor’s lead with their own proposals. (8/18)
The New York Times' The Upshot:
Health Proposals By Walker And Rubio Are Less Concerned About The Poor
Obamacare gives federal money to poor people to help them get health insurance. Scott Walker, Wisconsin’s governor, has a replacement plan. It would give federal money to old people instead. There are many, many other differences between Obamacare and Mr. Walker’s plan, announced Tuesday in a white paper and a policy speech. But that difference points to the key similarity between the plans, and the most consequential change. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 8/18)
Bloomberg:
Republicans' Obamacare Alternative, Finally
Obamacare promised that it was for the middle class. In practice, it has overwhelmingly been a program for the poor and near-poor. Its two main features were a Medicaid expansion for everyone earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line and exchange policies for anyone else who wasn't eligible for employer insurance or another government program. As it turns out, exchange policies have been extremely popular among people whose policies are heavily subsidized, but not so popular with anyone who has to pay a significant chunk of the bill. This was basically a poverty program that was sold by playing to the anxieties of middle-class people worried about losing their health insurance. The Republican plan is, in fact, a program for the middle class. As such, it will be much less generous toward the poor. It will redistribute money upward, from those struggling very hard to ordinary Joes who are not rich, but not quite so desperate either. (Megan McArdle, 8/17)
USA Today:
Scott Walker: Get DC Out Of Our Health Care
ObamaCare was forced on the American people by Democrats who think the government knows best, chief among them, Hillary Clinton. The seeds of this destructive law were first planted by Clinton in the early 90s as part of her failed health care plan, HillaryCare, and in her 2008 campaign’s health care proposal. Although Clinton’s health care proposals failed, many of their central provisions — including the individual mandate and harsh penalties for those who don’t purchase insurance — succeeded in making their way into ObamaCare. (Gov. Scott Walker, 8/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Walker's Healthcare Plan Is Perfect, If You Want Almost No Insurance At All
[Walker's plan offers] every nostrum promoted by the conservative and libertarian lobbies (the Heritage Foundation is cited several times), none of which has been shown to make much of a dent in the nation's population of the medically uninsured and a few of which would work against that goal, is in there. To be fair, Walker threw in a couple of novel curves. Let's take them up first. The most notable is a provision to convert the income-based premium subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act to a system based on age. According to Walker's breakdown, the subsidies would range from $900 a year for those 0-17 years old, up to $3,000 for those 50-64. The payments are only for those without employer-sponsored insurance. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/18)
The Washington Post's Right Turn:
Walker Unveils Health-Care Plan, New Message
After much hype from his campaign, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his health-care plan, which — like many of plans out there (including ones like those put out by Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Tom Price and Sen. Orrin Hatch) — proposes repealing Obamacare, going to a system of tax credits for those without employer-provided insurance, allowing insurance sales across state lines, high risk pools for the hard-to-insure and block granting Medicaid. Walker did not explain how he is going to pay for it. ... But Walker’s plan just did not seem to live up to the billing. (Jennifer Rubin, 8/18)
The Washington Post:
The GOP’s Deeply Flawed Field
But these “plausible” Republican candidates hold views that are dramatically at odds with interests and values of the vast majority of Americans. ... All would repeal Obamacare without giving us a clue of what would replace it. All want to slash spending on shared security programs like Social Security and Medicare. [Former Florida Gov. Jeb] Bush and [Florida Sen. Marco] Rubio have called for raising the retirement age for Social Security. ... Or consider social issues. [Wisconsin Gov. Scott] Walker and Rubio have both flip-flopped to announce that they now oppose all abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother. Bush supports the act banning abortions after 20 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and protecting the mother’s life. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, 8/18)
USA Today:
Myth Of The 'Moderate' John Kasich
As Minority Leader in the Ohio Senate, I can tell you my job would be a whole lot easier if John Kasich were actually a moderate. Yes, Kasich did make the decision to expand Medicaid, and Democrats in Ohio helped him do it. What you don’t hear, though, is that Kasich refused to set up a state-run insurance exchange due to his opposition to Obamacare — an exchange that could have been tailored to the specific needs of Ohioans. (Joe Schiavoni, 8/18)
The Washington Post:
Conservatives Double Down On Pro-Life Extremism
It is becoming difficult to escape the conclusion that conservatives would rather fight about abortion than reduce it. Candidates in this month’s Republican presidential debate tripped over themselves to display their pro-life extremism, disavowing exceptions that would permit abortion in cases of rape, incest or even to save the life of the mother — non-starters all in American public opinion. (Dana Milbank, 8/18)
Alaska Dispatch News:
Legislative Council Decides To Sue Walker Over Medicaid To Protect Checks And Balances
Tuesday, the Alaska Legislative Council, acting on behalf of the legislative branch, voted to file an injunction against the governor for his attempt to expand Medicaid without authorization. The Alaska Constitution is crystal clear: No public funds may be spent outside of the legislative appropriations process. The governor has begun the task of expanding Medicaid by seeking to hire 23 new staff. Administrative costs – just keeping track of the new paperwork burden – will cost millions of state dollars. Having no legal source of cash for this action, the governor has decided to raid the Alaska Mental Health Trust, a fund dedicated to providing care, including substance abuse treatment, to vulnerable Alaskans. We believe his action is unconstitutional and it's simply wrong. (State Sen. Kevin Meyer and State Rep. Mike Chenault, 8/18)
The New York Times:
Help From The Obama Administration For Community Health Centers
The Obama administration last week announced a big increase in support for community health centers in the latest expansion of a program that has a long bipartisan history and robust bipartisan support today. (8/19)
Los Angeles Times:
A Terrorized And Harassed Corporate Partner Abandons Planned Parenthood
Last week a small California company that provides human blood, cells and tissues to research scientists bailed on one of its partners, Planned Parenthood. Placerville, Ca.-based StemExpress, which had worked with Planned Parenthood to distribute fetal cells and tissues following abortions at the organization's clinics -- with the full consent of the patients undergoing the procedure -- ended its relationship with the healthcare provider "due to the increased questions that have arisen over the past few weeks." These aren't questions about the legality or ethics of Planned Parenthood's activities, which haven't been legitimately challenged. They're questions about whether the organization's activities can survive a full-scale political onslaught. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
What Post-Katrina New Orleans Shows About Urban And Race Issues
Blacks and whites in New Orleans have very different views of the opportunities available to young people and whether the city is a good place for children to grow up, and the racial divide in how residents view these basic measures is widening. These and other findings of a comprehensive study of New Orleans a decade after Hurricane Katrina highlight the progress that can be made in urban America and the issues underlying our debates about race. (Drew Altman, 8/19)
The Denver Post:
Psychological Counseling Can Be A Valuable Outlet For Some Jurors
We Coloradans owe a debt of gratitude to the jurors who acted on our collective behalf, spending weeks on two gruesome and grueling cases: the Aurora theater shooting trial and the Fero's bar murder trial. In the case of the Aurora theater shooting trial, the Arapahoe County court offered psychological counseling to members of that jury. Bravo. (Ross van Woert, 8/18)