Viewpoints: Sometimes Paying Out Of Pocket Is A Better Deal; The Stark Difference In Partisan Views On Coverage Expansion
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Los Angeles Times:
Even If You Have Health Insurance You May Want To Pay Cash
Five blood tests were performed in March at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. The hospital charged the patient’s insurer, Blue Shield of California, $408. The patient was responsible for paying $269.42. If that were all there was to this -- which it’s not -- you’d be justified in shaking your head and wondering how it could cost more than $80 apiece for blood tests. These weren’t exotic procedures. The tests were for fairly common things such as levels of vitamins D and B12 in the blood. It‘s what happened next, though, that this makes this story particularly interesting. (David Lazarus, 6/10)
Modern Healthcare:
On Coverage Expansion, Republicans And Democrats Are From Different Planets
Democrats want to guarantee affordable, quality healthcare to all Americans through government subsidies and regulation. Republicans want to reduce total healthcare spending, including government spending on Medicare and Medicaid, through private market mechanisms that allocate healthcare based on price. (Harris Meyer, 6/9)
The Fiscal Times:
It’s Time To Blame Obamacare For Losing So Many Full-Time Jobs
Had a sinking feeling about the economy of late? It may not be your imagination. Economic indicators have flashed yellow for much of 2016, and the latest jobs report shows further depletion of the work force and a dearth of job creation. That trend, says one major bank, may be attributable to President Barack Obama’s signature legislation. (Edward Morrissey, 6/9)
Stat:
Don’t Throw Out Compassion In The War Against Opioid Abuse
Being in pain is not merely a matter of being uncomfortable. Pain makes living difficult, and can make any physical activity — working, exercising, visiting a therapist, or cooking a healthy dinner — challenging and sometimes impossible. And, of course, pain affects people mentally and emotionally. How best to treat chronic pain is something of an open question. (Alison Bateman-House and Arthur L. Caplan, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Giving Patients Aid In Dying Is Compassionate Care
While many dying patients will not opt to take advantage of their rights under the End of Life Option Act, others facing a fatal prognosis from a brutal disease or condition will undoubtedly be comforted by the new law. But for some physicians, this is an occasion for trepidation, because helping people die – even when they are terminally ill – is in stark contradiction to the ancient Hippocratic Oath that still guides the profession. “Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course,” says the original Greek text. (6/9)
The Des Moines Register:
Making Weight: Dollars And Sense Of Prevention
Several readers have pointed out to me how fortunate I am to have the resources available to me to assemble the team of doctors, therapists and trainers that have helped me lose nearly 100 pounds in nearly a year. They’re right. I am exceptionally fortunate and greatly aware of that fact. (Daniel P. Finney, 6/9)
The Baltimore Sun:
Bill Lets Counselors Discriminate Against LGBT Patients
What has inexplicably fallen below the radar, however, is the recently-enacted Tennessee law that allows mental health counselors and therapists to decline to care for certain patients if it would violate the clinician's "sincerely held principles." Although this stipulation is non-specific, the law was enacted solely with LGBT patients in mind. (Jeffrey Brauer and Colleen Christmas 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
The Truth About Gluten-Free Diets
"We bake our own pastry, gluten is now Satan” reads a knowing sign in San Francisco. The gluten-free diet has now surpassed all others searched for on Google in the United States, beating the South Beach, Atkins and Paleolithic diets along with veganism, low-carb, low-calorie and organic food in terms of Internet interest. Best-selling books tout gluten as the main source of health problems affecting everything from the brain to the belly. It’s the topic of cartoons in the New Yorker and fodder for late-night comedy shows. Movie stars, television personalities and major sports figures all sing the praises of a gluten-free diet. They say it makes them feel healthier, stronger and even happier. (Peter H.R. Green and Rory Jones, 6/9)