Viewpoints: Spiking Premiums Aren’t As Bad As They Look At First Glance
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Obamacare Premiums Are Spiking 25% Next Year. How Bad Is That?
You can almost set your watch by it: Every year, when new premium rates for the Affordable Care Act exchange plans are published by the government, critics proclaim that the law has failed Americans by failing to rein in prices. This year, the cries are sure to be even louder, because premium increases nationwide are averaging about 25%. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/25)
The New York Times:
Mental Illness Is Not A Horror Show
A new virtual-reality attraction planned for Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., was announced last month in advance of the peak haunted-house season. The name, “Fear VR 5150,” was significant. The number 5150 is the California psychiatric involuntary commitment code, used for a mentally ill person who is deemed a danger to himself or others. (Andrew Solomon, 10/26)
KBAK:
As Affordable Care Act Premiums Increase, Most Patients Shouldn't Expect To Pay More
Monthly premiums in California's health insurance exchange will increase by 12.2 percent in Kern County next year. The move comes after two large insurance providers pushed for rate increases nationwide. Local health officials insist that despite the uptick, most patients shouldn't have to cough up more money. Bill Phelps is the chief of program services at Clinica Sierra Vista. He said a lot of "misinformation" has spread about the impact of the increase and how it can be reduced in the future. (Hanna Battah)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
No On Prop. 60: Measure Will Hurt, Not Help Adult Performers
What do adult film performers, the California Democratic Party and the California Republican Party all agree on? That California voters should oppose Proposition 60. They’ve been joined by the editorial boards of many of the state’s largest newspapers including the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. More than 100 other groups have also opposed the measure, including HIV/AIDS organizations, political groups and civil rights advocates. Proposition 60 is downright dangerous, and widely opposed by the performers it seeks to regulate. I, and other adult performers, have tried to explain that the seemingly progressive measure would open us up to harassment, profiteering, and nearly unlimited lawsuits. (Mia Li, 10/27)
The New England Journal Of Medicine:
Health Care In The 2016 Election — A View Through Voters’ Polarized Lenses
This article examines the potential effect of the 2016 election on the future of health policy in the United States. It brings together results from 14 national public opinion polls from various sources and as recently as September 2016 to address four broad questions: What is the mood of the country about health care issues as we approach the 2016 election? How do voters feel about the major health care policy issues likely to be debated after the election? How different are the health care policy views of Republican likely voters and Democratic likely voters? And what are the implications for future health care policy on the basis of the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections? (Robert J. Blendon, John M. Benson and Logan S. Casey, 10/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Ensuring Access To Safe Drinking Water Ought To Come Before A Push For Soda Taxes
Tobacco executives must be thrilled that soda has become a prime target of public health activists. These days, it is seen as a slow-acting poison that contributes to type 2 diabetes, obesity and other health disorders. To some health officials, it is as threatening as cigarettes. (10/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Who Oversees Data Brokers Selling Your Personal Info? No One
You probably already know that you have precious little privacy, and that shadowy data brokers have built the buying and selling of people’s personal information into a multibillion-dollar industry. But did you know this: Nobody knows how many so-called list owners and list brokers are operating nationwide. The best guess is tens of thousands. Or this: These businesses operate largely unregulated, overseen day to day by no official authority. And if they get things wrong — that is, if there’s ever need to correct files as a result of a death, divorce or similarly life-changing event — there’s pretty much nothing you can do to hold these firms accountable. (David Lazarus, 10/28)