Viewpoints: If Trump Truly Wanted To Drain The Swamp, We Wouldn’t Have Price
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Is Stocking His Cabinet With The Ethically Challenged. Case In Point: Tom Price
It’s bad enough that President Trump confined his Cabinet search to members of the 1%. But it’s particularly galling that his choice for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — an agency vital to poor and infirm Americans — may have used his congressional office to expand his personal fortune. That nominee — Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), an orthopedic surgeon who has served on two House committees that help shape healthcare policy — invested in more than half a dozen healthcare-industry companies even as he took steps as a legislator that benefited them. That’s a clear conflict of interest, and if Trump honestly wanted to drain the swamp of self-serving elites in Washington, he would have withdrawn Price’s nomination as soon as Price’s investing habits came to light. (2/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Needs To Be Careful In Deregulating The Drug Industry
In a recent meeting with pharmaceutical-industry bigwigs, President Trump declared that “we’re going to be cutting regulations at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.” He also said that “we’re going to have tremendous protection for the people.”It’s hard to see how he can do both. (David Lazarus, 2/10)
San Jose Mercury News:
No, Santa Cruz Is NOT Giving Away Free Meth To Keep Homeless Awake
No, the city of Santa Cruz is NOT considering whether to hand out free methamphetamine to homeless people. A flier is circulating around town, complete with city logo, announcing the City Council will consider the proposal at its upcoming meeting. It’s a hoax, surf city officials insist, spread by a group opposed to Santa Cruz’s controversial outdoor sleeping ban. (Prodis Sulek, 2/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Don’t Fulfill Trump’s False Depiction Of California As A ‘Sanctuary State’ For Undocumented Immigrants
President Trump has branded a California bill to restrict the role of state and local officials in deportations “ridiculous” — which, given the current state of affairs, gives the proposed legislation instant credibility. It is Trump’s sweeping deportation threats that are ridiculous and dangerous, and that make proposals like Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León’s SB 54 a part of the state’s arsenal to protect its residents and its economy. But as the bill’s details are being worked through, de León and his colleagues must take care not to turn California into the obstructionist jurisdiction that Trump and anti-immigration activists have falsely claimed it to be. (2/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Could California Be 'Healthcare Sanctuary' With Universal Coverage?
Citing efforts by a Republican-controlled federal government to repeal Obamacare, Bauman wrote in an op-ed article, “we cannot miss the historic opportunity the moment presents us: enacting single-payer healthcare into California. Let’s take that step and make California a healthcare sanctuary state.” He thus joins a long-list of California political figures – Democrats, mostly, but also two Republican governors – who long have advocated universal healthcare, similar to that in Canada and many European countries. (Dan Walters, 2/4)
Orange County Register:
Restoring The Health Care System For Small Businesses
The ACA requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide their staff with coverage. But market pressure and conscientious employers mean that tens of thousands of businesses with fewer employees than this threshold also offer coverage. Given that small businesses employ roughly half of employees in the country, and provide livelihoods for 85 million people, this is an important concern. (Alfredo Ortiz, 2/9)
Modesto Bee:
Plans To Provide Universal Healthcare Coverage For All Californians Have Come Up Before
Citing efforts by a Republican-controlled federal government to repeal Obamacare, Bauman wrote in an op-ed article, “we cannot miss the historic opportunity the moment presents us: enacting single-payer healthcare into California. Let’s take that step and make California a healthcare sanctuary state.” He joins a long-list of California political figures – Democrats, mostly, but also two Republican governors – who long have advocated universal healthcare, similar to that in Canada and many European countries. (Dan Walters, 2/7)
Los Angeles Times:
In A Hopeful Sign, Republicans Are Finally Getting Around To 'Repairing' Obamacare -- Six Years Late
Over the last few days, the Republicans’ campaign against the Affordable Care Act has undergone a subtle shift in branding. They’re no longer talking about a strategy of “repeal and replace’: The new buzzword is “repair.” Close followers of GOP efforts to gut the law, which has brought health insurance to some 20 million Americans and protected millions of others from being denied coverage because of medical conditions, are skeptical that this signals a real change in the Republican caucus’s approach. (Michael Hiltzik, 2/6)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Time Is Short For Petaluma Hospital Decision
As the clock continues to tick in a hasty process to secure a suitable operator for Petaluma Valley Hospital, we’re heartened to hear that the Petaluma Health Care District Board expects bids from three prospective partners interested in operating the 80-bed acute care facility. But are any of the bidders suitable candidates who can guarantee the continuance of high quality hospital care in Petaluma? For the last 20 years, St. Joseph Health has capably operated the city’s only acute care facility on a lease from the Petaluma Health Care District, the public entity that owns the hospital. Despite having spent more than a year negotiating the terms of a new lease, the district, under the guidance of its publicly elected board of directors, was unable to reach agreement with St. Joseph to continue managing the hospital. (2/6)