Viewpoints: It Is Not Out Of Realm Of Possibility For California To Achieve A Single-Payer System
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Single-Payer Plan Is Within Reach Of California
There is great desire and public support for health care coverage for every person in California. In our study, “Financing Universal Coverage In California: A Berkeley Forum Roadmap,” we identify three changes in the California health care system that can generate enough reductions in health spending to finance universal health coverage in the next few years. (Richard Scheffler, 4/3)
Los Angeles Times:
California's Right-To-Die Law Is Working
When legislators in Sacramento passed a reasonable and conservative assisted-suicide law in 2015, California was only the fifth U.S state to allow terminally ill people to obtain a lethal prescription. Giving dying people who have six months or less to live an alternative to terrible pain and suffering was the compassionate and correct thing to do, so it's no surprise that Colorado and Washington, D.C., have passed similar right-to-die laws since then, and that more than two dozen states — from Hawaii to Maine — are now considering doing the same. (4/5)
San Jose Mercury News:
Stop Trump From Discriminating Against Patients
Caregivers must advocate for patients, not discriminate against them. I’ve seen firsthand how people suffer when health care workers discriminate against patients on “moral grounds,” as President Donald Trump is now giving them the green light to do. (Sal Rosselli, 4/3)
Sacramento Bee:
Dialysis Clinics Put Profits Ahead Of Patients
As someone who had kidney failure and needs dialysis to stay alive, I want the public to know that there’s a crisis in dialysis patient care, even if the huge corporations that dominate the industry don’t want anyone to know about it (“Union’s tactics put dialysis patients in the crossfire,” Viewpoints, March 23). Our goal is to push these corporations to invest more in patients and the people who care for us. (Richard Elliott, 3/29)
Los Angeles Times:
State Senator Says It May Be Time For Law Requiring Easily Understood Medical Bills
[B]ills from hospitals, doctors and insurance companies are frequently indecipherable with their codes, abbreviations, misleading descriptions and lack of any explanation for why charges are so high. State Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) agrees. He told me he's looked at his family's own medical bills and scratched his head repeatedly over what they were being charged for. ... He said he and his staff will explore the issue and see if an existing regulation can be applied to making medical bills more transparent and easily understood. "If not," Glazer said, "then we'll look at the possibility of a new law." (David Lazarus, 4/3)
Sacramento Bee:
California Values All People — Until They Need Housing
When did the endless debate over the unfairness of California’s housing market become such an exercise in missing the point? Developers huff and puff about rent control and how, if it’s enacted, the construction of apartment buildings will grind to a screeching halt, exacerbating the housing crisis. Renters rant about how they don’t care because they need help – now. And political candidates, well, they try to have it both ways. (Erika D. Smith, 3/25)
Seattle Times:
Come On, California, Coffee Won’t Kill You
Don’t worry, coffee-addled Seattleites: You and your morning ritual are safe. Despite a Los Angeles judge’s ruling that in California coffee must carry a warning label, there’s little cause for concern.California’s Proposition 65 labeling certainly delivers a jolt, notifying consumers of the presence of chemicals the state has listed as causing cancer and birth defects. And while it’s smart to be cautious about food and drink, here’s something to ease your caffeinated mind. California’s coffee shop warning relates to acrylamide, a chemical produced when coffee beans are roasted. Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in rodents, but that’s when they are given doses up to 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than what people might be exposed to in foods, according to the American Cancer Society. (4/2)
USA Today:
On Mpg Standards, Let California Be California
For just shy of a decade, a set of tough emissions standards have required vehicles in America to burn fuel more efficiently — increasing miles per gallon, saving each driver hundreds of dollars at the pump and lowering carbon emissions that threaten the planet. On Monday, the Trump administration announced plans to roll back these fuel efficiency standards for the years ahead. It’s being done in the spirit of President Trump’s anti-regulatory agenda, but this would be a major mistake for the planet and for drivers’ pocketbooks. (4/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Don't Let Trump And Pruitt Make America Smoggy Again
The world is increasingly speeding toward a future of clean, zero-emissions cars. ...But here in the United States, President Trump and his anti-environmental protection sidekick, Scott Pruitt, are determined to head recklessly in the opposite direction. It's up to California and other environmentally responsible states to stop them. ...Pruitt has used his tenure at the EPA to systematically attack responsible, science- and health-based regulations. (4/3)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Roll Back Progress Toward Cleaner Cars?
For decades California has used its market power and its policy innovation to push America toward a cleaner energy future. But the Trump administration seems just as determined to drag America backward to more dependence on dirty fossil fuels. While expected, the official announcement Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back landmark fuel economy rules is still sweeping in its significance – and stunning in its stupidity. (4/2)