Viewpoints: Don’t Bet Against Single-Payer Just Yet
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
The Challenges In Setting Up A California Single-Payer System Are Daunting — But Not Insurmountable
Single-payer almost certainly would be cheaper and simpler than the ridiculous contraption we have now, a mishmash of employer, government and private plans all with different rules and standards. It’s favored by a clear majority of Americans in opinion polls, at least in theory, and it’s a linchpin of popular political movements like Sen. Bernie Sanders’. (Michael Hiltzik, 5/26)
Sacramento Bee:
Californians Like Universal Care, Unless They’re Taxed
A new poll indicates that most Californians support changing the state’s immense, insurance-based medical care system to one in which the state provides universal coverage. However, there’s just one small detail: 65 percent support drops to 42 percent if a “single-payer” system requires new taxes, which, of course, it would. (Dan Walters, 6/2)
Orange County Register:
Single-Payer Health Care Plan Would Require Massive Tax Increase
The latest stop on progressives’ magical wish tour for a single-payer health care plan is California, where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, has been campaigning on behalf of a proposed state-run, single-payer system. This week, state lawmakers in Sacramento got their first look at the price tag for the proposal: $400 billion annually. At that price, even after accounting for an estimated $200 billion that could be saved by replacing current state-run health programs with the single-payer program, Californians would still need to come up with another $200 billion annually to fund the system. (Eric Boehm, 5/28)
The Press Democrat:
State Can’t Afford To Go Its Own Way On Health Care
As campaign promises to improve the Affordable Care Act give way to a stubborn determination to kill Obamacare at any cost, California elected officials should be looking for ways to ensure that their constituents don’t lose their health insurance. But the single-payer health plan now pending in Sacramento isn’t the correct response. The appeal of state Sen. Ricardo Lara’s proposal is obvious: universal coverage with little, if any, out-of-pocket expense for consumers. But the price tag would be staggering. A legislative committee report — released this week in advance of key votes on Lara’s Senate Bill 568 — pegged the cost of a state-run single-payer system at $400 billion a year. To put that figure in perspective, the state’s budget is about $185 billion a year. (5/27)
Los Angeles Times:
'Everyone I Know Is Worried.' Terrified Patients Await Fate Of Their Healthcare
In the early days, [Dr. Juan Z. Montes] said, most of his patients had private insurance coverage through their employers — many of them airport-related companies. Now, the bulk of his clients are on Medi-Cal or covered by a combination of Medi-Cal and Medicare. If the healthcare reform bill backed by President Trump and approved by the House were to become law, a lot of these people could get hammered. (Steve Lopez, 5/28)
Sacramento Bee:
As Californians Lose Their Health Insurance, Republicans Should Be Held Responsible
Twenty-three million people will lose health insurance coverage. Isn’t that enough to stop us all in our tracks and ask exactly what are we doing? ... As someone who has worked in health care for over 20 years, who has seen the amazing achievements under the Affordable Care Act, and heard the stories directly from the people whose lives are significantly better, I stand aghast at what our country is doing. And worse, what the Republicans in my own state voted for. (Carmela Castellano-Garcia, 5/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump's Rollback Of Birth Control Rights Will Run Into A Legal Buzzsaw
The Trump administration’s long-telegraphed attack on women’s contraceptive rights acquired tangible form Wednesday with the leak to Vox of the text of the proposed rule change. As expected, the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the departments of Labor and the Treasury, are planning to expand exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive care mandate so they apply to any employers expressing “religious beliefs and moral convictions” against birth control. The rule essentially would allow any employer to drop birth control coverage in employee health plans virtually at whim. (Michael Hiltzik, 6/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Not Find Out If Pot Can Help Veterans With PTSD?
There are two signature wounds from our most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – traumatic brain injury, often from IEDs blowing up Humvees, and post-traumatic stress disorder, worsened by repeated deployments into combat. On this Memorial Day, our elected officials and policymakers should renew their pledge to take care of troops when they come home. Part of that is investigating all treatments – including moving past the ridiculous and severe restrictions on federal research into marijuana. (5/26)
Los Angeles Times:
We're In An Opioid Epidemic That's Killing People. Why Does A State Senator Want To Make It Harder To Catch Bad Doctors?
Opioid pill mills, trading in dangerous narcotics like oxycodone, have been shut down in Southern California and beyond, but investigators say there’s more work to be done. ... As the law stands now, officers who investigate tips about doctors who write questionable prescriptions can check a monitoring database maintained by the California Department of Justice. ... But under Senate Bill 641, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), law enforcement officials would need to get a search warrant before using CURES to check on a doctor. (Steve Lopez, 5/31)
Los Angeles Times:
O.C. Supervisors' Decision To Expand Detention Program Overlooks Jail Conditions
The Orange County Board of Supervisors has voted to expand immigration detention at the Theo Lacy Facility by 120 people. This comes just two months after the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security released a report on alarming conditions at Theo Lacy, which include “24-hour solitary,” “serious safety concerns,” “horrific conditions” and “spoiled food and moldy showers." (Jan Meslin and Tina Shull, 5/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Plastic Pollution Doesn’t Just Make For An Ugly Beach Day. It’s Contaminating Our Food Chain
A single discarded piece of plastic breaks down into millions — and these bits are mistaken for food and ingested by even the smallest organisms on the oceanic food chain. Contaminated zooplankton feed on phytoplankton, which are fed on by small fish, who are fed on by squid — and so it goes on up to our dinner plates. (Julie Andersen, 5/29)