Viewpoints: Lack Of Transparency In Health Care Costs
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Cutting Healthcare Costs Shouldn't Be This Painful
Wen my son was circumcised, Sade’s “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” was playing on a radio at the hospital. The pediatrician glanced over at me and said, “Some day, he’ll hear that song and won’t know why it makes him uncomfortable.” Snip. I recalled this experience while speaking the other day with Matt Williamson about his own son’s quiet storm of foreskin loss. The issue wasn’t the procedure, which I know some people question. The issue was the cost. (David Lazarus, 6/24)
Bloomberg:
The Legal Splatter Where Religion Meets Health Care
The Obama administration has sided with a ruling by the state of California to require health insurers to cover abortion – even for religious organizations that object to the coverage. The decision by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, interpreting a federal law called the Weldon Amendment, is legally doubtful, and will probably be challenged in court. The uncertainty of the law’s meaning illustrates how baffling the conflict has become over the intricate web of legal principles that surround health-care coverage when it collides with religious values. (Noah Feldman, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Obamacare Update: Still Succeeding, Repeal Fading
The graphic above embodies the latest good-news story connected with the Affordable Care Act. It shows how projections of U.S. healthcare spending growth have come sharply down since Obamacare’s enactment in 2010. The latest projections are $2.6 trillion lower than the original post-ACA baseline forecast through 2020 — a reduction in projected spending of almost 13%. (Michael Hiltzik, 6/21)
LA Daily News:
Bill Takes Risks With Lives Of People In Mental Health Crisis
From 1995 to 2010, California hospitals cut their capacity to serve people with acute psychiatric needs by 40 percebt. That means that in times of crisis, many people with serious mental health conditions have few alternatives to our state’s crowded emergency rooms. Instead of working to rebuild the system that we need, California’s hospitals have deployed lobbyists to pass a bill — AB 1300 — that would make it easier for ERs to simply dump people in psychiatric crisis onto the street. (Stuart Bussey and Hector Ramirez, 6/22)
Oakland Tribune:
Moral Obligation To Report Elder Abuse Suspicions
Like other forms of elder abuse, financial abuse is a growing problem in Alameda County as our population ages. The numbers are as startling as they are disturbing. It is estimated that nationally, only one in 14 incidents of abuse against people who are 65 years of age or older is reported. (Lori Cox, 6/23)
The Sacramento Bee:
Tobacco Tax Could Be Way To Keep Doctors On Medi-Cal List
When President Barack Obama’s federal health reform took effect in 2013, it included a temporary, two-year bump in the amount paid to doctors who care for the poor through the state Medi-Cal program. No surprise, more doctors opened their doors to low-income patients. But now those federally subsidized extra payments are gone, and advocates fear that access to care is slipping again for people without private insurance. With about 13 million Californians – nearly one-third of the state – depending on Medi-Cal for their health care, getting as many doctors as possible to accept the program’s patients has become a crucial undertaking. (Daniel Weintraub, 6/21)
LA Daily News:
Reframing The Conversation: Seeking Help Can Mean Living Longer
A lot of what our nation needs to put in place to care well for people is readily available and affordable.
Mostly, however, people don’t know when and how to ask for the services they need, including palliative and hospice care. Multiple studies have shown that palliative care, including hospice, is often associated with people living longer. But I don’t need research to tell me that because I know how hospice extended my cousin Edith’s life. (Ira Byock, 6/23)
LA Daily News:
Ready Or Not, LA Sick-Leave Law Starts Soon
Los Angeles’ new requirement that businesses in the city offer their workers at least six days of paid sick leave a year is enough to make employers’ own heads throb. Not only is the increase to six days from the state-mandated three days another in a string of added burdens for business owners, as the editorial board detailed here recently. Compounding the problem is the fact the law takes effect July 1 for many businesses, less than a month after the City Council approved it and Mayor Eric Garcetti signed it. (6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Do Nutritional Labels Work?
The Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled significant changes to nutritional labels. After a hard-fought battle, the new labels will give consumers greater insight into how much added sugar is hidden in the food we eat. ... Public health advocates, consumer groups and the FDA have touted these new requirements as essential to combating America’s obesity epidemic. The only problem is that these new-and-improved labels may not help those who need nutritional information the most. (Elena Fagotto, 6/20)
Ventura County Star:
Legalizing Marijuana Would Create A Well-Regulated Market
Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney, who is also president of the California Police Chiefs Association, has come out swinging against marijuana legalization in order to save our citizens from the evil weed. Especially the children.
But let's be real for once: Maintaining marijuana prohibition and the status quo not only doesn't protect our children, it does the opposite. (Jeff Meyers, 6/18)
Orange County Register:
Fullerton Fumbles On Pot
It looks like medical marijuana will remain prohibited in Fullerton, at least for the time being, after “City Council members on Tuesday unanimously agreed to wait until after the November election to make a decision on permitting the cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits,” the Register reported.
While the merits of a plebiscite on the issue seem dubious, as we believe that city councils are elected to make decisions like this on behalf of the people they represent, it is even more questionable why it is necessary to wait until after the November election to decide whether to allow access to medical marijuana within the city. The voters already spoke on the subject of medical marijuana back in 1996 when Proposition 215 passed with 56 percent of the vote. (6/24)
Oakland Tribune:
Surprise Medical Bills Need To Stop
California should join New York and Florida in shielding patients from surprise out-of-network medical bills experienced by more than 20 percent of patients who have ER visits, surgeries or hospitalizations. The practice can cost patients thousands of dollars and has sent some into bankruptcy. If you've experienced the shock, you'll agree this has to stop. (6/23)