Viewpoints: Newsom’s Health Care Plans Are Practical Solutions That Could Serve As Model For Rest Of Country
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
The Washington Post:
California Gets It Right With Its New Health-Care Initiative
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wasted no time making a splash, announcing on Monday, his inauguration day, a major new health-care initiative that would make his state a leader in resisting Republican efforts to unravel the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Newsom’s plan is a promising reform that other states — and, if Congress and the president ever come to their senses, the federal government — should consider. As have many progressive politicians, Mr. Newsom has embraced a Medicare-for-all-like “single payer” system. But his opening health-care push is more practical, adding to the existing Obamacare framework rather than scrapping it for a more radical change. (1/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Gavin Newsom Is Already Moving California Toward Single-Payer
Gavin Newsom backed an assortment of ambitious and expensive programs as he campaigned for governor, none more so than the idea of converting the state to a single-payer healthcare system. On his first day in office Monday, Newsom reaffirmed that goal, but set the state on a more measured — and far more achievable — path toward insuring all Californians. The most dramatic step Newsom took was also the one least likely to bear fruit: He signed a letter asking the federal government’s permission to mingle federal dollars (such as funding for Medicare, Medicaid and veterans health benefits) and state funds into a single-payer system, replacing the various public and private insurance programs with one run by Sacramento. The chances of the Trump administration signing on to such a plan seem more remote than the most distant star in the Milky Way. (1/9)
San Jose Mercury News:
Wildfire Tweet Shows Heartless Trump At His Worst
The contrast between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Trump’s leadership on California’s wildfire crisis couldn’t be more stark. The governor on Tuesday announced he would propose $305 million in new funding as part of his first state budget to expand California’s ability to fight wildfires and better alert residents of impending disasters. Newsom also joined with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in sending a letter to President Trump asking the federal government to double its funding for fire prevention efforts in the three states. This comes after wildfires last year killed nearly 100 Californians, burned thousands of homes and were responsible for an estimated $30 billion in damages. President Trump’s response? He tweeted Wednesday that he was cutting off FEMA relief funding for California wildfires, potentially leaving thousands without the ability to find temporary housing or start rebuilding their homes. (1/9)
Los Angeles Times:
The Boys And Girls In Washington Haven't Killed Obamacare Yet
It was a pretty good year for President Obama’s major legacy, healthcare reform, aka Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act. The pace of new signups has been respectable if not miraculous, and now Republicans in Congress have decided (correctly) that perhaps total war against Obamacare is not their wisest strategy. People seem to like the ACA. They especially like the provision forbidding insurers to discriminate against those with preexisting conditions. This formerly obscure technical term of the insurance business has become the center of the healthcare discussion. You can’t call it a debate, because there’s no basic disagreement. Everyone’s for covering preexisting conditions. The question is, Who got there first? (Michael Kinsley, 1/8)
Fresno Bee:
Care For Those With Serious Mental Illness Is Now Possible In California
The seriously mentally ill (SMI) are only about 4 percent of all mentally ill people, but the havoc and pain they, their families, victims and the public endure from their illnesses are incalculable. Since California closed most of its psychiatric hospitals some 50 years ago, jails, prisons, hospital emergency departments and the streets have been dismal substitutes for quality locked psychiatric facilities. (Daniel O. Jamison, 1/9)
The Mercury News:
I Live With Mental Illness And I'm Not A Bad Person.
Most citizens perceive persons with mental illness almost as subhuman. There are numerous stereotypes and common misperceptions to which most non-afflicted people ascribe. In some families, the very existence of a mentally ill family member is hidden; in other instances, a relative will apologize for them. Today, mental illnesses are considered shameful. We are associated with depravity, with uncleanliness, with being “druggies” or we are thought to be dangerous. Society is harsh toward people with a mental illness. (Jack Bragen, 1/11)
Los Angeles Times:
No, Cops Shouldn't Round Up Workers' DNA In Search For A Rape Suspect
A 29-year-old woman in a persistent vegetative state became pregnant while living in a healthcare facility, and in late December she gave birth. Clearly, the patient had been abused — raped while unconscious. Someone did it, and it stands to reason that the perpetrator was a caretaker or other male employee at the Hacienda HealthCare center in Phoenix. (1/10)
San Jose Mercury News:
Why Patients Deceive Their Health Care Providers
If a doctor withholds information about a cancer’s spread, a patient can’t make rational decisions about treatment. If a patient withholds the truth about their alcohol consumption, a doctor can’t correctly diagnose their liver disease or tremors. (Kate Scannell, 1/4)
The New York Times:
Everyone Gets Sick. And We Deserve Better.
In 2008, our mother asked my sister, Maya, and me to meet her for lunch. When we arrived, our mother didn’t seem like herself. We wondered what was going on. Then she took a deep breath and reached out to us both across the table. “I’ve been diagnosed with colon cancer,” she told us.I know that many can relate to the emotions I felt in that moment. Even just reflecting back on it now fills me with dread. It was one of the worst days of my life. (Kamara D. Harris, 12/29)