Viewpoints: Panel’s Fetal Tissue Subpoenas Grandstanding Over Legal Practices; Opioid Epidemic Must Be Addressed
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Enough Grandstanding On Fetal Tissue
It is illegal in the U.S. to sell body parts. So the release of undercover videos last summer purporting to show Planned Parenthood officials negotiating fees for tissue from aborted fetuses launched a flurry of federal and state investigations into the healthcare provider. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives was the fourth congressional entry into this overcrowded field, but its mandate is far broader than just looking into Planned Parenthood — it can investigate the entities that procure fetal tissue and look into federal funding and support for abortion providers. It is also authorized to scrutinize the providers of second- and third-term abortions (even though later-term abortions are already highly regulated). (3/30)
The Sacramento Bee:
Overdoses Reveal Scary New Chapter In Opioid Epidemic
For anyone who still believes that addiction to opioid painkillers is no big deal in Sacramento, the events of the past several days should should serve as a serious wake-up call. Since Thursday, at least 28 people have overdosed on a dangerous cocktail of street drugs in what the county’s top health officer, Dr. Olivia Kasirye, is calling a public health emergency. Six have died so far. Some were found unresponsive in their homes. The rest have been hospitalized. (3/29)
The Oakland Tribune:
CDC Taking First Step To Stem The Abuse Of Opiods
For too many Americans, doctor's orders pushed them toward a deadly addiction. Overdoses of prescription opioids and heroin reached record numbers in 2014, killing 28,647 users, ravaging families and ruining lives. The numbers continue to grow. But finally the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stepped up and told doctors to end the madness. (3/29)
The Los Angeles Times:
New Obamacare Surprise: New Customers Look Just Like Average Americans
The reason that new enrollees tend to be sicker than the previous pool of patients in the individual market, and consequently are using more services and costing insurers more, is that sick people were systematically excluded from the individual insurance market prior to 2014. The mechanism was exclusions for pre-existing conditions, which were outlawed by the ACA. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/30)
The Los Angeles Times:
Block Grants Are Just Budget Cuts In Disguise — And The Targets Are Antipoverty Programs
Donald Trump's healthcare plan includes block-granting Medicaid to the states: "The state governments know their people best and can manage the administration of Medicaid far better without federal overhead." (We think he means "oversight," not "overhead," but let it go.) "States will have the incentives to seek out and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse to preserve our precious resources," he continues. Ted Cruz wants to block-grant federal education funding to "return education to those who know our students best: parents, teachers, local communities, and states." (Michael Hiltzik, 3/25)
The Los Angeles Times:
The Supreme Court Floats A Contraception Compromise
Washington lawyers and journalists are scratching their heads — and spinning scenarios — after a surprise order from the Supreme Court in what is popularly known as the Little Sisters of the Poor case. (Michael McGough, 3/29)
Orange County Register:
Fate Of Contraception Case Uncertain Before High Court
Once more, the Supreme Court has before it a case involving the contraceptive mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but this time the court should follow the vast majority of courts across the country and rule in favor of the ability of women employees to receive contraceptive coverage. Zubik v. Burwell was heard by the court March 23, and it raises important questions about the meaning of free exercise of religion and when it is impermissibly burdened. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 3/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Prudential Pulls A Fast One On Long-Term Care Insurance Policyholders
Buying long-term care insurance isn't an easy decision. It's an increasingly pricey product that requires you to look way down the road, to the possibility of shelling out big bucks for a nursing home or some other form of assisted living. The last thing you want to worry about is having your insurer pull a fast one on you after you sign up for coverage. But that's what Prudential has done, making a sneaky change to policyholders' long-term care coverage. (David Lazarus, 4/1)
The Los Angeles Times:
Why Are We Wasting Future MDs' Time And Money With This Pointless Test?
Every physician who wishes to practice medicine in this country must pass a test most Americans have never heard of: Step 2 Clinical Skills. Approximately 20,000 medical students from U.S. and Canadian schools take it each year, paying hefty fees for a decidedly ineffectual exam. For anyone who wants to end waste in medical education, getting rid of Step 2 CS is a good place to start. (Christopher R. Henderson and Nathaniel P. Morris, 3/28)
The San Jose Mercury News:
From The Tampon Tax To Donald Trump, Menstruation Talk Goes Mainstream
It has long been a nightmare moment for me, and probably a lot of women who still get their, uh, monthly visitors: I'm out in public rifling through my purse. I drop it, it falls open, and out flies my stash of tampons. (Martha Ross, 3/30)
The Los Angeles Times:
Who Will Exercise The Right To Die?
As California's End of Life Option Act takes effect in June, data from states where aid in dying is already legal raises a question: Who will use the new law? In Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont, experience shows that participants will be few in number, well less than 1% of those who die each year. We also know, based on 18 years of data from Oregon, whose Death with Dignity Act was the first such law in the nation, that most of them will be older, white and well-educated. (Ann Neumann, 3/27)
The Visalia Times-Delta:
Choice For Hospital Stay/Visit: Visalia Or An Hour Away?
I am local physician practicing in Visalia and I am voting YES on Measure H, which will fund a replacement acute care hospital for our community-owned Kaweah Delta. In the 16 years we have lived in Visalia, we believe the executive leadership of Kaweah Delta has consistently developed responsible actions to meet the hospitals’ mission, goals and strategies for the district. (Lechtman, 3/28)