Viewpoints: The Five Fatal Fibs Republicans Told Themselves
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Healthcare Debacle Results From Republicans Believing Their Own Myths
Donald Trump and congressional Republicans created a political debacle for themselves by believing a set of scare stories about Obamacare that came back to haunt them. It is an object lesson in how false realities ultimately pop like soap bubbles when pricked by plain old truth. There are five fatal fibs the GOP sold to supporters and to themselves. (David Horsey, 3/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Who's To Blame For Trump's Failures? Must Be Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan did it. That’s the argument many of the louder voices on the right are shouting. In the story they tell, the speaker of the House is fully responsible for the GOP’s failure to pass an Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill last week. President Trump should walk across a Havana ballroom like Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Part II,” kiss Ryan on the mouth and say, “I know it was you, Paul. You broke my heart.” (Jonah Goldberg, 3/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Faces A Healthcare Time Bomb Of The GOP's Own Creation
Republicans often suggest that Obamacare is “collapsing” without ever acknowledging the role they’ve played in undermining the law and the state insurance exchanges it created. They have an opportunity now to do even more damage to those exchanges — and to their constituents — by reneging on Obamacare’s commitment to help low-income Americans afford care. Congressional Republicans set up this situation by trying to evade an obligation Congress created in the 2010 law (also known as the Affordable Care Act). The law makes low-income Americans who are not covered by an employer’s group plan eligible both for tax credits to lower their premiums and for subsidies to reduce their out-of-pocket costs. Without that assistance, poor families may not be able to afford to see a doctor even if they have insurance. (3/31)
Orange County Register:
GOP Faces Consequences Of Health-Law Failure
Congressional Republicans failed to unite around a passable health care bill, and must now brace for the political consequences. The preponderance of that burden falls on the House, where the more moderate and wonky leadership has to recognize that the conservative caucus is not going away, and substantive reforms will have to involve real trade-offs. (3/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Can Trump Be Stopped From Making Obamacare 'Explode'?
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act may have celebrated prematurely at the demise last week of the House Republicans’ proposal for its repeal. Yes, the most immediate threat to the future of Obamacare is dead, for now. And in the wake of the House fiasco, President Trump as well as some Senate Republicans have made noises about reaching out to Democrats to shore up the health insurance program. But the Trump White House and congressional Republicans still have it within their power to damage the prospects of health coverage for millions of Americans, whether by actively undermining the Affordable Care Act by administrative fiat or by letting it wither by neglect. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/27)
Sacramento Bee:
California Dodges Health Care Bullet
California dodged a multibillion-dollar fiscal bullet last week when Congress stalled an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act — but perhaps just temporarily. State officials had estimated that California would lose billions under the proposed American Health Care Act that would cap federal spending on Medi-Cal, the state’s health care system for the poor. (Dan Walters, 3/28)
Orange County Register:
An Obamacare Replacement That Will Actually Work
Obamacare was never popular with most Americans, faces death spiral health plan premiums, is fiendishly complex, tries to do too much for too many people and has zero bipartisan support. But the Congressional Republican Obamacare replacement doubles down on precisely the part of the Affordable Care Act that is failing, the private individual health plans, while it phases out the part that seems to be working, the Medicaid expansion. It would put affordable health insurance out of reach for as many as 24 million predominately older, sicker and lower-income Americans. (Joel Hay, 3/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Eliminating Essential Health Insurance Benefits Is A Stupid Idea That Won't Save Money. Here's Why.
You can add this to the list of proposed conservative “reforms” to the healthcare system that won’t work to lower costs and is a terrible idea in general: paring back the list of essential health benefits required to be covered by every Obamacare plan. David Anderson of Duke points us to a recent paper by Milliman, the preeminent cost-analysis firm in healthcare, about how much these essential benefits actually add to the cost of health insurance and the consequences of removing the mandates. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/22)
Los Angeles Times:
I Lost My Seat In Congress Because I Voted For Obamacare. I Don't Regret That Decision At All
President Trump last week pressured Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. If they didn’t, he warned, they would lose their seats in the next election. Speaker Paul D. Ryan ultimately withdrew the bill, where seven years prior, on the same House floor, I voted to pass the Affordable Care Act into law. (Tom Perriello, 3/29)
Los Angeles Times:
The Original Mistake That Distorted The Health Insurance System In America
A World War II-era mistake distorted the U.S. health insurance system. Reformers tried to fix the problem with patchwork solutions until Obamacare dumped yet another layer of misguided policy onto what was already a mess. Now the tangle is so perplexing that a Republican Congress, under a Republican president, could not even bring a health-insurance reform bill to a vote last week. But legislators will no doubt try to tackle the issue again, and when they do, they should consider erasing the original error instead of merely papering it over. (Myron Magnet, 3/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
We Need To Think About The Ethics Of Health Care For Everyone
I had the great fortune to chat with my daughter’s preschool class last week about what I do as a health care ethicist — not the easiest thing to explain to 5-year-olds. I decided to talk with them about fairness and then play a game about resource allocation that seemed apropos of discussions we are having in the United States about health care. (Ryan F. Holmes, 3/29)
Los Angeles Times:
Felony Charges Are A Disturbing Overreach For The Duo Behind The Planned Parenthood Sting Videos
There’s no question that anti-abortion activist David Daleiden surreptitiously recorded healthcare and biomedical services employees across the state of California with the intent of discrediting the healthcare provider, Planned Parenthood — something his heavily edited videos failed to do. There’s also no question that it’s against state law to record confidential conversations without the consent of all the parties involved. But that doesn’t mean that California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra should have charged Daleiden and his co-conspirator, Susan Merritt, with 15 felony counts. (3/30)
The Mercury News:
Reproductive Rights, Even Pregnancy, Threatened
A leaked draft of a Trump administration executive order proposed a sweeping interpretation of “religious freedom” that would allow organizations and businesses to circumvent legal protections against discrimination. This proposal echoes a controversial plan in Indiana signed by now-Vice President Pence. Discrimination for any reason is antithetical to true religious liberty, and it’s time for people of faith to raise their voices in opposition. (Sheila Briggs, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Trump’s Dangerous Support For Vaccine Skeptic
Vaccination is by far the most successful public-health program ever conducted in the United States. This program may be endangered, however, by President Trump and some members of Congress under the influence of critics who push pseudo-scientific skepticism about the effectiveness and safety of vaccination. The new president has met with vaccine doubter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about establishing a panel to investigate the already scientifically disproved claims that vaccines cause neurological disorders, including autism. (Judith Grether and Wendy Bloom, 3/22)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Finding Doctors For Rural Area
California is one of a small handful of states with laws prohibiting hospitals from directly employing physicians. The state also has a chronic shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas like the North Coast. And many experts see a nexus between the employment restrictions and the unfilled need for more general practitioners, obstetricians, internists and pediatricians in smaller communities. But after a long battle in Sacramento, a change in state law is offering help for some rural areas — at least temporarily. The law, sponsored by Healdsburg Assemblyman Jim Wood, allows federally certified critical access hospitals in rural areas to employ physicians rather than simply granting privileges or, as some large health care organizations do, setting up separate foundations to operate affiliated medical practices. (3/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Are We Subsidizing A Public Health Crisis By Allowing The Poor To Buy Soda With Food Stamps?
A major study of the grocery-buying habits of millions of Americans released late last year found that people using food stamps generally make the same unhealthy food choices as everyone else in America. Too many sweets, salty snacks and prepared desserts. Junk food, in other words. But when it came to soda and its sugary ilk, the results were more surprising, and not in a good way. (3/29)