Viewpoints: The Health Law Is In No Way A ‘Catastrophe.’ So Why Has That Messaging Stuck?
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
Los Angeles Times:
Researchers Suggest Delusion May Be At The Heart Of Conservative Hatred Of Obamacare
This week’s open enrollment for Obamacare once again made me wonder: How can conservatives be so convinced of the healthcare law’s failure when the opposite is demonstrably clear? Obamacare is far from perfect, but it’s in no way a “disaster,” a “catastrophe” or “imploding.” In 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, nearly 50 million people in this country were uninsured. As of 2016, that number had dropped to about 29 million, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. (David Lazarus, 11/3)
The Mercury News:
Covered California Health Market Alive And Well
Thanks to careful planning, the vast majority of the 1.4 million enrolled in Covered California plans will be able to find affordable health insurance plans for 2018. Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee says 78 percent of the program’s enrollees can expect to see their costs actually decrease next year. (11/1)
Los Angeles Times:
On Eve Of Obamacare Open Enrollment, More Evidence Of Impact Of Trump's Sabotage
Several important conclusions emerge from the latest statistics about Affordable Care Act premiums, issued Monday on the eve of open enrollment for 2018 plans, which begins Wednesday. First, gross premiums will rise substantially for next year and enrollment is likely to fall, mostly because of Trump administration efforts to sabotage the law. Second, millions of Americans will be insulated from those increases thanks to the administration’s profound ignorance about how the law works. Because government subsidies will be higher in 2018, many will pay less for equivalent coverage than they pay this year—in some cases, nothing. (Michael Hiltzik, 10/30)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Want To Defy Trump? Get Health Coverage
Americans have opposed the Trump administration in many ways, from taking to the streets to leaving Congress. Here’s a more practical form of protest: obtaining health insurance. (11/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Obamacare Isn't Imploding In California
Covered California’s open enrollment period begins Wednesday, and Californians need to know that the state’s health insurance marketplace is open for business. Until Jan. 31, Californians can sign up for quality health care coverage, and current members can change plans or see if they qualify for extra financial help. (Pan, 10/31)
Los Angeles Times:
CVS-Aetna Deal Could Have Same Result As Telecom Mergers — Higher Prices
The news that CVS Health is making a $66-billion play for health insurer Aetna inevitably raises two key questions for consumers: What would this do to insurance rates? What would this do to drug prices? At this point, the answer to both questions is nobody knows for sure. We’re heading into uncharted territory. (David Lazarus, 10/31)
Orange County Register:
How California Skims Federal Medicaid Payments To Fund A Powerful Union
Home caregivers serving Medicaid patients in California are being shortchanged and, chances are they don’t even know it. Medicaid pays for elderly and disabled individuals who need support with activities of daily living to receive support at home from a caregiver. (Han and Swaim, 10/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Ending Birth Control Coverage, Notre Dame Abandons Its Progressive Legacy On Women's Rights
The University of Notre Dame, which once reigned as a beacon of liberal Catholic thought, has announced that it will cancel all birth-control coverage for students and employees next year. That includes contraception provided to those recipients for free, under government auspices and at government expense. Notre Dame thus becomes the first and most important employer publicly to take advantage of the Trump administration’s Oct. 6 rollback of contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. (Michael Hiltzik, 11/1)
Orange County Register:
Medical Aid-In-Dying Laws Do Not Authorize Assisted Suicide
It’s a shame that two of our own local members of Congress, Reps. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, and Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, joined Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, as sponsors of a concurrent resolution in the House, (H.Con.Res.80), that wrongly claims medical aid in dying “puts everyone … at risk of deadly harm.” This resolution does not have the force of law, but it is the first step toward voiding medical aid-in-dying laws in the District of Columbia, California and five other states, as well as legislation introduced in 26 other states this year alone. (Robert Olvera, 10/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Do We Really Want To Stack Oxycontin Next To The Jim Beam?
One painful aspect of the public debates over the opioid-addiction crisis is how much they mirror the arguments that arise from personal addiction crises. If you’ve ever had a loved one struggle with drugs — in my case, my late brother, Josh — the national exercise in guilt-driven blame-shifting and finger-pointing combined with flights of sanctimony and ideological righteousness have a familiar echo. (Jonah Goldberg, 10/31)
Sacramento Bee:
Fentanyl: China's Chemical Weapon Against The U.S.
Fentanyl is the synthetic opioid driving America’s public health crisis. Its cheap price, widespread use, addictive quality and deadly effect make it more dangerous than other narcotics classified by the DEA. It is, ultimately, a chemical. And it’s being used as a weapon in China’s 21st Century Opium War against America. (Markos Koulanakis, 11/2)
Los Angeles Times:
How Legalized Pot Can Make Up For The Disastrous War On Drugs
When recreational cannabis becomes legal in California on Jan. 2, part of the focus — in Los Angeles, at any rate — will be on “social equity.” That’s the term for a set of guidelines meant to spread legalization’s wealth to neighborhoods that have gotten the worst of the drug wars. According to draft legislation currently moving through the City Council, for every general license approved for a pot shop, one license must also be approved for social equity reasons. (David L. Ulin, 11/1)
Sacramento Bee:
College Students Can't Succeed If They're Hungry
Today, hunger is still a reality for many college students. In a recent report by the National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness, about 22 percent said they go hungry and more than half said they missed a class or didn’t buy a required book to save money for food. (Monica Beas, 10/27)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Doesn't Homelessness Inspire More Empathy?
It’s impossible to ignore that a growing subset of our fellow citizens faces a daily life without the security of a solid roof or walls. We’ve all seen the stats on homeless people: the hospitalizations, the impact on public services, the losses in economic productivity. And mostly, we see them. They’re under bridges, sprawled in makeshift shelters along the parkway, and huddled in dank alleys. (Greg Sazima, 11/1)