Viewpoints: Who Speaks For The 21 Million Pro-Life Democrats?

Los Angeles Times: How The Democratic Platform Betrays Millions Of The Party Faithful
The abortion plank in the 2016 Democratic platform effectively marginalizes the voices of 21 million pro-life Democrats. It means the party that is supposedly on the side of justice for the vulnerable no longer welcomes those of us who #ChooseBoth; that is, those of us who want the government to protect and support prenatal children and their mothers. (Kristen Day and Charles Camosy, 7/25)

LA Daily News: Ills Of The War On Drugs Are 2016’s Unmentioned Issue
In a presidential election year, Americans rightly expect to hear debates on every relevant topic. However, one topic seems to be missing from the debate this year, even when it seems compellingly relevant: the Drug War. When we talk about Mexican and Central American immigration, we ignore the fact that many of them are unaccompanied children, refugees fleeing Drug War violence, while drug warriors claim to be concerned about “the children.” And when the violence follows the refugees, we blame them, not the Drug War. (Richard Cowan, 7/28)

Los Angeles Times: The Truth About Healthcare Premiums: They'd Be A Lot Higher Without Obamacare
We’ve just entered the “sticker shock” season of healthcare reporting: News stories are brimming with reports of double-digit premium requests from insurance companies, amid dire warnings about the impact on consumers. ... But (Benjamin) Sommers asserts that concerns over rising premiums are “overblown,” chiefly for three reasons: Most of the cited rates are initial requests, likely to be pared down by state regulators; consumers have the ability and incentive to shop for cheaper rates; and more than 80% of Affordable Care Act customers receive premium subsidies, limiting the impact of any rate increases. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/26)

Los Angeles Times: Covered California Shows It's Not Immune To Big Premium Increases
Caifornians shopping for individual health insurance policies have seen some of the smallest increases in the nation over the last two years, thanks in part to the efforts of Covered California, the state's insurance exchange established under the 2010 federal healthcare law (better known as Obamacare). ... A more disturbing trend is the accelerating growth in medical costs, a long-term problem that has no easy solution. One cause is higher demand for care, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing — it reflects the fact that many uninsured people now have coverage. Another is the surprisingly large percentage of enrollees who sign up for coverage in mid-year, suggesting that some are trying to game the system by obtaining insurance only when they need expensive treatment. (7/21)

Sacramento Bee: Rate Hikes Show Rising Health Costs And Obamacare’s Flaws
The big rate increases announced last week for health insurance policies sold by California’s version of the federal health reform are the latest evidence that the Affordable Care Act, despite its name, cannot do much to tame the rise of health care costs.The government-run health insurance market is facing all the same cost pressures that the private market has confronted for years, plus more that have resulted from the dynamics of the federal law itself. Covered California, the state insurance agency created to implement the federal law, announced last week that rates for insurance sold through the program will increase an average of 13.2 percent in 2017. (Daniel Weintraub, 7/25)

Ventura County Star: Health Insurance Rate Hikes Show Need For Cost Reforms
The two largest insurers in the Covered California health insurance exchange are jacking up their monthly premiums by 17 and 20 percent next year. The news was appalling, but it should not have been surprising. And all of us should remember that there is nothing we can do about that, even though we once had a chance to place controls over those rates. Anthem Blue Cross has told the state it is going to increase its premiums by 17 percent next year, while Blue Shield is seeking a 20 percent increase. (7/28)

LA Daily News: This Could Be When Everyone Gets Sick Of Obamacare
Covered California just announced that the average cost of premiums for policies sold on the state health insurance exchange will be 13.2 percent higher next year. In 14 other states, premiums for widely sold silver plans will rise an average of 11 percent. The worse news is why: Health care costs are higher, two temporary programs to reduce risk for insurers are ending, and people signing up have been sicker than expected. That’s the opposite of what was intended. The Affordable Care Act was supposed to reduce health care costs, outgrow its need for insurer subsidies, and get young and healthy people into the risk pool with its mandate to buy health insurance. (Susan Shelley, 7/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Are They Trying To Make Us Kill Our Patients?
I am an oncologist/hematologist who has been practicing in California, primarily at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, for 39 years. It has been my privilege to have treated and cared for more than 16,000 patients with cancer or blood diseases and to have provided pain relief and comfort for the dying. I am also one of six concerned physicians who, along with the American Academy of Medical Ethics, have sued in a California Superior Court to try to block as unconstitutional the state’s Physician Assisted Suicide law, which went into effect on June 9. More recently, a group of doctors and health-care professionals in Vermont joined a lawsuit filed July 19 to try to block the way that state’s 2013 assisted suicide law is being interpreted and misapplied. (Philip B. Dreisbach, 7/24)

The Sacramento Bee: Give Patients Protection From Surprise Medical Bills
Jennifer Saurenman of San Marino meticulously planned a shoulder surgery last year. She spent weeks ensuring her surgeon and the outpatient facility were in her health insurance plan’s network. But she couldn’t find out who her anesthesiologist would be until the day of the procedure, and she was hit with a $4,230 bill for an out-of-network anesthesiologist. Her story is, unfortunately, far too common in California. A 2015 survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that nearly one in four privately insured Californians received a surprise medical bill where their health plan paid less than expected. (Betsy Imholz, 7/26)

Modesto Bee: Hospital Bill For Modesto Woman’s Birth Was A Shock
Kathy Wardlow was aware that hospital charges have gone up during her lifetime. She didn’t know how much until she recently found the billing statement for her birth at the former Modesto City Hospital 60 years ago Wednesday. The total charge was $100.50. (Ken Carlson, 7/28)

The Fresno Bee: A Set Of Mergers Too Big Not To Fail
In California, for example, the Anthem-Cigna merger would create such a behemoth that Anthem would own more than 50 percent of the market in 28 counties. Imagine that as you picture your next health insurance open enrollment. And though Anthem executives testified in March at hearings before the California Department of Insurance that as much as $2 billion in efficiencies could result from the mergers, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has said that the savings are “vague, speculative and impossible to verify” upon closer examination. (7/24)

Los Angeles Times: Congressional Witch Hunt For 'Baby Body Part' Sellers Needs To End
When a congressional panel investigating the procurement of fetal tissue from abortion clinics was formed last fall, its Republican leader and members made no secret of their mission to expose businesses that “sell baby body parts.” (They even said as much on their website.) Their inquiry was inspired by hidden-camera videos (later discredited) that supposedly showed Planned Parenthood officials negotiating over payments for harvested fetal tissue. It’s illegal in the U.S. to profit from the sale of fetal tissue — payments are limited to the cost of collecting and handling it — so if the committee actually found organizations doing that, it would be legitimate to bust them. (7/25)

Los Angeles Times: Court Says Obamacare Birth Control Option May Violate Catholics' Rights, Even If They Don't Use It
The Affordable Care Act continues to provide an opportunity for religious zealots to complain that someone, somewhere, might be doing something of which they disapprove. Another such case advancing through the courts is that of Missouri State Rep. Paul Wieland and his wife, Teresa, who assert that Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate tramples on their family’s religious rights even if they don’t make use of it. St. Louis Federal Judge Jean Constance Hamilton thinks they may have a point. On Thursday she denied the government’s motion to throw out the case on summary judgment. Merely requiring individuals to buy an insurance policy that provides contraception could infringe on their religious conscience, she ruled in clearing the case for trial. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: Should We Pay Women To Donate Their Eggs For Research? No, And Here's Why.
Not everything in life is for sale, nor should it be.” That’s what California Gov. Jerry Brown said in 2013 when he vetoed a bill allowing women to be paid to donate their eggs for scientific research. “In medical procedures of this kind,” he added, “the long-term risks are not adequately known. Putting thousands of dollars on the table only compounds the problem.” (Michael Hiltzik, 7/22)

Oakland Tribune: Hepatitis, Cancer Link Must Be Understood
World Hepatitis Day is Thursday, and we urge the people of California to take this moment to focus on cancer prevention. What does cancer prevention have to do with hepatitis? Plenty. The hepatitis B and C viruses cause 80 percent to 95 percent of all liver cancer cases. Liver cancer kills about 16,000 men and 7,000 women in the United States each year. (Carolyn Aldigé, 7/26)

LA Daily News: Los Angeles Faces New Challenges As Its Population Gets Older
According to AARP, almost 90 percent of adults 65 and older want to stay in their current home and community as they age. As a city [Los Angeles], we need to provide the services and support that older Americans need. That’s why it’s been great to see our elected leaders already starting to address the issue of a “graying” L.A. (Ashley Mirone, 7/24)