Viewpoints: Emanuel on cancer care; George Bush - 'health reformer?'; Hiassen on Fla. 'trolls'

Aug 9 2011

The New York Times: Shortchanging Cancer Patients
Right now cancer care is being rationed in the United States. Probably to their great disappointment, President Obama's critics cannot blame this rationing on death panels or health care reform. Rather, it is caused by a severe shortage of important cancer drugs. ... The sad fact is, there are plenty of newer brand-name cancer drugs that do not cure anyone, but just extend life for a few months, at costs of up to $90,000 per patient. Only the older but curative cancer drugs — drugs that can cost as little as $3 per dose — have become unavailable (Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 8/6).

The Fiscal Times: S&P Downgrade of U.S.: What Nerve!
The best outcome -- politically -- is that this report will empower rational members of both parties to embrace a $4 trillion "grand bargain" that includes higher revenues and changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- all necessary to produce a package big enough to get the debt under control. The worst political outcome is that neither party will get the message and jihadis on both sides will dig their parties in further (George Hager, 8/6). 

The Washington Post: The Welfare State Wins This Budget War
The defense cuts show how, contrary to conventional wisdom, the budget deal reflects liberal preferences. The liberal agenda came in three parts: First, raise taxes on high-income Americans to limit domestic spending cuts; second, protect the social "safety net," especially Social Security and Medicare; and finally, cut defense spending to spare (again) domestic programs. ... We are penalizing general government to protect all retirees, no matter how healthy or wealthy (Robert J. Samuelson, 8/7). 

San Francisco Chronicle: Debt Deal Doles Out Economic Pain Unfairly
We can take some comfort from the fact that Social Security, Medicaid and several other programs for the poor would be exempt from those automatic cuts. ... But most of the remaining burden will necessarily fall on Medicare. Although the plan directs cuts at Medicare providers rather than beneficiaries, it's safe to assume providers will pass them on to beneficiaries in the form of fewer services (Robert Reich, 8/7).

McClatchy / The Kansas City Star: Entitlements Need Reforming
One of the most striking aspects of the debt-ceiling debate has been the lengths to which Democrats have gone to deny the need for change in our entitlement programs. Many refuse to accept that without reform of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, our fiscal situation cannot be stabilized. … The nation needs serious entitlement reform, and for that you need more than control of the House. You need the presidency. The debate over how to restructure the safety net will play out for many years. If the GOP overreaches now, a negative voter reaction would severely diminish its capacity to shape this critical debate (E. Thomas McClanahan, 8/6). 

Dallas Morning News: Our Failed Fling With The Welfare State
The intentions of Democrats are only the best. They want all of the old to have lavish retirements, all of the young to have scholarships, verse-penning cowboys to have festivals funded by government and everyone to have access to all the best health care, at no cost to himself (Noemie Emery, 8/5).

Houston Chronicle: Children Will Get The Tab For Our Medicare Coverage
The truth is that the vast majority of individuals who have received Medicare benefits paid for a small fraction of the cost of those benefits. And the same will be true for those of us who will retire in the next decade or so. So, if we are not paying for our own health care, who is? Our children (Bill King, 8/7).

Forbes: George W. Bush, Health Reformer: Flat Medicare Drug Premiums Show That Choice And Competition Work
The average Medicare Part D premium in 2012, HHS projected, would be around $30.00, compared to the 2011 average of $30.76. ...  Stop right there and think about that. With all the teeth-gnashing about the inexorable rise of health costs, when have you ever heard about a health care program whose costs go down? Where are the celebratory articles from health wonks, pointing out that we may have found a way to bring the explosive growth of health spending under control? (Avik Roy, 8/5).

The Miami Herald: We Don't Need No Stinkin' U.S. Tax Dollars
Earlier this summer, a panel of low-wattage trolls known as the Legislative Budget Commission spurned $2.1 million of a federal grant designed to transition ill and elderly Floridians out of nursing facilities and back to their homes. The program, which started under President George W. Bush, is designed to save states millions in Medicaid costs because residential care for older citizens is less expensive than long-term institutional care. … Because the Bush program, Money Follows the Person, was renewed as part of the Obama administration's controversial health-care reform package, most GOP legislators on the panel declined to participate (Carl Hiaasen, 8/6).

Sacramento Bee: California Lets The Mentally Ill Refuse Treatment -- Until It's Too Late
In 1960, California housed 36,853 patients at state hospitals. Many had spent their entire adult lives locked up. Reacting to the abuses, judges and lawmakers shuttered most state hospitals, granted people with mental illness rights to refuse treatment and promised to pay for their care in the communities. As it turned out, the state exchanged one institution for another. At the last count, 37,289 people in California prisons were diagnosed with persistent mental illness for which they receive treatment, one-fourth of the overall population of 144,000 inmates (Dan Morain, 8/7).

Des Moines Register: Guest Columnist: Care Policies For Aging Can Protect Retirement 
One of the biggest threats to your retirement and the financial security of you, your spouse and family is paying for the cost of long-term care, or a skilled nursing home stay. Twenty-five years ago, I encouraged my parents to purchase long-term care insurance. ... There are no simple answers when it comes to the planning and caregiving for a parent or older friend that might need help. Older people have unique medical and emotional needs. Often, finances will dictate how far you can go in creating an ideal situation for them (David Cunningham, 8/6).