Today's opinions and editorials

If Conservatives Ran Health Care The Washington Post
Many liberals remain angry and disappointed that single-payer legislation never stood a chance in Washington. To them, a government-run health-care system seemed an obvious way to put patients ahead of profits. But a single-payer system would have put us at the mercy of whomever happened to take control of Washington (Maggie Mahar, 11/15).

My Near Death Panel Experience The New York Times
I didn't mean to kill Grandma. I didn't even mean to create death panels (Earl Blumenauer, 11/14).

Will People Buy Government Long-Term Care Insurance? Kaiser Health News
The CLASS Act—the far-reaching proposal to create a national long-term care insurance program—is in the House health reform bill, and is still in the mix as Senate leaders struggle to design their own version of reform. But the key question about the CLASS Act remains: How many will buy the coverage even if it is broadly available? (Howard Gleckman, 11/16).

Health Care's Untapped Resource: Patients The Chicago Tribune
Much of the recent debate in Washington has been over insurance reform. ... It doesn't address why doctors -- like my mother's cardiologist -- would prescribe so many unnecessary procedures, tests and even medications when the risk of complications is ever present and often lethal. And it doesn't address why our population consumes so much health care without getting any healthier (Jordan Dolin, 11/15).

Reforming Health Care The Boston Globe
Massachusetts has some of the best doctors, nurses, and other caregivers in the world. Yet our national health care system costs too much and covers too few. Climbing costs put basic coverage beyond the reach of millions. This is economically unaffordable and a moral disgrace (Martha Coakley, 11/15).

One Nation, Insured The Los Angeles Times
Some states, such as Arizona, are considering ways to opt out of a national plan. That's foolish (11/16).

The Rationing Commission The Wall Street Journal
As usual, the most dangerous parts of ObamaCare aren't receiving the scrutiny they deserve—and one of the least examined is a new commission to tell Congress how to control health spending. Democrats are quietly attempting to impose a "global budget" on Medicare, with radical implications for U.S. medicine (11/15).

Obamacare: Buy Now, Pay Later The Washington Post
There is an air of absurdity to what is mistakenly called "health-care reform." Everyone knows that the United States faces massive governmental budget deficits as far as calculators can project, driven heavily by an aging population and uncontrolled health costs (Robert J. Samuelson, 11/16).