Today's OpEds: The states' lawsuits, the need to trim health costs and industry winners

Mar 29 2010

The Legal Assault on Health Reforms The New York Times
No sooner had President Obama signed comprehensive health care reform than the attorneys general of 14 states scurried to the federal courts to challenge the law. ... [they] are doing a disservice to their constituents by opposing Medicaid expansion and a mandate that everyone buy insurance, with subsidies for low- and middle-income people (3/28).

With Health Bill, Obama Has Sown The Seeds Of A Budget Crisis The Washington Post
Obama is flirting with a future budget crisis. Moody's emphasizes two warning signs: rising debt and loss of confidence that government will deal with it. Obama fulfills both. ... No one can tell when or whether a crisis will come. There is no magic tipping point. But Obama is raising the chances (Robert J. Samuelson, 3/29).

The Wrong Whipping Boys The Los Angeles Times
Health insurance companies are taking heat for raising premiums. But you can't blame the insurers for the fact that medical treatment costs continue to soar (Patrick Johnston, 3/29).

The State's Single-Payer Solution The Boston Globe
Effective cost control has proven to be politically impossible, particularly in Massachusetts. However, another failed attempt at cost control is unaffordable for the state, our municipalities, businesses, and households (Benjamin Day and Peter Hiam, 3/29).

Health Bill A Huge Victory For Young Adults CNN
The passage of health care reform -- and the under-publicized but far-reaching student aid reform that passed along with it in reconciliation -- arguably constitutes the broadest, most meaningful and beneficial legislative victories for young people in recent history (Erica Williams, 3/28).

Lilly, Pfizer, Merck Win In Health-Care Smackdown Bloomberg BusinessWeek
The big beneficiaries, in my view, will be hospitals, which will be paid for more patient visits; pharmaceutical companies, which will sell more drugs; and medical-device makers, which will sell more hearing aids, pacemakers and other products. Their gains will be partly offset by higher taxes and more regulation, but on balance I still think that the legislation is good for these groups (John Dorfman, 3/28)

Pricing Out Private Insurance Forbes
After a couple of decades of losing market share to more agile for-profit competitors, the nonprofit Blues and other organizations will again have their day in the sun. And the ultimate nonprofit--the "public option"--will be but a short step away (John E. Calfee, 3/26).