“Realistically, the unraveling of Obamacare Exchanges and the pyramid of perverse incentives created under the Medicaid expansion will have to be addressed,” writes Chris Conover, a research scholar at the Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research. “In the course of addressing tax reform, Republicans have a golden opportunity to take a bold step that make the task of each easier. I am hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.”
Read More in Forbes
Psychiatry professor emeritus Allen Frances weighs in on the debate over mental health professionals publicly assessing President Trump: “Trump’s psychology is far too obvious to be interesting. You don’t have to be a psychoanalyst to understand Trump. He’s the most transparent human being who ever lived. Giving it a name doesn’t explain it or change it.”
Read More in The New York Times
“California currently has one of the most comprehensive climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs in the world,” writes Mark Paul, a postdoctoral associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity. However, legislation supported by Gov. Jerry Brown “falls woefully short” if the goal is to safeguard both the Earth’s climate and the health of Californians, while promoting economic security of Californian families, he writes.
Read More in The Huffington Post
“To all voters and elected officials, I have a question: In all of the instances in which you disagree with people on the other side of the political spectrum, is it really plausible that your position is always the correct one? And, if so, how did you become endowed with such knowledge, judgment, and wisdom that your views on the issues are always right?” writes Mark Leary, a professor of psychology and neuroscience.
Read More in Psychology Today
Professors David Ridley (Fuqua School) and Jeffrey Moe (Global Health) write about Congress updating the laws governing prescription drugs this summer, including changes to a program designed to spur drug development for neglected diseases like dengue, Ebola, Zika and river blindness. “Unfortunately,” they write, “the fix as written to the FDA Reauthorization Act does too little to help the millions of people at risk for these diseases.”
Read More in The Hill
“Honestly, the marketplaces are in OK shape,” says David Anderson, a research associate at the Margolis Center for Health Policy who studies the individual market. “The amount of competition isn’t where some people would like it to be, but this isn’t collapse.”
Read More in Vox
“I know what it’s like to be unable to see a doctor for even serious injuries. I know what it’s like to constantly hope that you are not sick or injured because the costs would simply be too high. Those are stresses the American Health Care Act will force on millions of Americans – stresses that no American deserves,” writes Ashley Arnold, a master’s student in public policy.
Read More in The News & Observer
The Senate is contemplating a change in Medicaid that would cut it even more than the $830-billion proposed by the House, according to a proposal leaked from an Obamacare repeal bill. Lowering the growth rate of Medicaid is “a massive cut of future growth,” says health insurance expert David Anderson, a researcher at the Margolis Center for Health Policy.
Read More in The Los Angeles Times
“With Senate Republicans gearing up to pass a healthcare reform bill that will likely maintain the deep cuts to Medicaid, low-income households and minorities are most likely to lose insurance and their lives will be more endangered,” writes Mark Paul, an economist and a postdoctoral associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity.
Read More on Dollars and Sense
“If you share these moral values, of course you should support the push to repeal. You have absolutely every right to do so,” writes political scientist David Siegel. “But if you do not share these moral values and are considering supporting a repeal anyway, perhaps it’s worth thinking about how you might better align your policy stances with your moral values.”
Read More in The Hill
Proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act would remove requirements to cover maternity care and contraception. Those changes would hurt women especially hard, says Dr. Megan Huchko, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Duke Global Health Institute.
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“In the Bible, Joseph told Pharaoh to save during the seven fat years to support society during the seven lean years. This story is worth remembering now that the Trump administration is proposing a new round of tax cuts in an effort to stimulate economic growth,” writes Dr. Kevin Schulman, a professor of medicine. “It is also worth remembering that this tax-cut approach was tried in the 1980s, and led to increases in the federal deficit.”
Read More in The Hill
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