Bloomberg: What Liberals Don't Get About Single Payer
[The] problem with the Affordable Care Act isn't the insurance industry. In fact, the main benefits of nationalized health care can be achieved in systems with hundreds, even thousands, of for-profit insurers. ... The dirty truth about American health care is that it costs more not because insurers are so powerful, but because they're so weak. ... It's health-care providers -- not insurers -- who have too much power in the U.S. system. As a result, they have the most to lose if health-care prices fall. But, as is often the case, political power flows in part from popularity. So politicians who routinely rail against for-profit insurers are scared to criticize -- much less legislate against -- for-profit hospitals, doctors or device manufacturers (though drug companies come in for a drubbing now and then). These are the people who work every day to save our lives, even if they make us pay dearly for the privilege (Ezra Klein, 1/8).
The Washington Post: Will Health Costs Continue Slowing?
Call it the $2.8 trillion enigma. That's the amount Americans spent on health care in 2012. The good news is that health spending slowed unexpectedly for the fourth consecutive year. The enigma is that no one really knows why. Despite many theories, there's no expert consensus. Runaway health spending is a huge national problem. It has squeezed take-home pay (employers channel more compensation to health insurance and less to salary) and is crowding out other programs -; schools, defense, regulation, police -; at the federal and state levels. If the slowdown is temporary, then all these problems remain. But if there's a permanent shift, then the nation's economic and budget outlook has significantly improved (Robert J. Samuelson, 1/8).
The Washington Post: Despite What Critics Say, Obamacare Is Working
Despite the treasured right-wing talking points, it's increasingly clear that Obamacare is a success. Moreover, in places where Obamacare is not succeeding, it's also clear that the right wing is to blame. Well, it's clear to any who look at the state-by-state numbers of the newly insured. A whole lot of Americans will have to look, however, for the program's success to redound to Democrats' advantage (Harold Meyerson, 1/8).
The Wall Street Journal: Obama The Management Failure
The prime example of the president's management gap has been ObamaCare. By handing off the framing of the legislation to Congress, Mr. Obama repeated the rookie mistake he made with the stimulus bill, which became a bloated porkfest. The health-care program that emerged from Capitol Hill with no Republican support is a Rube Goldberg monstrosity, an administrative nightmare. Given ObamaCare's complexity, a seasoned executive would have bird-dogged every stage of its creation and rollout, with obsessive attention to the testing of the sign-up computer programs, the public's first encounter with his signature initiative. There would be go/no-go inflection points and backup timetables, cold-eyed performance reviews and abrupt dismissals. And, in the worst case, a plan to put everything on hold for a year to sort out all the problems (Edward Kosner, 1/8).
The Wall Street Journal: ObamaCare's Rude Awakening For The Young
President Barack Obama won PolitiFact's 2013 "Lie of The Year" for claiming, that "if you like your health care plan, you can keep it." Instead of being ashamed, members of his administration appear to have been inspired by the award. Take the statement by Department of Health and Human Services' National Press Secretary for Health Care, Joanne Peters. On Jan. 2, the Journal quoted her as saying ObamaCare "is making health insurance more affordable for young adults" (Karl Rove, 1/8).
Bloomberg: Democrats And Republicans Are Both Wrong On Obamacare Politics
Top Republicans privately recognize that repeatedly trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act is no longer a winning strategy. For Democrats, there is the risk that new problems will emerge within a program that still lacks strong leadership. They may also find that history doesn't support their calculation that the health-care law will redound to their political advantage as more benefits kick in (Albert R. Hunt, 1/8).
JAMA: The End Of The Beginning For The Affordable Care Act
It's now halftime for the launch of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). People seeking coverage to begin on January 1 had to enroll between October 1 and the end of 2013, but they can continue enrolling until March 31, when the open enrollment period for 2014 ends. As Winston Churchill might have described it, it's the "end of the beginning" (Larry Levitt, 1/8).
And on other issues -
The New York Times: Abortion Restrictions In Texas And Beyond
The tenuous state of women's basic right to make their own childbearing decisions was made clear on Monday when a federal appeals court in New Orleans heard arguments on a new abortion restriction enacted in July in Texas -; one that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital (1/8).
