Modern Healthcare: Access Denied?If all goes according to plan, next summer should be a mighty interesting time in American politics. That's when, in the heat of the presidential campaign, the nation is likely to learn the fate of the health care reform law, at least according to the collective wisdom of the U.S. Supreme Court. That timing could be off, but the impact of the ruling will be jolting no matter when it comes, given the lightning rod permanently affixed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And the decision will be electrifying no matter which way it goes (David May, 11/21).
McClatchy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Congress Isn't Ready To Act On Supreme Court's Health Care DecisionCongress isn't ready for a Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, (U.S. Rep. Michael) Burgess says. Every member -; Republicans and Democrats -; and every relevant committee should get to work preparing for the day that ruling is announced (Mike Norman, 11/21).
The Los Angeles Times: FSAs Encourage Rather Than Reduce Unnecessary Health Care Spending Like millions of other Americans, in the late fall of every year I face two annoying conundrums. Somehow I have to forecast my out-of-pocket health care costs for the coming 12 months, so I know how much to invest in my flexible account, and I have to root around for qualified medical expenses to rectify any overestimate from the year before (Michael Hiltzik, 11/20).
Los Angeles Times: Alzheimer's: What If There's No Cure? There's one thing that all Alzheimer's researchers agree on: The mind-robbing illness is heartbreaking. But after three decades of study that have produced neither cure nor medications that significantly slow its progress, some researchers are asking: What if it's not a disease with a cure? What if it's just an unfortunate but inevitable part of aging, along with wrinkly skin, osteoporosis and heart disease? (11/21).
Kansas City Star: A Higher Cigarette Tax Would Improve Health Care, Schools In MissouriA serious effort is under way to raise Missouri's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax -; a move that would vastly improve the health of both citizens and the state's finances. Gov. Jay Nixon and legislative leaders should be leading this charge. Not only does Missouri's ridiculous 17-cents-a-pack tax deprive the state of badly needed revenues, researchers have estimated that smoking costs the state's Medicaid system more than $600 million a year (11/20).
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: DHS Should Go Back To The Drawing Board On MedicaidBut while we think (Secretary of Health Services Dennis) Smith has come up with an interesting proposal for reining in escalating costs in the state's health care programs for the poor, we also think it is flawed. There is no doubt his plan is innovative and an improvement over how some states have handled ballooning Medicaid costs. But his ideas risk hurting too many of Wisconsin's poor -; especially kids -; and we can't support his plan as written (11/19).
Kansas City Star: Stop Delaying Joint City, Police Health Care PlanKansas City's Police Department continues to send mixed signals over whether it eventually will approve a joint health care insurance plan with City Hall, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Just weeks ago new Chief Darryl Fort?© said he hoped a deal could be worked out to end a sometimes bitter five-year tussle with the city. ... Unfortunately, in recent days the department surprised top city officials by putting its health and dental plans out for bid among different health care providers (11/19).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.