Editorial Roundup: Indiana
Anderson Herald Bulletin. April 25, 2022.
Editorial: Hospitals, insurers must cut prices or be made to
Indiana General Assembly leaders sent a strong, clear message to hospitals and insurers, calling on them to work together to lower health care prices or the General Assembly would pursue legislation to get prices down to the national average by 2025.
The letters sent by Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, are on the right track.
Studies by the Rand Corp. and Harvard University show that hospital prices in Indiana are 3.4 to 3.6 times higher than Medicare rates, ranking from third to fifth highest in the nation.
'œHigh health care costs inhibit business expansion and are a detriment to economic development,'ť the letters read.
'œWe recognize that the fault for the high costs we've outlined above do not rest entirely on hospitals. Large insurers and other third-party payers have also played a significant role.'ť
Of course, Hoosiers themselves feel the pain of high hospital prices - often more than 50% above the national average - most intensely.
Spiraling health care costs do not make Indiana particularly inviting for either new residents or business entrepreneurs.
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the national economy, and excessively high health care costs play a significant role in putting Indiana behind the economic recovery curve.
The letters from Huston and Bray, dated Dec. 17, 2021, gave hospitals and insurers until April 1 to present a plan to reduce prices to at least the national average. No detailed plan has been announced publicly.
'œAbsent a viable plan, we will be left with no choice but to pursue legislation to statutorily reduce prices,'ť the letter reads - a loud and clear message that comes not a moment too soon.
Eight hospital CEOs responded in the form of a newspaper op-ed piece that seemed to deflect blame to the insurance companies.
These are the same insurance companies that hospitals were asked to work with hand-in-hand to develop solutions. But it seems the hospital CEOs are more interested in passing the buck.
In the absence of a viable proposal by hospitals and insurers, we encourage lawmakers to follow through on their promise to take action and develop legislation to lessen the burden of extraordinarily high health care costs in Indiana.
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Terre Haute Tribune-Star. April 21, 2022.
Editorial: Young, Braun and the absence of leadership
This summer, Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. Having been nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will become the first Black woman to serve on the high court.
It will be an historic moment in our nation's history when she takes the oath of office. Those who know her and are familiar with her record as federal judge hail her as a brilliant jurist and exceedingly experienced and qualified for the position. Notably, she won confirmation from the Senate in a bipartisan vote, 53-47. Three Republicans joined all 50 Senate Democrats in voting for her confirmation.
Unfortunately, Indiana's two U.S. senators - Republicans Todd Young and Mike Braun - voted against Jackson. Rather than understanding and embracing the power of the moment, when a highly qualified Black woman rose for the first time to such a distinguished and revered post, they abandoned their responsibilities as Americans first and sulked away in a fit of petty partisanship.
It was especially striking that Young, Braun and the other GOP partisans could not see themselves in roles as statesmen along side Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted in favor of Jackson.
Supreme Court nominations became contentious in recent years. Fewer and fewer senators have been willing to vote in favor of a nomination from the president of the opposing party. It is an alarming trend.
Historically, confirmations of justices to the high court were marked by bipartisanship. Justice Clarence Thomas, who will be the only other Black person on the court besides Jackson when she is sworn in, was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. He won Senate confirmation by a 52-48 vote after a heated hearing in which he was accused of sexual harassment by a law professor who had previously worked under him. Despite the charged political atmosphere surrounding Thomas, his confirmation was approved even though Democrats controlled the Senate by a 57-43 margin.
Times have changed. While Thomas got the votes of 11 Democratic senators in 1991, Jackson could manage only three Republican votes in 2022.
Political divisions are unlikely to dissolve, or even ease, any time soon. Americans are ill served by blind partisanship and the refusal by too many elected officials to work together and reach consensus for the good of the country.
Sens. Young and Braun had an opportunity to show true leadership in the confirmation vote for Jackson.
They chose not to do so. Their votes did not represent Hoosiers well.
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South Bend Tribune. April 24, 2022.
Editorial: Working on the cure for Indiana's ailing public health system spending
Two years ago, the pandemic made what was clear even more obvious.
Indiana doesn't direct enough resources toward public health.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, having acknowledged that the demands COVID placed on health resources highlighted the need for more spending in this area, announced the formation of a 15-person public health commission. Its mission was to spend the next year finding ways to improve the overall health of Indiana residents.
Holcomb's executive order in August 2021 established the Governor's Public Health Commission. The commission launched a series of listening sessions around the state to gather input about Indiana's public health system, and has been meeting monthly to learn more about the challenges confronting public health professionals in Indiana.
The listening sessions have concluded, and on Thursday, the commission began the process of preparing its final report for the governor by the end of the summer, in time for 2023 budget discussions.
The focus of last week's meeting was the role of emergency preparedness, without which 'œcommunities would be at risk of greater consequences when disaster does strike, and our health as a state would suffer, let alone long-term economic stability and resiliency,'ť noted commission co-chair Dr. Judy Monroe, a former Indiana state health officer, who serves as CEO and president of the foundation supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the state's COVID response is clearly factoring into the commission's work, the panel's scope is intended to go far beyond this crisis.
That's fitting, given that long before the pandemic struck, Indiana consistently ranked near the bottom in spending on public health and preparedness to handle a public health emergency. The need for this commission is obvious here in Indiana, with its lower life expectancies and higher health care costs.
At a listening session last month, Grant County Health Officer Dr. William David Moore noted that the state is 40th out of 50 states in terms of public health funding. 'œAnd it's reflected in the health of our community.'ť
Among the issues addressed by speakers were drug and staffing crises, communication and funding. Multiple people who spoke up during public comment asked the commission to make sure the state doesn't lose touch with local health departments.
Moore said he's 'œhopeful'ť that Indiana is taking a thorough look at public health: 'œThe issues that they're raising are right on point, and they give us an opportunity to do that.'ť
But he said that while the discussion is a good start, he wants to see action.
He's right. As encouraging as the governor's words acknowledging the problem are, as welcome as the creation of a public health commission is, it will mean little without a commitment to acting, to putting state money and a comprehensive plan behind the words.
In his 2018 State of the State address, Holcomb noted, 'œWe all know, a healthy Indiana depends first and foremost on the health of our people.'ť
It's long past time to get to work on the cure for an ailing public health system.
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