�Թϲ�����

In its mad rush to pass tax cuts for the fabulously wealthy, the Republican-controlled Congress has neglected to extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program. The families of about 9 million not fabulously wealthy children rely on CHIP to help cover the health care costs. And now 16 states say they'll to run out of cash needed to help fund the program at the end of January. And a Merry Christmas to you too, Congress. (Mike Thompson, 12/19)

After their victory with the tax bill, Republican leaders in the House have said they will go after entitlement and "welfare" spending, with both Medicare and Medicaid potentially on the table. ... Republicans aren't making any connection to the $1.4 trillion the tax cuts will add to the deficit, but Democrats are sure to make the connection for them — that any reductions in Medicare and Medicaid spending would be used to pay for the tax cuts. (Drew Altman, 12/20)

It now appears the rumor that the government was banning the term “evidence-based” from the Centers for Disease Control was itself not entirely evidence-based. The very thought of the U.S. government banning words -- any words -- is shocking. Over the weekend, outrage spread through the media like wildfire through California. Many people judged this alleged threat to the concept of evidence to be far too serious to warrant waiting for evidence. (Faye Flam, 12/19)

CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald went straight to Twitter, writing: “I want to assure you there are no banned words at CDC. We will continue to talk about all our important public health programs.” What really happened? It’s hard to know for sure at this point. The Post sees a heavy-handed silencing, but National Review’s Yuval Levin offers a different explanation. According to Levin’s sources, the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, issued a style guide to departments for the preparation of budget documents. Included were three of the words mentioned above — “vulnerable,” “diversity” and “entitlement” — with the suggestion that they be used as little as possible because they were either used too often or incorrectly. (Kathleen Parker, 12/19)

With growing alarm in Sacramento over attacks on health care in Washington – threats to the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Medicare cuts sure to come under the GOP tax plan – there’s no shortage of irony in the frantic search by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to find alternatives to a solution readily at hand, the guaranteed health care bill. (Malinda Markowitz, 12/19)

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has long advocated switching to a single-payer model — “Medicare for all,” he calls it — and has sponsored legislation to bring Canadian-style health coverage to the United States. ... But as many Canadians can attest, the reality of single-payer doesn’t live up to the hype. (Jeff Jacoby, 12/19)

Let's be clear that health policy was hardly neutral prior to Obamacare. The missed opportunity of Obamacare lay in the fact that rather than clearing away the major well-known inequities in the prior system, Obamacare instead tilted the playing field in a different but still inequitable direction and then added a few new inequities to the mix! (Chris Conover, 12/19)

In response to concerns that women may forgo necessary preventive care visits if birth control pills are available over the counter, ACOG states that “cervical cancer screening or sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening is not required for initiating OC [oral contraceptive] use and should not be used as barriers to access.” In fact, there is currently a debate among gynecologists regarding the need and benefits of annual pap exams. (Jeffrey A. Singer, 12/19)

Nebraska began a new approach this year to managing medical and mental health services for low-income people eligible for Medicaid. The new system, in which three private companies manage and pay for the bulk of Medicaid services, has some commendable virtues. Many clients receive better coordinated, more effective care, a major improvement from past practice. But testimony at the State Capitol this week made clear that the new system, called Heritage Health, continues to place big burdens on rural hospitals and many behavioral health providers. Claims are processed inconsistently, and in some cases payments for services are delayed or unpaid. (12/20)

The good news: Well-positioned advocates in Kansas and Missouri are pledging to push anew for reforms to safeguard our most vulnerable children. That’s critical and a foundational responsibility of our state governments. (12/19)

Born in Mexico, Armando came to the U.S. as a child. When he came of age, he enlisted in the armed forces and served several tours of duty in Korea and Germany. During his service, he developed addictions to alcohol and opioids. After being honorably discharged from the service, Armando returned to the U.S. A few years later, a drug charge landed him before a judge. Addiction is a common problem in the military, and courts have recently begun to offer veterans treatment instead of jail time. But instead of being offered treatment, Armando was deported to Mexico. (Lello Tesema and Stephen Merjavy, 12/19)

The increasing prevalence and commonplace nature of these deadly synthetic drugs in our neighborhoods is terrifying. But over the past few years, America’s opioid epidemic has ballooned into one of the deadliest public health crises in the nation’s history, in part because of a loophole in the global postal system that allows synthetic drugs to be ordered online and shipped directly to our doorsteps. (Juliette Kayyem, 12/29)

When judges schedule a lethal injection for a terminally ill prisoner whose struggle against lymphatic cancer and extensive medical history has left him without any easily accessible veins, our law descends into a ghoulish inferno. It is a place where our most august jurists ruminate over catheter gauges and needle sizes, and ponder whether to slice deep into the groin or puncture internal jugular veins. History will not view us favorably. (Bernard E. Harcourt, 12/20)