Brad Wright hosted the Health Wonk Review today at Wright on Health, and it’s an outstanding edition. It also has a cheery series of pictures that beautifully illustrate the transition from winter to spring – nicely done Brad!
There are so many great articles in this edition, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But there are several that you don’t want to miss. For starters, there’s Brad’s own article about the GOP’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Brad does a great job of separating fact from fiction here, and it’s an excellent intro to a topic that is likely to be a significant issue for the current congress.
If you don’t have time to listen to the oral arguments in King v. Burwell, Tim Jost has an excellent summary and discussion over at Health Affairs. And Billy Wynne has also dug into the oral arguments, summing up six pivotal moments for us – another great post to get you up to speed with what’s going on in the case. With a prediction on the outcome, Maggie Mahar explains why she believes that SCOTUS is going to side with the government on this one (I agree). But unfortunately, even if the government wins, we could all be paying more in health insurance premiums next year, just because SCOTUS agreed to hear this case. The decision won’t be announced until June, and insurance companies in many states have to submit rates for 2016 before then. In order to err on the side of caution, carriers are likely to aim high with their rates. Wendell Potter explains more at healthinsurance.org.
And then there’s an article by David Williams about how emulsifier-free foods are likely to be a big business opportunity for food companies, based on research that’s showing that synthetic emulsifiers probably aren’t so great for us. Yet another reason why our family eats virtually no processed food. Food ingredients shouldn’t include numbers or words that you can’t pronounce. Lab-created mixtures are vital to many areas of our lives, but they don’t belong in our food.
There are lots of great articles in this edition. Be sure to stop over at Brad’s site to check them out.
