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For five years, Republicans have been trying, unsuccessfully, to repeal Obamacare. But where the GOP has failed, a bipartisan coalition including dozens of Democrats aims to succeed — at least in part. That’s the strange-but-true implication of the new push to repeal the so-called “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-paid group health plans. Levied at a rate of 40 percent on the value of a plan that exceeds $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families, the tax represents an absolutely crucial reform in the overall Obamacare package. (7/25)

The budgets of many cities and states will soon be disrupted by new accounting rules for retiree health plans. Local governments pay most of the health-insurance premiums for their retired employees—for example, from age 50 until Medicare at age 65, and sometimes for life. Nationwide, the total unfunded obligations of these plans are close to $1 trillion, according to a comprehensive recent study in the Journal of Health Economics. (Robert C. Pozen and Joshua D. Rauh, 7/26)

Rural hospital leaders are quick to blame Medicaid, Medicare and federal regulations for their financial crisis. But the biggest reason so many rural hospitals are in danger of closing is because they don’t have enough patients. And under the current system of government reimbursements, patient stays are what pay the bills. (Wayne Myers, M.D., 7/24)

If there’s one universal truth in Washington politics, it’s that policymakers don’t want the public to know about well-intended government programs that have run amok. In March, the health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House sought to change that by holding the first hearing on the “340B” drug discount program in nearly a decade. Haven’t heard of 340B? You aren’t alone, but it is one of Washington’s biggest and best-kept secrets. The 340B program was created by the federal government in 1992 to provide discounted pharmaceutical drugs to the country’s poor, uninsured and most vulnerable. The program required Medicaid-participating drug manufacturers to provide discounted outpatient drugs to certain eligible health care entities, such as rural health centers, certain children’s hospitals and cancer hospitals. Those entities could contract with pharmacies to dispense drugs purchased through the program on their behalf. (Bernie Reeves, 7/24)

Medicare announced plans this month to reimburse doctors for talking with patients about what treatments they want — and don’t want — toward the end of life. This sensible, long-overdue proposal is likely to have a very wide impact. About 80 percent of people who die in the United States each year are covered by Medicare, and Medicare policies are often followed by private insurers, some of which already pay for these advance-planning conversations. (7/25)

Current quibbling over what Jeb Bush meant when he said it’s time to phase out and replace Medicare — as opposed to “attacking the seniors,” as one woman at a recent event bellowed out — will soon seem quaint against the realities of our future. Never mind projections that the program will be able to finance only 86 percent of its obligations by 2030. Or that by 2050, the number declines to 80 percent, according to a recently released Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees report. (Kathleen Parker, 7/24)

A couple of generations back, two women in my family “lost their minds.” One started wandering in her 60s, the other became obsessed with dolls in her late teens. The wanderer died at home in 1945, and best I can now tell, the regressing teenager died in a sanitarium about the same year. (Dwaine Rieves, 7/24)

The incarceration of mentally ill inmates is a national epidemic, with local jails in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere now counting among the country’s largest de facto mental institutions. One result has been pressure and proposals to divert some people charged with nonviolent and minor crimes to treatment rather than a cell. (7/25)

The Ebola virus has not been eliminated from West Africa, but the public health crisis has eased. The virus, for which there is no ready cure, infected more than 27,000 people and caused more than 11,000 deaths since the outbreak began in early 2014. The pain and suffering have been immense. Now it is time to confront another hard problem: addressing the weaknesses in global response that allowed the virus to spread so rapidly. Without the urgency of another outbreak, national governments and the World Health Organization will be disinclined to change the way they do business. But change they must, or there will be another wave of disease, panic and unnecessary death. (7/26)

Following close on the heels of the massive data breach at health insurer Anthem, the parade of hackings at major health care providers continues with the recent announcement of a data breach at UCLA Health System affecting 4.5 million people. The hacking appears to have gone on undetected since September of 2014 until its recent discovery. The compromised information is a treasure trove of personal data for identity thieves. It included names, Social Security numbers, medical records, ID numbers and addresses. But, as I always say, things aren't as bad as you think – they are far worse. The stolen data was totally unencrypted making the threat to the people whose data was in the UCLA Health Systems computers more serious. (Steve Weisman, 6/25)

What is most shocking about an undercover video of a conversation between Deborah Nucatola, a Planned Parenthood executive, and two antiabortion activists from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) posing as employees from a biotech firm is why anyone is shocked. CBS, NBC, and CNN all ignored the story during their Sunday morning political talk shows, but not Fox), the discussion centered on the sale of donated tissue from aborted fetuses. Ms. Nucatola says in the video, "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver ... so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact." (Cal Thomas, 7/25)