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Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz issued a grim account this week of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s slow response to the opioid crisis and failure to use all the tools at its disposal to address the overdose epidemic. His tale is an important acknowledgement of troubling problems at the agency, including bureaucratic infighting and stunning incompetency. But there’s an essential element of self-examination missing from this report: The opioid scandal was not just a failure of an agency; it is the consequence of an industry clawing its way into our political system and hijacking the policymaking process. (Robert Gebelhoff, 10/3)

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ once-quixotic campaign to abolish private health insurance in the U.S. — most of it employer-sponsored — in the name of “Medicare for all” has now become the leading progressive litmus test for anyone seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Twelve of the remaining candidates subscribe to it, in various versions. Unfortunately, the progressives’ eagerness to upend the entire $3.5-trillion U.S. healthcare system while canceling the current health insurance of 217 million Americans is based on some serious misconceptions. (Peter D. Salins, 10/4)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg describes his health care proposal as a “better way to do ‘Medicare for All.’” It’s not. The proposal, which extends traditional Medicare to all who prefer it, is touted by the mayor as enhancing choice. But more choice can undermine competition in information-sensitive markets. Indeed, when buyers’ and sellers’ information differ, markets can collapse. (Laurence Kotlikoff, 10/3)

As politicians talk about how to reduce medical costs, Walmart and CVS are doing something about it. This month Walmart opened its first Health Center, in Dallas, Ga. It offers “primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, counseling, dental, optical, hearing and community health education,” all under one roof, a company press release announces. The health center follows Walmart’s business model of “everyday low prices.” A dental cleaning costs $25, a doctor’s visit $40. A test for a urinary-tract infection is $10; a pap smear $50, a vitamin B-12 injection $18. Immunizations range from $39.84 for a flu shot to $223.88 for an inoculation against the human papillomavirus. Although Walmart Health Centers take insurance, most patients have deductibles high enough that they must pay out of pocket, so low prices benefit them directly. (Charles Silver and David A. Hyman, 10/3)

“Why would I ask 72-year-old Mrs. Smith her pronouns?” That’s a question many practicing health-care providers already overwhelmed by long days taking care of patients may ask. This one simple act, however, can open the door to a more accepting and inclusive health-care culture for a long neglected population. (Ravi Iyengar, 10/3)

Some days I see the #MeToo movement as akin to climate change. Both are making valuable resources dwindle: Climate change is shrinking glaciers and sea ice, while #MeToo is shrinking the pool of mentors for the next generation of physicians. Women need to step up to fill the gap. (Lara Ronan, 10/4)

President Trump has called for ways to allow U.S. residents to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. Many drugs are cheaper in Canada, thanks to government price controls in that country.I teach a course in medication economics and have written and spoken about drug pricing at the national and state level. My assessment is that buying prescription drugs from our northern neighbor can be risky in terms of quality and safety. And, it isn’t likely to reduce your drug prices. (Michael White, 9/30)

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to implement President Trump’s executive order aimed at creating meaningful medical price transparency. The public comment period on the CMS rule ended in September.  Unlike the disclosure requirement that took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, this new requirement promises to be useful to consumers because it requires hospitals to disclose their negotiated (real) prices for bundled procedure-based services with plain English descriptions. (George A. Nation III, 10/3)

President Donald Trump is accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of trying to distract voters from the Democratic impeachment inquiry with promises to work with the White House on lowering drug prices and other initiatives. “Nancy Pelosi just said that she is interested in lowering prescription drug prices & working on the desperately needed USMCA. She is incapable of working on either,” Trump said in a tweet Wednesday. (Berkeley Lovelace Jr., 10/2)

Eliminating medical deferred action for immigrant children with highly complex conditions or the immigrant parents of U.S.-citizen children with such conditions would be a death sentence. How can physicians stand up to an administration that threatens patients’ lives? (Lakshmi Ganapathi, Adolfo Caldas, Jacqueline Miranda, Julia R. Köhler, Gary Visner, and Gregory Sawicki, 10/2)

This city has been conducting a three-decade experiment in what happens when society stops enforcing bourgeois norms of behavior. It has done so in the name of compassion for the homeless. The result: Street squalor and misery have increased, while government expenditures have ballooned. Yet the principles guiding city policy remain inviolate: Homelessness is a housing problem, it is involuntary, and it persists because of inadequate public spending. These propositions are readily disproved by talking to people living on the streets. (Heather Mac Donald, 10/3)

Homelessness has been a humanitarian crisis in the state of California for some time now, as the number of homeless people keeps growing along with their visibility on sidewalks, in riverbeds, in parks. Casting about for solutions, some officials in L.A. County — including Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who co-chairs a state task force on homelessness, and L.A. City Councilman Joe Buscaino — are calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. But that’s not a solution. It’s a press release. (10/4)