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Unfortunately, the Senate left for spring break on March 28 before taking up the [House's bill to fix the Medicare system of doctor payments], leaving scant time for acting on the bill before an automatic 21 percent cut for doctors kicks in. Medicare won’t start processing claims at the new low rate until April 15. But the Senate won’t be back until April 13, leaving it a day and a half to pass the House bill or some modification of it. That is an irresponsibly short time to consider such important legislation. The House bill is basically sound but could use fine-tuning. (4/6)

As anyone knows who follows the National Basketball Assn., the business world or the reality TV show "Shark Tank," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is brash and outspoken -- and that's the polite way of putting it. When it comes to healthcare policy, he's brash, outspoken and very misinformed. That became clear on Wednesday, when Cuban advised his 2.8-million followers on Twitter to "have your blood tested for everything available, do it quarterly so you have a baseline of your own personal health." Recognizing that this involves an enormous expense, he limited the counsel to those who "can afford" it. (Michael Hiltzik, 4/3)

Where's Rick? As his fellow Republicans in the Florida Legislature battle over expanding Medicaid to 800,000 low-income state residents, newly re-elected Gov. Rick Scott has hardly been heard from on the most important healthcare issue facing his state. (Harris Meyer, 4/3)

By 2017, its estimated that up to 55,000 New Hampshire residents, most of them previously uninsured, will be receiving health care coverage thanks to the state’s expanded Medicaid program. If lawmakers don’t reauthorize participation in the federal program, those people, more than the combined populations of Portsmouth and Rochester, will lose health insurance. If not resolved before then, the issue will be the most important factor in the 2016 state elections. Gov. Hassan wants the program to continue and could veto a state budget that doesn’t include it. We would encourage her to do so. (4/5)

As people of faith, we believe that each of us has a moral obligation to take care of each other. At one time or another, every one of our fellow human beings has a need that we can help ease. ... Taking care of each other also means helping people have the best shot at good health. Of course, there are no guarantees. A serious illness can strike anyone. But we also know that those who receive preventive health exams and who don’t have to decide between buying medicine or food are more likely to live longer and be more productive. For almost 70,000 Montanans –- our friends and neighbors –- getting health care when they need it is as distant a possibility as winning the lottery. The reason: they can’t afford it. (4/5)

[H]ealth economists have in recent years developed new summary measures of personal, public and global health, perhaps chief among them a unit they call disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs. DALYs (rhymes with tallies) are akin to one of the advanced statistics — like Wins Above Replacement — that have revolutionized professional sports. Except, in this case, the wins and losses are years of healthy life. ... Focusing on disability-adjusted life years may sound convoluted compared with simple lives lost. But it more closely aligns with most people’s intuitive sense of how health really works. (Jeremy N. Smith, 4/3)

I had just finished a consultation with a patient about a proposed procedure when she asked, "Well, what's it going to cost me?" I looked at her insurance, one offered through our state's health insurance exchange; the plan had a significant deductible, and I could tell she was hedging on what was an elective procedure. In the past, I would normally have demurred if a patient had asked me the cost of a procedure or a medication. In medical school, the cost of medical care was never part of my education, and, in many academic medical centers, some physicians take a certain amount of pride in being able to deliver "cutting edge" care which is, often, also the most expensive. (Vik Reddy, 4/4)

Do Alcoholics Anonymous participants do better at abstinence than nonparticipants because they are more motivated? Or is it because of something inherent in the A.A. program? How researchers answered these questions in a recent study offers insight into challenges of evidence-based medicine and evidence-informed policy. (Austin Frakt, 4/6)

Major League Baseball has moved slowly on this one. Smoking on the field or in the dugout has been verboten for a good while, and smokeless tobacco has been prohibited in the minor leagues since 1993, though many players say this ban is laxly enforced. In the bigs, where players have a pit-bull union, smokeless tobacco can still be used, though players are prohibited from chewing during postgame interviews. So in the nation’s most traditional sport, the toxic habit endures. (Larry Thornberry, 4/3)

The recently released rankings of “The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” highlight not only the best but also the worst places to work among the 315 agencies rated in 2014. ... Ranked a dismal 298th out of the 315 federal agencies is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services with a $3.6 billion annual budget. Samhsa’s core mission, as its name suggests, is to reduce “the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.” Samhsa’s poor ranking reflects its poor performance and internal dysfunction. (E. Fuller Torrey, 4/3)