Today's opinions and editorials

Dr. Obama's Toughest Patient The Washington Post
As lawmakers return to work and President Obama ends his vacation, the health reform enterprise is in rough shape. So what is the proper course of treatment? (8/31).

Starting Over On Health Care The Washington Post
If I were a White House adviser, I would suggest that the day Congress reconvenes, President Obama's version of reform should be introduced by Democratic leaders in the House and Senate (Bob Dole, 8/31).

If Obama Buys Into Role As 'Next Kennedy,' He's In Trouble The Sacramento Bee
Obama's ambitions - reflecting the Kennedys of myth rather than fact - make him reject such incrementalism (Rich Lowry, 8/29). 

Health Care Needs That Public Option Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune
For health reform to be most effective, a public option similar to Medicare and MinnesotaCare should be available to all Americans (Lois Quam, 8/30).

Congressionalcare Myths The Palm Beach Post
First, members of Congress don't get free coverage. They get the same insurance as other federal employees, for which they pay premiums (8/30).

Health Reform Can Count On Nurses USA Today
In Pennsylvania, our reform plan advocates using highly skilled and licensed non-physician providers to help fill the physician shortage (Edward Rendell and Tine Hansen-Turton, 8/31).

Sorting Fact From Fiction On Health Care Wall Street Journal
Americans have good reason for their doubts — key assertions about gaps in care are flawed and reform proposals to oversee care could sharply shift decisions away from patients and their physicians (Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband, 8/30).

---

This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.