Viewpoints: Look who's worried about activist judges now; No matter what the court decides, a bipartisan plan will be needed

The New York Times: The Liberal Embrace Of Judicial Restraint
It's a great pleasure, in this week when the entire political world is hanging on the Supreme Court's health care ruling, to welcome so many liberals to a cause dear to my heart: The crusade for judicial restraint (Ross Douthat, 6/26). 

Lexington Herald-Leader/McClatchy Newspapers: Dump The Politics And Fix The U.S. Health Care System
Whatever the Supreme Court decides, this is the question each Kentuckian should ask his or her representative and senators: How will you work with members of the other party to create a system that gives all Americans access to good, affordable health care? How will you provide us with access to insurance coverage as good as what the government provides for you (Tom Eblen, 6/27)?

Richmond Times-Dispatch: At Least Reduce Waste, Fraud, Abuse
Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told Congress that "more needs to be done" to reduce improper payments due to waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. That's an understatement. Last year, Medicare alone made $43 billion in improper payments. Medicaid made an estimated $21.9 billion in improper payments in 2011. The Affordable Care Act -; the 2010 federal health reform law -; took some major steps to help ensure that Medicare and Medicaid dollars are spent wisely. Unfortunately, those efforts may stall if the Supreme Court finds the more controversial parts of the act unconstitutional this week (Bill Lucia, 6/27).

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Both Sides, Back To The Drawing Board
This week, the ACA's destiny lies in the hands of the Supreme Court's justices, who have worked for months to determine whether the legislation will stand, be minced into pieces, or chucked entirely. Because it was jammed through Congress on a strongly partisan basis, real health care reform has taken a back seat as the court mulls over the legislation's constitutionality. Regardless of the Supreme Court decision, Congress should discuss, debate, and pass reforms that promote patients' rights while controlling health care costs, improving quality, and expanding access (Donald J. Palmisano, 6/27).

Bloomberg: The Unhealthy Politics Of Health Care
Reforming health care self-evidently involves intensely political choices, but the issues aren't exclusively political. Getting to grips with such a complex issue also demands a widely accepted body of analysis. Never in control, but somewhere in the picture, must be the trusted nonaligned expert (Clive Crook, 6/26).

Bloomberg: Federal Mandates Are Almost Always A Bad Idea
Although I am open to having state governments require more health coverage, I fear a federal government with too much power to control individual behavior. The track record of federal interventions in managing markets suggests a strong case for limiting that power. The question of bestowing appropriate power on the federal government depends not on the health-care issue alone, but on whether you think -- on the whole -- that the U.S. government does good things when it heavily regulates behavior (Edward Glaeser, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal: What Good Is A GOP Senate?
Will it matter if Republicans take over the Senate this November? Not much if you judge by the TV ads trashing Paul Ryan and the House budget reforms, courtesy of Republican Senate candidate Denny Rehberg. The six-term Montana Congressman is gunning for Jon Tester, in what is one the GOP's best chances to defeat a Democratic incumbent. The Montana Republican Party has been running 30-second TV spots touting Mr. Rehberg as an "independent thinker," and neither word is true. The ad goes on to note (with a glint) that "Rehberg refused to support a Republican budget plan that could harm the Medicare program so many of Montana's seniors rely on," and in "a partisan town"-;presumably not Billings-;"Rehberg refuses to toe the party line" (6/26).

Des Moines Register: Ryan's Federal Budget Plan Is Bold And Compassionate
The Obama approach jeopardizes our long-term ability to pay for America's social safety net. The budget office reports that Obamacare made health care cost containment worse, not better. It says mandatory federal spending on health care will increase from 5.4 percent of gross domestic product to 10.4 percent of GDP over the next 25 years (Tom Quiner, 6/26).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Fiscal Fallout Of Obesity
There are two key components to ensure this initiative is a success. The first is the recognition that we all have to take more personal responsibility when it comes to managing our weight…. The second component involves working together to make sure our communities are more conducive to choices and practices that will help curtail obesity (Dr. Phillip L. Williams, 6/26).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Epidemic Has Heavier Price For Children
Most importantly, we must, as a state, focus on those who are paying the true price of obesity and that's our children. We're doing that through Georgia SHAPE, a statewide childhood obesity initiative, because we know the longer a person struggles with obesity the greater the chance for harm. So we're starting early in addressing obesity from birth through the elementary, middle and high school years (Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, 6/26).

JAMA: Health Information Technology In The Era Of Care Delivery Reform
The inspiration for a better approach to HIT can best be described by the concept popularized by the Bauhaus school of architecture: "form ever follows function." Applied to HIT, this suggests beginning with the "function" of integrated, efficient, team-oriented care and following with the "form," or design of the IT. However, much of HIT today is designed to track billable episodes of care and focuses on maximizing revenue under fee-for-service payment systems. These EHR systems generally do not facilitate integrated, team-oriented, cost-conscious care (Dr. Asaf Bitton, Lydia A. Flier and Dr. Ashish K. Jha, 6/27).

JAMA: Assessing Individual Physician Performance
If US society needs physicians as change leaders, it must consider how their motivation is affected by assessments that quantify and reward their behaviors. The motivation of highly skilled persons who perform complex work has been widely studied in the management sciences and psychology literatures. Insights from these disciplines should be considered as incentive programs in health care are developed and refined (Drs. Christine K. Cassel and Sachin H. Jain, 6/27).