Today's Op-Eds: HMOs, the 'fixed' middlemen; you can't keep your coverage; the (in) effectiveness of medical cost control

Sebelius' MLR Rules Institutionalize HMOs As Well-Paid Health Middlemen Forbes
Wouldn't it be better to let HMOs compete to offer the cheapest most innovative plans-rather than having the plans defined by new exchanges that must follow federal rules and meanwhile allow the HMOs a generous fixed middleman share of total health pie (David Whelan, 11/22)

Empty Promises On Health Care Will Haunt Obama The Washington Examiner
In sum, what the law means for millions of Americans is: No matter what the president said, if you like the coverage you have now, you can't keep it (Byron York, 11/22).

Good Move On Insuring Kids The Lexington Herald-Leader
In her order, (Kentucky state Insurance Commissioner Sharon Clark) said insurance companies violated state law by ending the sale of child-only policies. Clark is to be commended for finding a way to assure child-only policies will continue to be available to protect the health of Kentucky children (11/23).

Better Hospitals? New Law Has An App For That The Palm Beach Post 
If Republican lawmakers are successful in blocking money to implement the health care law, this 10-year, $10-billion effort, which may reduce hospital-acquired infections and help ensure that seniors take their medications, could disappear. … Like doctors with their patients, lawmakers first should do no harm to the Affordable Care Act (Rhonda Swan, 11/19).

The Pain Of Cost Control The Boston Globe
Medical cost control will never drive expenses lower. It's supposed to slow a price spiral few will be able to afford. But even that limited goal is hard to reach and comes with its share of pain (Steven Syre, 11/23).

Sin And Taxes The New York Times
The liberal Democrats show no sign of accepting significant spending cuts to the programs they regard as their movement's greatest achievements. They are in no mood to revisit health care, even though Medicare will have to be hit to get the debt under control. Many of them are in no mood even to acknowledge the scope of the problem, as their responses to last week's various commission reports demonstrated (David Brooks, 11/22).

Medicare: Getting A Grip On Costs The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union
It's unrealistic to think this Congress would enact tort reform when a majority is close to trial lawyers. Why not simply extend the current rates for a few more months, until the new Congress has time to enact its own reforms? And pay for the extra expenses by cutting waste (11/23).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.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.