About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2018)
5A OPINION ®he £ntics gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, December 8, 2018 Shannon Casas Editor in Chief | 770-718-3417 | scasas@gainesvilletimes.com Submit a letter: letters@gainesvilletimes.com The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Health care mergers are a poison pill for patients BY ANTHONY GALACE Tribune News Service Big corporations often tout their mergers as pro moting efficiency and helping consumers, but too often the public ends up with fewer choices and higher prices. That seems likely to happen again with the latest health care megamerger. CVS Health and Aetna Inc. recently finalized a $70 million merger, combining one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains with one of its largest insurers. The companies promise a new and inno vative form of health care, with cheaper medica tion and shorter wait times. But even though the deal has won approval from the U.S. Justice Department and 28 state regulators, physicians, patients, economists, and advocates aren’t buying it. The American Medi cal Association, American Antitrust Institute and leading economists across the country warn that this merger will do nothing to curb rising prescrip tion drug costs, stagnating health coverage rates or deteriorating quality of care. In fact, they say it may worsen health care disparities between disadvantaged communities and more affluent populations. CVS’s newfound power could significantly reduce competition by driving independent phar macies out of business and forcing other large pharmacy chains to consolidate — driving up prices and increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs for seniors and low-income patients. Further more, this merger will likely force patients with health coverage through Aetna to purchase their medication from a CVS pharmacy, taking away their right to choose. Earlier this year, testifying before the Califor nia Department of Insurance, CVS claimed that its acquisition of Aetna would result in “efficien cies” (read: savings/profits) worth $750 million per year, allegedly by streamlining administrative expenses and negotiating better prices with phar maceutical companies. But when asked at the hearing I attended whether these savings would be passed along to patients, CVS was mum. The company’s rep also could not say how it planned to make medication more accessible to low-income and underserved communities, especially those located far from a hospital or clinic. We also asked whether they would expand their contracting with minority- owned businesses, diversify their governing board and senior executives, and add stores in low- income neighborhoods. Their response: Ask us after our merger. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice under the Obama administration blocked two high pro file health insurance mega-mergers — between Aetna (yes, the same one) and Humana, and Anthem and Cigna. Both would have obliterated competition in insurance, giving patients and pro viders across the country little choice but to accept their prices and payments. These mergers would have likely priced many low-income Americans out of health coverage. In retaliation for blocking their merger, Aetna pulled out of the Affordable Care Act exchanges entirely, abandoning thousands of patients. Now they expect us to believe they’ll do better. Color us skeptical. All this comes on the heels of another recently approved merger between another large phar macy chain and health insurer — Express Scripts and Cigna. Given the growing trend of consolida tion among health care companies, expect these companies to continue to sell the same old story that has never come true: Give us more power, and we’ll be better, we promise. Advocates and regulators shouldn’t buy such promises. Your government officials Georgia state government Gov. Nathan Deal, 203 State Capitol, Atlanta 30334; 404-656-1776; www.gov.georgia.gov Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, 240 State Capitol, Atlanta 30334,404-656-5030; www.ltgov.ga.gov Secretary of State Brian Kemp, 214 State Capitol, Atlanta 30334, 404-656-2881, fax 404-656-0513; www.sos.state.ga.us; Elections Division, 2 MLK, Jr. Drive SE, Suite 1104, West Tower, Atlanta 30334-1530, 404- 656-2871, fax, 404-651 -9531 Attorney General Chris Carr, 40 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta 30303; 404-656-3300; law.ga.gov School Superintendent Richard Woods, 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE, Atlanta 30334; 404- 656-2800; www.doe.k12.ga.us; askdoe@ gadoe.org Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, 148 Andrew Young International Blvd. NE, Suite 642, Atlanta 30303-1751; 404-656-3045, 877-709- 8185; www.dol.state.ga.us Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 704, West Tower, Atlanta 30334; 404-656-2070; oci. georgia.gov; inscomm@mail.oci.state.ga.us Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Room 226, Atlanta 30334; 404-656-3600, 800-282-5852; agr. state.ga.us; info@agr.state.ga.us Public Service Commission, 244 Washington St. SW, Atlanta 30334-9052, 800-282-5813, gapsc@psc.state.ga.us, www.psc.state.ga.us. Chairman Chuck Eaton, District 3; Tim Echols, District 2; H. Doug Everett, District 1; Vice Chairman Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, District 4; Tricia Pridemore, District 5 Gov. Nathan Deal is proof that nice guys can finish first I dropped by Gov. Nathan Deal’s office recently for a visit. In little over a month- and-a-half, our 82nd governor will be our newest former governor. My timing could not have been better. The governor seemed happy to see me. (Not the kind of reac tion I usually get from many of our public officials.) What was supposed to be a 30-min- ute appointment stretched to almost an hour. Good for me. Bad for those in charge of scheduling his time. I asked the governor his reaction to the just completed governor’s race. “I am glad it is over,” he laughed. Aren’t we all. On a serious note, he said it was obvious that our current election laws will be a major debate going forward. The governor cau tioned that whatever changes are consid ered will likely be expensive and can’t be accomplished overnight or perhaps even within the next two years. But it is an issue that is not going away. Be prepared. In my not-so-humble opinion, Deal has been a good governor. There were a few bumps in the road along the way — an ethics investigation while still a member of Congress, questions regarding pay ments to his daughter-in-law’s fundraising company during his re-election campaign and the famous — or infamous — Snow- mageddon debacle of 2014. Today as he prepares to leave office, Deal’s approval ratings are extremely high. A recent survey by the Atlanta newspapers showed that more than 85 Republicans in the state approve of his performance as well as 48 percent of Democrats. Want further proof of his pop ularity? In one of the most acrimonious partisan elections in memory, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former House minority leader Stacey Abrams ran television ads touting her good working relationship with the governor. And why not? He leaves office with the state in excellent financial health. The state’s Quality Basic Education for mula for K-12 was fully funded for the first time ever and he has instituted a major overhaul of our criminal justice system, making it one of the best if not the best in the nation. (Note: I am a member of the State Board of Juvenile Justice.) He has also appointed more judges in his time in office than any governor in history. He proudly points out the expansion of the HOPE Grant, a scholarship that pays 100 percent of tuition for students to attend technical colleges to learn skills that are in high demand for Georgia’s workforce as well as establishing the REACH Georgia Scholarship, a public-private partnership that provides scholarships to promising middle school students from low-income families. He has dealt with the tough decisions a governor has to make without engaging in the shrill name-calling and denigra tion that seem to be a part of the current political environment. He vetoed the Religious Liberty bill passed by the Gen eral Assembly. He restored the tax cut to Delta Air Lines by executive order after legislators dropped it in retaliation for Delta halting a discount program with the National Rifle Association. (The Legisla ture restored the tax break during their recent special session.) In both cases, the response to his decisive actions was remarkably mute. It is obvious that the governor walks softly but has a big stick and knows how to use it. How has he managed to get things done without threats and tub-thumping? “My wife (first lady Sandra Deal) is always reminding me to be nice,” he laughs. Then adds, “I think you should always try to educate before you advocate.” The governor says he tries to let the public and lawmakers know what he is proposing and why, and then getting their input. One of the examples he uses is the com prehensive transportation bill passed in 2015 to maintain and repair Georgia roads and bridges that required an increased gasoline tax and an extra fee on hotel stays. On the other hand, an attempt at an Opportunity School District, which would have established an office for a second state superintendent who would have reported to the governor, was soundly defeated by voters in a referendum. “We got out ahead of ourselves on that one,” he admits. Since then, the General Assembly has passed a similar concept creating a “turnaround officer” to work with under- performing schools but under the control of the local school districts. With a change in administrations upon us, the state looks like the proverbial duck — gliding smoothly on the surface but paddling like the dickens under water. It is called the transition period. Gov.-elect Brian Kemp has a team on hand working with those in Gov. Deal’s administration and getting ready for the handoff. “I am not there to intrude but will help if the governor-elect asks,” Deal said. “Gov. (Sonny) Perdue was extremely helpful to me in our transition and I hope I can do the same for Gov.-elect Kemp.” I would suggest Kemp listen closely to the man. He has big shoes to fill. With that, we switched gears and talked about how Deal got from his boyhood home in Sandersville to the highest office in the state. More on that next week. Dick Yarbrough is a North Georgia resident whose column regularly appears Saturdays. Contact him at P.0. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139; online at dickyarbrough.com; or on Facebook. DICK YARBROUGH dick@ dickyarbrough.com "Leave that thermostat alone! You've already made allowances for global warming!" JIM POWELL I For The Times She Stmes EDITORIAL BOARD Founded Jan. 26,1947 345 Green St., Gainesville, GA 30501 gainesvilletimes.com General Manager Norman Baggs Editor in Chief Shannon Casas Community member Brent Hoffman
