This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When folks really want to hurt me, they suggest that something in one of our editorials sounds like it came from The Deseret News.

Well, here's one from this morning's Deseret News that sounds, to me anyway, like it could have come from The Salt Lake Tribune.

Will wonders never cease?

(And did I just get some poor editorial writer in deep trouble?)

"Word that Utah is receiving a net benefit of 'serious money' as a result of the Affordable Care Act might come as a surprise to some critics of Obamacare, but it shouldn't be used as an argument by legislative leaders against the need to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of uninsured citizens. ...

" ... It is disingenuous and myopic to extrapolate from the net benefit numbers an argument that expansion is less urgent. That would suggest the only reason to expand coverage is to harvest more federal funds, whereas the primary reason has to do with the inhumane situation bestowed upon tens of thousands of people unable to access needed care due to their financial circumstances."

Like we said:

End of Arches points to single-payer — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

" ... All of this fiddling with rival steampunk assemblages of subsidies, mandates, taxes, exchanges and co-ops continues to burden Americans because Republicans have never accepted, and Democrats have never fully sold, the realization that a country where millions of people do not have access to affordable health care is the skunk in the garden party of First World nations. No truly civilized society would tolerate such a condition. ..."

Like they said:

Arches' closing underscores need for Medicaid expansion — Ogden Standard-Examiner Editorial

" ... We have to ask opponents of health care reform, particularly those in Utah's Legislature who repeatedly kill Medicaid expansion: Do you honestly think that the nation is willing to go back to what it was like before health care reform was enacted? Enough people received insurance coverage that repeal of the Affordable Care Act is now impossible. They will not tolerate political ideologues with insurance coverage harming their access to health care. ..."

Also:

"Now that Obamacare's survival seems assured, the debate has finally shifted toward how to improve the law, including by revising the excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans. With the third round of open enrollment starting Sunday, there's another Obamacare tax that's due for a rethink: the penalty for not carrying insurance. ..."

Health insurance mandate gets costlier — Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial

" ... But finally having a functional exchange doesn't mean obtaining health insurance will be painless. Far from it. In fact, this year's enrollment period will hurt Nevadans' wallets worse than any other. Not only are 2016 premiums for exchange plans about 9 percent higher than current rates, the IRS penalty tax for individuals who do not obtain coverage goes up, too. ..."

Obamacare's masquerade as a market frightens us — Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat Editorial

" ... Too bad we spent $115 million in Illinois searching for and convincing people to sign up, with such spare results. It might have been more effective and efficient to sign up uninsured folks when they came to medical facilities seeking health care. ..."

Related?:

U.S. death rates rising in middle-aged whites — Mike Stobbe | The Associated Press | sltrib.com

"The U.S. death rate has been falling for decades, but researchers have detected one group in which the rates have been steadily ticking up: middle-aged white people. Suicides and deaths from drug overdose and alcohol abuse are being blamed. ..."