Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
GOP Replacement For Obamacare’s Individual Mandate: Worse Than Doing Nothing
Few provisions within Obamacare have proved less popular than the individual mandate, which requires all Americans to secure insurance or pay a fine. Unfortunately, some Senate Republicans are proposing a replacement that’s even worse. As part of their bid to repeal Obamacare, Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 9, 2017
California
State-Level Single-Payer Healthcare Faces Death By Sticker-Shock
Californians and New Yorkers could soon discover just how expensive “free” healthcare really is. On June 1, California’s Senate passed the Healthy California Act by a vote of 23-14. If it passes the State Assembly, the bill will create a single-payer healthcare system that charges no premiums, co-pays, or deductibles. ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 7, 2017
California
California’s ‘Free’ Health Care Won’t Come Cheap
(Note: After the column went to print, SB 562 passed the State Senate on June 1 by a vote of 23 to 14.) Democrats in California’s state Senate spent Thursday hemming and hawing over Senate Bill 562, the Healthy California Act. When this column went to print, the Democratic caucus ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 2, 2017
Commentary
Obamacare’s Newfound Popularity Could Prove Fleeting
Recent polling indicates that “Support for Obamacare [is] at [an] all-time high,” as a recent headline put it. But there’s a catch. The healthcare law’s popularity depends on how the polls are worded. That’s not surprising — few people fully understand what Obamacare actually does. Once they learn, support plummets. ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 1, 2017
Commentary
Medicaid’s Cracked Halo
President Trump’s recent 2018 budget proposal, which includes roughly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, has led to howls of outrage from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that the cuts would “carry a staggering human cost.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. has ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 30, 2017
Commentary
Nothing To CBO Here
Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the American Health Care Act, which passed the House earlier this month. The agency projected that the bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million in 2026, relative to Obamacare. But the CBO’s projections are just that — ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 25, 2017
Commentary
We Can’t Keep Accepting Failures And The VA
Rewarding failure appears to be something of a tradition at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A few weeks ago, President Trump kept up that tradition by signing the Veterans Choice Improvement Act, which extends the beleaguered Veterans Choice program. That initiative, originally due to expire in August, gives select veterans ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 15, 2017
Commentary
Time To Face Facts On Pre-Existing Conditions
Democrats have assailed the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House by four votes on May 4, for supposedly ripping away Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the bill’s approach to covering such conditions a “sad, deadly joke.” Rep. Frank ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 15, 2017
Commentary
The Trump Administration Is Making Life Harder For Obamacare’s Freeloaders
While Congressional Republicans continue to hash out their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, the executive branch has already taken action to undo some of the law’s most destructive features. Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cut the enrollment period for 2018 Obamacare exchange plans from ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 11, 2017
Commentary
What’s Next For Repeal And Replace — 100 Days Into Trump’s Presidency
We’re more than 100 days into Donald Trump’s presidency, and Obamacare is still the law of the land. That’s disappointing — but not catastrophic. Indeed, President Trump himself said last week that he was “disappointed” in House Republicans for failing to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare thus ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 1, 2017
GOP Replacement For Obamacare’s Individual Mandate: Worse Than Doing Nothing
Few provisions within Obamacare have proved less popular than the individual mandate, which requires all Americans to secure insurance or pay a fine. Unfortunately, some Senate Republicans are proposing a replacement that’s even worse. As part of their bid to repeal Obamacare, Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, ...
State-Level Single-Payer Healthcare Faces Death By Sticker-Shock
Californians and New Yorkers could soon discover just how expensive “free” healthcare really is. On June 1, California’s Senate passed the Healthy California Act by a vote of 23-14. If it passes the State Assembly, the bill will create a single-payer healthcare system that charges no premiums, co-pays, or deductibles. ...
California’s ‘Free’ Health Care Won’t Come Cheap
(Note: After the column went to print, SB 562 passed the State Senate on June 1 by a vote of 23 to 14.) Democrats in California’s state Senate spent Thursday hemming and hawing over Senate Bill 562, the Healthy California Act. When this column went to print, the Democratic caucus ...
Obamacare’s Newfound Popularity Could Prove Fleeting
Recent polling indicates that “Support for Obamacare [is] at [an] all-time high,” as a recent headline put it. But there’s a catch. The healthcare law’s popularity depends on how the polls are worded. That’s not surprising — few people fully understand what Obamacare actually does. Once they learn, support plummets. ...
Medicaid’s Cracked Halo
President Trump’s recent 2018 budget proposal, which includes roughly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, has led to howls of outrage from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that the cuts would “carry a staggering human cost.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. has ...
Nothing To CBO Here
Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the American Health Care Act, which passed the House earlier this month. The agency projected that the bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million in 2026, relative to Obamacare. But the CBO’s projections are just that — ...
We Can’t Keep Accepting Failures And The VA
Rewarding failure appears to be something of a tradition at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A few weeks ago, President Trump kept up that tradition by signing the Veterans Choice Improvement Act, which extends the beleaguered Veterans Choice program. That initiative, originally due to expire in August, gives select veterans ...
Time To Face Facts On Pre-Existing Conditions
Democrats have assailed the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House by four votes on May 4, for supposedly ripping away Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the bill’s approach to covering such conditions a “sad, deadly joke.” Rep. Frank ...
The Trump Administration Is Making Life Harder For Obamacare’s Freeloaders
While Congressional Republicans continue to hash out their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, the executive branch has already taken action to undo some of the law’s most destructive features. Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cut the enrollment period for 2018 Obamacare exchange plans from ...
What’s Next For Repeal And Replace — 100 Days Into Trump’s Presidency
We’re more than 100 days into Donald Trump’s presidency, and Obamacare is still the law of the land. That’s disappointing — but not catastrophic. Indeed, President Trump himself said last week that he was “disappointed” in House Republicans for failing to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare thus ...