Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Obamacare’s ACOs punish hospitals for quality care
Obamacare promised to cut Medicare’s costs by coordinating care among doctors. But the first effort to do so – Obamacare’s Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations – lost $2.6 million. Now, the administration is trying a “new and improved” version – so-called Next Generation ACOs. Maine’s Beacon Health Network is participating. But ...
Commentary
Health laws’ cost-cutting and patient care priorities
The Affordable Care Act promised to cut Medicare’s costs by encouraging doctors to coordinate care — and thus eliminate waste and duplication. So far, it’s backfiring. The White House claimed that its first efforts to get doctors to coordinate care — the Shared Savings Program and Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations ...
Commentary
Single-payer collides with reality
It’s a two-horse race for the Democratic nomination for president. This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) came within 0.2 percentage points of beating Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders zealots are “feeling the Bern” in large part because of his healthcare plan. “I believe in a Medicare for all ...
Commentary
The Right Way to Replace Obamacare’s Subsidy
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, nine candidates for the Republican presidential nomination remain. All are staunch critics of Obamacare. But they differ on what they’d put in its place. One point of tension? How to replace Obamacare’s overly complicated subsidy system. The GOP roughly falls into two ...
Commentary
Obama’s veto won’t save the Affordable Care Act
To the surprise of no one, President Obama swiftly vetoed the latest bill aiming to repeal his signature health law. Soon afterward, Senate Republican leaders made clear that they don’t want to offer up an Obamacare alternative until after the election in November. That’s garnered criticism among Democrats. “When will ...
California
Obama vetoes an Obamacare repeal: Here’s what comes next
President Obama wasted no time earlier this month vetoing a bill that would’ve repealed large parts of Obamacare. To the president and his fellow Democrats, the entire process was pointless. Sixty-one previous repeal efforts by the GOP have failed. Obamacare is almost six years old, here to stay and Republicans ...
Commentary
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
Commentary
Obama’s claims collide with health care realities
The New Year isn’t shaping up to be a particularly happy one for the 154 million Americans who receive health insurance through their employers. Premiums for the average employer-sponsored family plan have climbed to a record high of $17,545, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study. That’s an increase ...
Commentary
The Ugly Reality of Single-Payer
Late Sunday night, just hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled what’s probably the purest expression to date of his unreconstructed 1970s radicalism: a plan for “universal” single-payer health care in the United States. Proudly titled “Medicare-for-All,” the Sanders scheme would eliminate the private insurance ...
Commentary
Hillary’s Price Controls Would Kill New Drug Innovation
Like your iPhone? Federal officials designed it. Couldn’t live without the Internet? Thank Uncle Sam — he invented it. Sick and need new medicine? Don’t worry — the government is here to help. This fantastical line of thinking — that because the government funded basic, early-stage research, it can claim ...
Obamacare’s ACOs punish hospitals for quality care
Obamacare promised to cut Medicare’s costs by coordinating care among doctors. But the first effort to do so – Obamacare’s Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations – lost $2.6 million. Now, the administration is trying a “new and improved” version – so-called Next Generation ACOs. Maine’s Beacon Health Network is participating. But ...
Health laws’ cost-cutting and patient care priorities
The Affordable Care Act promised to cut Medicare’s costs by encouraging doctors to coordinate care — and thus eliminate waste and duplication. So far, it’s backfiring. The White House claimed that its first efforts to get doctors to coordinate care — the Shared Savings Program and Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations ...
Single-payer collides with reality
It’s a two-horse race for the Democratic nomination for president. This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) came within 0.2 percentage points of beating Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders zealots are “feeling the Bern” in large part because of his healthcare plan. “I believe in a Medicare for all ...
The Right Way to Replace Obamacare’s Subsidy
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, nine candidates for the Republican presidential nomination remain. All are staunch critics of Obamacare. But they differ on what they’d put in its place. One point of tension? How to replace Obamacare’s overly complicated subsidy system. The GOP roughly falls into two ...
Obama’s veto won’t save the Affordable Care Act
To the surprise of no one, President Obama swiftly vetoed the latest bill aiming to repeal his signature health law. Soon afterward, Senate Republican leaders made clear that they don’t want to offer up an Obamacare alternative until after the election in November. That’s garnered criticism among Democrats. “When will ...
Obama vetoes an Obamacare repeal: Here’s what comes next
President Obama wasted no time earlier this month vetoing a bill that would’ve repealed large parts of Obamacare. To the president and his fellow Democrats, the entire process was pointless. Sixty-one previous repeal efforts by the GOP have failed. Obamacare is almost six years old, here to stay and Republicans ...
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
Obama’s claims collide with health care realities
The New Year isn’t shaping up to be a particularly happy one for the 154 million Americans who receive health insurance through their employers. Premiums for the average employer-sponsored family plan have climbed to a record high of $17,545, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study. That’s an increase ...
The Ugly Reality of Single-Payer
Late Sunday night, just hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled what’s probably the purest expression to date of his unreconstructed 1970s radicalism: a plan for “universal” single-payer health care in the United States. Proudly titled “Medicare-for-All,” the Sanders scheme would eliminate the private insurance ...
Hillary’s Price Controls Would Kill New Drug Innovation
Like your iPhone? Federal officials designed it. Couldn’t live without the Internet? Thank Uncle Sam — he invented it. Sick and need new medicine? Don’t worry — the government is here to help. This fantastical line of thinking — that because the government funded basic, early-stage research, it can claim ...
