Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Trump and Obama promise to be terrible negotiators
President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Donald Trump don’t agree on much. But they’ve found common ground in pushing to upend the Medicare drug benefit. At a rally days before his resounding victory in New Hampshire, Trump grumbled about government drug spending — and called for Medicare to take over ...
Commentary
Seniors paying price for Obamacare fraud
Fewer seniors are re-entering the hospital after an initial stay, according to recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Obama administration says that we have Obamacare to thank for this “positive transformative change.” But the only thing that’s “changed” is how hospitals fill out the government’s ...
Commentary
Sanders and Trump Are Singing From the Same Tattered Single-Payer Hymnal
Perhaps the cold — or the proximity to Canada — got to New Hampshire’s voters on February 9. Both Republicans and Democrats in the Granite State handed presidential primary victories to candidates who have — at one time or another — supported government-run, Canadian-style single-payer health care. Sen. Bernie Sanders, ...
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 ...
Trump and Obama promise to be terrible negotiators
President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Donald Trump don’t agree on much. But they’ve found common ground in pushing to upend the Medicare drug benefit. At a rally days before his resounding victory in New Hampshire, Trump grumbled about government drug spending — and called for Medicare to take over ...
Seniors paying price for Obamacare fraud
Fewer seniors are re-entering the hospital after an initial stay, according to recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Obama administration says that we have Obamacare to thank for this “positive transformative change.” But the only thing that’s “changed” is how hospitals fill out the government’s ...
Sanders and Trump Are Singing From the Same Tattered Single-Payer Hymnal
Perhaps the cold — or the proximity to Canada — got to New Hampshire’s voters on February 9. Both Republicans and Democrats in the Granite State handed presidential primary victories to candidates who have — at one time or another — supported government-run, Canadian-style single-payer health care. Sen. Bernie Sanders, ...
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 ...
