Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
HSAs bend cost curve down
AS FOLKS begin to shop for health insurance this fall, they’ll discover that insurance companies are seeking rate increases from 20 to 40 percent or more. Regulators in some states are ordering insurers to hike premiums even further to avoid going bankrupt. But according to a new study from the ...
Commentary
The Medicaid Poverty Trap is Growing Worse
Medicaid turns 50 today. And an expensive “celebration” it will be. The program now costs taxpayers nearly $500 billion a year. And its costs are projected to increase by almost 7 percent a year through 2023. How things have changed over the past half-century. The health-care program for the poor ...
Commentary
Medicare at 50: Hello, Mid-Life Crisis
July 30 marks 50 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law. The only birthday gift this middle-age government program merits is a reality check. Health insurance for senior citizens was part of LBJ’s expansion of the welfare state, all in the service of establishing a “Great Society.” ...
Commentary
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Commentary
Drug importation is still a dangerous idea
Mike Huckabee thinks one of the worst health policy ideas “just makes sense.” The former Arkansas governor and current presidential hopeful just threw his weight behind drug importation. His proposal isn’t new. For two decades, Congress has considered drug importation almost every year. And for good reason, lawmakers have consistently ...
Commentary
Emergency Room Usage Is Surging
Emergency room usage has spiked in recent years. That’s the depressing finding from a new survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians — and it’s endangering those who need emergency care. The survey concluded that three in four ER doctors have experienced a surge of new patients since the ...
Commentary
GOP Can Still Win ObamaCare War After Losing Battle In Court
In anticipation of the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pondered the justices’ literacy. “I hope the Supreme Court can read English,” he mused. Millions of Americans are wondering the same thing. ObamaCare’s text clearly grants subsidies only to individuals purchasing coverage in exchanges “established by ...
Commentary
GOP: Appeal SCOTUS’s Obamacare decision to the American people
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court saved Obamacare for a second time by siding with the executive branch in King v. Burwell. The decision allows the Internal Revenue Service to distribute health insurance subsidies to about 6.4 million people in 34 states who use the federally operated Healthcare.gov exchange. But ...
Commentary
The Supreme Court Has Made Obamacare The Defining Issue Of 2016
President Obama says he’s “feeling pretty good” about the Affordable Care Act in the wake of King v. Burwell, the June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the flow of means-tested subsidies through the federally operated health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov. Without those subsidies, HealthCare.gov, which serves consumers in the ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s True Costs Are Finally Coming To Light
State regulators typically use their power to review health insurance premiums to limit rate hikes. But in Oregon, officials are ordering insurers to raise premiums — in many cases by double digits. The regulators pointed out that insurers spent over $100 million more than they took in last year. Any ...
HSAs bend cost curve down
AS FOLKS begin to shop for health insurance this fall, they’ll discover that insurance companies are seeking rate increases from 20 to 40 percent or more. Regulators in some states are ordering insurers to hike premiums even further to avoid going bankrupt. But according to a new study from the ...
The Medicaid Poverty Trap is Growing Worse
Medicaid turns 50 today. And an expensive “celebration” it will be. The program now costs taxpayers nearly $500 billion a year. And its costs are projected to increase by almost 7 percent a year through 2023. How things have changed over the past half-century. The health-care program for the poor ...
Medicare at 50: Hello, Mid-Life Crisis
July 30 marks 50 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law. The only birthday gift this middle-age government program merits is a reality check. Health insurance for senior citizens was part of LBJ’s expansion of the welfare state, all in the service of establishing a “Great Society.” ...
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Drug importation is still a dangerous idea
Mike Huckabee thinks one of the worst health policy ideas “just makes sense.” The former Arkansas governor and current presidential hopeful just threw his weight behind drug importation. His proposal isn’t new. For two decades, Congress has considered drug importation almost every year. And for good reason, lawmakers have consistently ...
Emergency Room Usage Is Surging
Emergency room usage has spiked in recent years. That’s the depressing finding from a new survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians — and it’s endangering those who need emergency care. The survey concluded that three in four ER doctors have experienced a surge of new patients since the ...
GOP Can Still Win ObamaCare War After Losing Battle In Court
In anticipation of the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pondered the justices’ literacy. “I hope the Supreme Court can read English,” he mused. Millions of Americans are wondering the same thing. ObamaCare’s text clearly grants subsidies only to individuals purchasing coverage in exchanges “established by ...
GOP: Appeal SCOTUS’s Obamacare decision to the American people
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court saved Obamacare for a second time by siding with the executive branch in King v. Burwell. The decision allows the Internal Revenue Service to distribute health insurance subsidies to about 6.4 million people in 34 states who use the federally operated Healthcare.gov exchange. But ...
The Supreme Court Has Made Obamacare The Defining Issue Of 2016
President Obama says he’s “feeling pretty good” about the Affordable Care Act in the wake of King v. Burwell, the June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the flow of means-tested subsidies through the federally operated health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov. Without those subsidies, HealthCare.gov, which serves consumers in the ...
Obamacare’s True Costs Are Finally Coming To Light
State regulators typically use their power to review health insurance premiums to limit rate hikes. But in Oregon, officials are ordering insurers to raise premiums — in many cases by double digits. The regulators pointed out that insurers spent over $100 million more than they took in last year. Any ...
