Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Solutions for CalPERS health insurance rate hikes
and The California Public Employees’ Retirement System recently raised health insurance premiums for nearly 1.3 million workers and retirees an average of 9.6 percent for 2013, more than three times the rate of general inflation over the past year. The rate hikes include 8.7 percent increases for basic health maintenance ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 13, 2012
Commentary
Obamacare Adapts The Worst Of Swisscare, Rejects The Best
The United States and Switzerland dont appear to have much in common. But some observers are predicting that Obamacare will prove the most popular Swiss import since the Matterhorn hit Disneyland. President Obamas healthcare reform package shares some elements of Switzerlands system, Santésuisse. And its tempting to see Switzerland as ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 4, 2012
Commentary
Tax reform, health reform should be linked together
In his majority opinion upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice John Roberts salvaged the notorious individual mandate that requires people to obtain insurance or pay a fine by effectively reclassifying the fine as a tax. The decision baffled most observers. Conservatives were outraged that the ostensibly friendly chief justice had upheld the ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 24, 2012
California
Repeal or not, California’s stuck with Obamacare
Even if Mitt Romney is elected president and gets rid of Obamacare, we might be stuck with some variation of it here in California. That’s what’s behind Gov. Jerry Brown this week calling a special session of the California Legislature to deal with health care in December or January. The ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 21, 2012
Commentary
Gov. Deval Patrick’s New Health Law Is Flat-Out Dangerous
Beacon Hill was the scene of great fanfare earlier this month when Governor Deval Patrick signed controversial new healthcare reform legislation into law. The governor proudly proclaimed that Massachusetts was the first to crack the code on the problem of ever-increasing healthcare costs. The mood outside the statehouse, however, has ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 20, 2012
Commentary
Single-Payer Health Care Won’t Die, Despite Failures
The dream of single-payer health care in America just won’t die. Vermont is trying to implement a single-payer system by itself. This month, Green Mountain State officials will actually dictate how much hospitals can raise spending in the coming year. At the national level, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 20, 2012
Commentary
The CBO Just Rendered Its Verdict On The Cost Of Obamacare, And It Isn’t Pretty
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just rendered its latest opinion on the cost of Obamacare following the Supreme Courts decision to uphold most of the law back in June. The numbers arent pretty. Despite breathless media reports of additional savings, the governments bean counters actually exposed several flaws in the ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 6, 2012
Commentary
A Healthcare Blueprint For A President Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney caused a stir during his recent speech before the NAACP, telling the crowd, I will eliminate expensive non-essential programs like Obamacare. The largely pro-Obama crowd was not thrilled with Romneys attack on the presidents signature legislative achievement. But its hard to imagine how anyone could be excited about ...
Sally C. Pipes
July 23, 2012
Health Care
Block Grants to States Give Medicaid New Hope
The House of Representatives is now considering a piece of legislation that would fundamentally improve Medicaid the health insurance program for low-income Americans jointly funded by the federal government and the states and help this country avoid fiscal apocalypse. Medicaid is on the front-burner in Washington, as the ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 2, 2012
Health Care
Obamacare faces Supreme test
The Supreme Court on Monday begins hearing what could be one of the most important cases in our country’s history. The nine justices are set to determine the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” included in the president’s health care bill, passed two years ago this month. The mandate requires that ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 26, 2012
Solutions for CalPERS health insurance rate hikes
and The California Public Employees’ Retirement System recently raised health insurance premiums for nearly 1.3 million workers and retirees an average of 9.6 percent for 2013, more than three times the rate of general inflation over the past year. The rate hikes include 8.7 percent increases for basic health maintenance ...
Obamacare Adapts The Worst Of Swisscare, Rejects The Best
The United States and Switzerland dont appear to have much in common. But some observers are predicting that Obamacare will prove the most popular Swiss import since the Matterhorn hit Disneyland. President Obamas healthcare reform package shares some elements of Switzerlands system, Santésuisse. And its tempting to see Switzerland as ...
Tax reform, health reform should be linked together
In his majority opinion upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice John Roberts salvaged the notorious individual mandate that requires people to obtain insurance or pay a fine by effectively reclassifying the fine as a tax. The decision baffled most observers. Conservatives were outraged that the ostensibly friendly chief justice had upheld the ...
Repeal or not, California’s stuck with Obamacare
Even if Mitt Romney is elected president and gets rid of Obamacare, we might be stuck with some variation of it here in California. That’s what’s behind Gov. Jerry Brown this week calling a special session of the California Legislature to deal with health care in December or January. The ...
Gov. Deval Patrick’s New Health Law Is Flat-Out Dangerous
Beacon Hill was the scene of great fanfare earlier this month when Governor Deval Patrick signed controversial new healthcare reform legislation into law. The governor proudly proclaimed that Massachusetts was the first to crack the code on the problem of ever-increasing healthcare costs. The mood outside the statehouse, however, has ...
Single-Payer Health Care Won’t Die, Despite Failures
The dream of single-payer health care in America just won’t die. Vermont is trying to implement a single-payer system by itself. This month, Green Mountain State officials will actually dictate how much hospitals can raise spending in the coming year. At the national level, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced ...
The CBO Just Rendered Its Verdict On The Cost Of Obamacare, And It Isn’t Pretty
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just rendered its latest opinion on the cost of Obamacare following the Supreme Courts decision to uphold most of the law back in June. The numbers arent pretty. Despite breathless media reports of additional savings, the governments bean counters actually exposed several flaws in the ...
A Healthcare Blueprint For A President Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney caused a stir during his recent speech before the NAACP, telling the crowd, I will eliminate expensive non-essential programs like Obamacare. The largely pro-Obama crowd was not thrilled with Romneys attack on the presidents signature legislative achievement. But its hard to imagine how anyone could be excited about ...
Block Grants to States Give Medicaid New Hope
The House of Representatives is now considering a piece of legislation that would fundamentally improve Medicaid the health insurance program for low-income Americans jointly funded by the federal government and the states and help this country avoid fiscal apocalypse. Medicaid is on the front-burner in Washington, as the ...
Obamacare faces Supreme test
The Supreme Court on Monday begins hearing what could be one of the most important cases in our country’s history. The nine justices are set to determine the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” included in the president’s health care bill, passed two years ago this month. The mandate requires that ...