Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Price transparency is good for patients
More than eight in 10 hospitals are flouting a federal rule requiring them to publish their prices, according to a new report. That rule has been in force for over a year now. It’s long past time for hospitals to comply. The lack of transparency in the health care market ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 19, 2022
Commentary
With vaccine IP waiver, wave goodbye to future treatments
Earlier this month, members of the World Trade Organization met to debate a proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines. Supporters of the plan claim it’s necessary to boost the supply of vaccines in developing countries and, in turn, vaccinate the world. But insufficient supply isn’t holding up the global vaccination campaign. In fact, ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 16, 2022
Commentary
GOP Must Seize Control of Health Care Narrative
If the polls are any indication, Republicans will take control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. After a year and a half of unified Democratic rule, voters in much of the country appear to be looking for something different. But November is still six months away. If Republicans hope to notch ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 13, 2022
Commentary
Expanding Obamacare is a Costly Prescription
Last month, President Biden proposed fixing the so-called “family glitch,” a quirk in Obamacare’s text that has prevented millions of people from purchasing subsidized coverage through the exchanges. It’s only the latest attempt to gift more people taxpayer-sponsored health coverage. The result will be rising premiums, fewer coverage options, and ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 11, 2022
Commentary
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 11, 2022
Commentary
Is The End Of Private Practice Nigh?
Nearly three in four doctors now work for a hospital, health system, or corporate entity, according to new data from Avalere. That’s a 7% increase from a year ago—and an almost 20% jump since 2019. In other words, the independent physician is becoming an endangered species. The corporatization of medicine is sapping competition ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 9, 2022
Commentary
Politically Fearful Newsom Punts on Single-Payer
Nearly two-and-a-half years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., created a commission to come up with a plan for implementing single-payer health care in the Golden State. The Healthy California for All Commission finally released its report last week. The governor has scarcely acknowledged its existence. In a statement, the governor’s spokesman said, “We have ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 5, 2022
Commentary
Biden must not kill off short-term health plans
Democratic lawmakers are looking to limit patient choice in the health insurance market. Forty of them just sent a letter to the Biden administration urging regulators to undo a Trump-era rule that expanded access to short-term health plans. President Joe Biden is sympathetic to their pleas. He called short-term plans “junk” during ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 2, 2022
Commentary
Quality Adjust Life Years in Healthcare Disguise Bigotry
What’s the value of a human life? It’s a most provocative question. In socialized healthcare systems globally, that question is at the center of every decision public officials make: how much money to spend on care, whether to approve an innovative new drug or medical device for use, who gets ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 29, 2022
Commentary
Time to Rollback Healthcare Scope of Practice Laws
Last week, both New York and Kansas granted nurse practitioners the freedom to practice independently, without the supervision of a physician. The Empire State and the Sunflower State are now the 25th and 26th states to roll back “scope-of-practice” restrictions on NPs. This trend is worth celebrating. The shortage of primary care doctors in the United ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 25, 2022
Price transparency is good for patients
More than eight in 10 hospitals are flouting a federal rule requiring them to publish their prices, according to a new report. That rule has been in force for over a year now. It’s long past time for hospitals to comply. The lack of transparency in the health care market ...
With vaccine IP waiver, wave goodbye to future treatments
Earlier this month, members of the World Trade Organization met to debate a proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines. Supporters of the plan claim it’s necessary to boost the supply of vaccines in developing countries and, in turn, vaccinate the world. But insufficient supply isn’t holding up the global vaccination campaign. In fact, ...
GOP Must Seize Control of Health Care Narrative
If the polls are any indication, Republicans will take control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. After a year and a half of unified Democratic rule, voters in much of the country appear to be looking for something different. But November is still six months away. If Republicans hope to notch ...
Expanding Obamacare is a Costly Prescription
Last month, President Biden proposed fixing the so-called “family glitch,” a quirk in Obamacare’s text that has prevented millions of people from purchasing subsidized coverage through the exchanges. It’s only the latest attempt to gift more people taxpayer-sponsored health coverage. The result will be rising premiums, fewer coverage options, and ...
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
Is The End Of Private Practice Nigh?
Nearly three in four doctors now work for a hospital, health system, or corporate entity, according to new data from Avalere. That’s a 7% increase from a year ago—and an almost 20% jump since 2019. In other words, the independent physician is becoming an endangered species. The corporatization of medicine is sapping competition ...
Politically Fearful Newsom Punts on Single-Payer
Nearly two-and-a-half years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., created a commission to come up with a plan for implementing single-payer health care in the Golden State. The Healthy California for All Commission finally released its report last week. The governor has scarcely acknowledged its existence. In a statement, the governor’s spokesman said, “We have ...
Biden must not kill off short-term health plans
Democratic lawmakers are looking to limit patient choice in the health insurance market. Forty of them just sent a letter to the Biden administration urging regulators to undo a Trump-era rule that expanded access to short-term health plans. President Joe Biden is sympathetic to their pleas. He called short-term plans “junk” during ...
Quality Adjust Life Years in Healthcare Disguise Bigotry
What’s the value of a human life? It’s a most provocative question. In socialized healthcare systems globally, that question is at the center of every decision public officials make: how much money to spend on care, whether to approve an innovative new drug or medical device for use, who gets ...
Time to Rollback Healthcare Scope of Practice Laws
Last week, both New York and Kansas granted nurse practitioners the freedom to practice independently, without the supervision of a physician. The Empire State and the Sunflower State are now the 25th and 26th states to roll back “scope-of-practice” restrictions on NPs. This trend is worth celebrating. The shortage of primary care doctors in the United ...