Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
‘Direct primary care’ empowers doctors, patients
Scores of doctors are taking a page from Netflix’s playbook and getting into the subscription business. They’ve adopted a business model called “direct primary care,” whereby patients pay a periodic fee for access to primary care physicians. Since 2014, the number of direct primary care practices in America has grown ...
Commentary
Protecting consumers from Obamacare’s costs
Open enrollment in most of Obamacare’s exchanges ends on Saturday, Dec. 15. Consumers in seven states that run their own exchanges, including California and New York, have a little bit longer to purchase coverage. Sign-ups thus far have been less than stellar. Through the first three weeks, only 1.9 million ...
Commentary
The Secret To Reducing Health Costs May Be At The Shopping Mall
Americans spend a lot on health care. Last year, the average household’s tab was $5,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure has gone up more than 13% since 2015 — and is about $600 more than the average person’s expenditures on groceries. Fortunately, it’s possible for the average ...
Commentary
Private companies are the best stewards of public funds for healthcare
Iowa saved $126 million in fiscal year 2018 by privatizing its management of Medicaid, according to a November report from the state auditor. These savings shouldn’t be a surprise. Private companies are better at managing public funds than the government because they have an incentive to cut costs: It affects their bottom ...
Commentary
Medicaid work requirements are helping, and this state shows it
A group of Arkansas Medicaid beneficiaries is suing the federal government. They claim the Trump administration’s decision to allow Arkansas to impose work requirements on all able-bodied adult Medicaid recipients restricts their access to healthcare. That’s nonsense. The requirement that able-bodied adult recipients spend 80 hours a month working, training for a job, ...
Commentary
Medicare for All Lost Big Time in the Midterms
Democrats won big during the midterm elections earlier this month. As of this writing, they appear to have picked up 39 seats in the House of Representatives. But Medicare for All — the rallying cry for much of the far left — lost big time. Voters outside liberal enclaves rejected ...
Commentary
Florida voters rejected Medicare for All in the midterms. Thank goodness.
This month, Democrats took the House of Representatives. But many of the party’s most progressive candidates outside deep-blue coastal enclaves fell short at the polls. Voters in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Florida, and Maryland all rejected Democratic candidates who campaigned on Medicare for All. And thank goodness. The idea polled ...
Commentary
Voters Swallowed The Medicaid Snake Oil
Voters in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah just approved ballot referendums to expand Medicaid. The three solidly red states will soon add 300,000 beneficiaries to the joint state-federal insurance program for low-income Americans. These voters doubtless had good intentions. They wanted to help vulnerable residents in their states gain access to health ...
Commentary
Short-Term Insurance Plans Offer A Much-Needed Escape From Obamacare
Several patient advocacy groups recently sued the Trump administration to overturn an August 2018 rule that expands access to short-term health insurance plans. They argue that short-term plans, which they deride as “junk insurance,” violate the Affordable Care Act. The courts ought to toss this meritless lawsuit. The new rule is legal ...
Commentary
Putting Drug Prices on TV Will Cause Unnecessary Patient Panic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed several reforms to drive down prescription drug prices. One measure would force pharmaceutical companies to mention the sticker prices of their medicines in television advertisements. The new mandate covers all prescriptions drugs reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid that cost more than $35 a month. The administration hopes this ...
‘Direct primary care’ empowers doctors, patients
Scores of doctors are taking a page from Netflix’s playbook and getting into the subscription business. They’ve adopted a business model called “direct primary care,” whereby patients pay a periodic fee for access to primary care physicians. Since 2014, the number of direct primary care practices in America has grown ...
Protecting consumers from Obamacare’s costs
Open enrollment in most of Obamacare’s exchanges ends on Saturday, Dec. 15. Consumers in seven states that run their own exchanges, including California and New York, have a little bit longer to purchase coverage. Sign-ups thus far have been less than stellar. Through the first three weeks, only 1.9 million ...
The Secret To Reducing Health Costs May Be At The Shopping Mall
Americans spend a lot on health care. Last year, the average household’s tab was $5,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure has gone up more than 13% since 2015 — and is about $600 more than the average person’s expenditures on groceries. Fortunately, it’s possible for the average ...
Private companies are the best stewards of public funds for healthcare
Iowa saved $126 million in fiscal year 2018 by privatizing its management of Medicaid, according to a November report from the state auditor. These savings shouldn’t be a surprise. Private companies are better at managing public funds than the government because they have an incentive to cut costs: It affects their bottom ...
Medicaid work requirements are helping, and this state shows it
A group of Arkansas Medicaid beneficiaries is suing the federal government. They claim the Trump administration’s decision to allow Arkansas to impose work requirements on all able-bodied adult Medicaid recipients restricts their access to healthcare. That’s nonsense. The requirement that able-bodied adult recipients spend 80 hours a month working, training for a job, ...
Medicare for All Lost Big Time in the Midterms
Democrats won big during the midterm elections earlier this month. As of this writing, they appear to have picked up 39 seats in the House of Representatives. But Medicare for All — the rallying cry for much of the far left — lost big time. Voters outside liberal enclaves rejected ...
Florida voters rejected Medicare for All in the midterms. Thank goodness.
This month, Democrats took the House of Representatives. But many of the party’s most progressive candidates outside deep-blue coastal enclaves fell short at the polls. Voters in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Florida, and Maryland all rejected Democratic candidates who campaigned on Medicare for All. And thank goodness. The idea polled ...
Voters Swallowed The Medicaid Snake Oil
Voters in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah just approved ballot referendums to expand Medicaid. The three solidly red states will soon add 300,000 beneficiaries to the joint state-federal insurance program for low-income Americans. These voters doubtless had good intentions. They wanted to help vulnerable residents in their states gain access to health ...
Short-Term Insurance Plans Offer A Much-Needed Escape From Obamacare
Several patient advocacy groups recently sued the Trump administration to overturn an August 2018 rule that expands access to short-term health insurance plans. They argue that short-term plans, which they deride as “junk insurance,” violate the Affordable Care Act. The courts ought to toss this meritless lawsuit. The new rule is legal ...
Putting Drug Prices on TV Will Cause Unnecessary Patient Panic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed several reforms to drive down prescription drug prices. One measure would force pharmaceutical companies to mention the sticker prices of their medicines in television advertisements. The new mandate covers all prescriptions drugs reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid that cost more than $35 a month. The administration hopes this ...
