Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Medicaid expansion is a recipe for disaster
This November, voters in Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, and Montana will decide whether to expand Medicaid. Expansion would place huge burdens on taxpayers while offering minimal benefits to new Medicaid enrollees. Last year, voters in Maine became the first to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot after Republican Gov. Paul LePage refused to expand the ...
Commentary
No reason to be Jealous of nominee’s plan for health care
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous currently trails Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican incumbent, in the polls. But the challenger has a plan to turn the tide. Jealous has released a detailed proposal to enroll most state residents in MD-Care, a government-run health insurance plan that would “eliminate co-pays, high-deductibles, and ...
Commentary
Where’s the Outrage?
How can you tell if competition is working in a given market? Generally speaking, prices go down while quality goes up. Productivity increases as more efficient methods are discovered. Shortages are rare to nonexistent. And, most important, consumers win. Government intervention, monopolies, and other market distortions can disrupt the normal ...
Commentary
To Save Medicaid, Put People to Work
President Trump has a message for millions of able-bodied Medicaid recipients: Get a job. Since January, the administration has allowed states to require Medicaid beneficiaries who are not disabled to engage in 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, job training, or school in return for taxpayer-funded health coverage. The ...
Commentary
Democratic Party’s New Star Makes A Poor Case For Medicare For All
She only won about 16,000 votes in a primary election this summer in which 13% of eligible voters participated. Yet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as the Democratic Party’s biggest star and a media darling. The 28-year-old defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional ...
Commentary
Why Health-Care Mergers Aren’t So Scary
Prominent politicos are voicing concerns about the wave of impending mergers in the health-care industry. On August 1, California insurance commissioner Dave Jones urged the Justice Department to block the merger of Aetna and CVS, fretting it “will have anticompetitive effects and … harm consumers.” Days later, the American Medical Association echoed his concerns. ...
Commentary
Young doctors need to wake up to the grim reality of single-payer healthcare
For decades, doctor organizations such as the American Medical Association have opposed single-payer healthcare. But this opposition is ebbing. At the group’s June meeting, a cohort of younger doctors urged the AMA to adopt a neutral position toward socialized medicine. The student arm of Physicians for National Health Insurance is ...
Commentary
Why Healthcare Reform May Not Be Dead Yet
Healthcare reform may not be dead yet in this country. Late last month, the U.S. House of Representatives green-lit three bills that would put money back in the pockets of patients. Now it’s up to the Senate to act. What better way to close out the summer than to correct ...
California
California’s War on Affordable Health Insurance
“A crisis of affordability.” That’s what is plaguing the individual health insurance market, according to Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The culprit? Obamacare. The health law’s regulations have steadily driven up the cost of insurance. Between 2013 — the year before most of Obamacare’s ...
Commentary
Providing better deals for health coverage
More than a dozen state attorneys general just sued the Department of Labor over a new rule that makes it easier for small businesses and self-employed individuals to form “association health plans.” AHPs enable these firms and sole proprietors to band together to negotiate with insurers for better deals for ...
Medicaid expansion is a recipe for disaster
This November, voters in Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, and Montana will decide whether to expand Medicaid. Expansion would place huge burdens on taxpayers while offering minimal benefits to new Medicaid enrollees. Last year, voters in Maine became the first to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot after Republican Gov. Paul LePage refused to expand the ...
No reason to be Jealous of nominee’s plan for health care
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous currently trails Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican incumbent, in the polls. But the challenger has a plan to turn the tide. Jealous has released a detailed proposal to enroll most state residents in MD-Care, a government-run health insurance plan that would “eliminate co-pays, high-deductibles, and ...
Where’s the Outrage?
How can you tell if competition is working in a given market? Generally speaking, prices go down while quality goes up. Productivity increases as more efficient methods are discovered. Shortages are rare to nonexistent. And, most important, consumers win. Government intervention, monopolies, and other market distortions can disrupt the normal ...
To Save Medicaid, Put People to Work
President Trump has a message for millions of able-bodied Medicaid recipients: Get a job. Since January, the administration has allowed states to require Medicaid beneficiaries who are not disabled to engage in 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, job training, or school in return for taxpayer-funded health coverage. The ...
Democratic Party’s New Star Makes A Poor Case For Medicare For All
She only won about 16,000 votes in a primary election this summer in which 13% of eligible voters participated. Yet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as the Democratic Party’s biggest star and a media darling. The 28-year-old defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional ...
Why Health-Care Mergers Aren’t So Scary
Prominent politicos are voicing concerns about the wave of impending mergers in the health-care industry. On August 1, California insurance commissioner Dave Jones urged the Justice Department to block the merger of Aetna and CVS, fretting it “will have anticompetitive effects and … harm consumers.” Days later, the American Medical Association echoed his concerns. ...
Young doctors need to wake up to the grim reality of single-payer healthcare
For decades, doctor organizations such as the American Medical Association have opposed single-payer healthcare. But this opposition is ebbing. At the group’s June meeting, a cohort of younger doctors urged the AMA to adopt a neutral position toward socialized medicine. The student arm of Physicians for National Health Insurance is ...
Why Healthcare Reform May Not Be Dead Yet
Healthcare reform may not be dead yet in this country. Late last month, the U.S. House of Representatives green-lit three bills that would put money back in the pockets of patients. Now it’s up to the Senate to act. What better way to close out the summer than to correct ...
California’s War on Affordable Health Insurance
“A crisis of affordability.” That’s what is plaguing the individual health insurance market, according to Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The culprit? Obamacare. The health law’s regulations have steadily driven up the cost of insurance. Between 2013 — the year before most of Obamacare’s ...
Providing better deals for health coverage
More than a dozen state attorneys general just sued the Department of Labor over a new rule that makes it easier for small businesses and self-employed individuals to form “association health plans.” AHPs enable these firms and sole proprietors to band together to negotiate with insurers for better deals for ...
