Sally C. Pipes
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 13, 2018
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 9, 2018
Commentary
At the VA, bureaucrats — not doctors — hold the scalpel
Staff at nine Veterans Affairs hospitals recently canceled more than 250,000 orders for diagnostic tests. They thought the orders were duplicative or unnecessary. In many cases, they were mistaken. As a result, veterans went without needed CT scans, ultrasounds, and other potentially lifesaving tests, according to a USA Today investigation. ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 8, 2018
Commentary
The future of healthcare is on the 2018 ballot
Tuesday’s midterm elections will shape the future of healthcare. A majority of Democrats running for House seats, a whopping 225 candidates, support “Medicare for all,” a single-payer system that would effectively outlaw private insurance and force virtually everyone into a government-run health plan. Sixteen Senate Democrats, including half a dozen senators considering ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 5, 2018
Commentary
Democrats Bet Their Midterm Fortunes On Failed Health Care Policy
Health care has been the most-mentioned issue in Democratic advertisements in the run-up to this month’s midterm elections. Many Democrats are making Medicare for All the centerpiece of their pitch to voters. Cearly, Democrats didn’t learn their lesson in 2010, when their previous effort at government micromanagement of the health ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 2, 2018
Commentary
Medicare Advantage’s Popularity Shows Americans Won’t Like Single-Payer
Democrats hope their advocacy of single-payer health care will help them in the upcoming midterm elections. More than half the Democrats running for seats in the House back Medicare for All. It remains to be seen if their embrace of government-run health care, where private coverage is banned for anything ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 29, 2018
Commentary
Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers
This month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would require advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price of the medicine. To be sure, a free market is dependent on consumers making informed decisions. But this move would provide patients with incomplete, misleading numbers ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 23, 2018
Commentary
President Trump didn’t sabotage Obamacare
Four U.S. cities just sued President Trump for failing to faithfully execute the Affordable Care Act. The governments of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus accuse the Trump administration of “waging a relentless campaign to sabotage” Obamacare by cutting its advertising budget, shortening the open enrollment period and ending some legally dubious subsidies. None ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 22, 2018
Commentary
Government Policies Are Driving Doctors To Quit Health Care
Doctors nationwide are burnt out and unsatisfied. Many want to quit the profession entirely, according to a new survey from the Physicians Foundation. The government deserves much of the blame for doctors’ low morale. For years, the feds have cut their pay, meddled in their decisions, and subjected them to ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 15, 2018
California
California’s Leaders Ban Affordable Health Coverage
California just outlawed a form of health insurance that could save thousands of its residents millions of dollars. Late last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 910, which bans the sale of short-term health plans — those that last less than a year and don’t have to comply with Obamacare’s ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 15, 2018
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 ...
At the VA, bureaucrats — not doctors — hold the scalpel
Staff at nine Veterans Affairs hospitals recently canceled more than 250,000 orders for diagnostic tests. They thought the orders were duplicative or unnecessary. In many cases, they were mistaken. As a result, veterans went without needed CT scans, ultrasounds, and other potentially lifesaving tests, according to a USA Today investigation. ...
The future of healthcare is on the 2018 ballot
Tuesday’s midterm elections will shape the future of healthcare. A majority of Democrats running for House seats, a whopping 225 candidates, support “Medicare for all,” a single-payer system that would effectively outlaw private insurance and force virtually everyone into a government-run health plan. Sixteen Senate Democrats, including half a dozen senators considering ...
Democrats Bet Their Midterm Fortunes On Failed Health Care Policy
Health care has been the most-mentioned issue in Democratic advertisements in the run-up to this month’s midterm elections. Many Democrats are making Medicare for All the centerpiece of their pitch to voters. Cearly, Democrats didn’t learn their lesson in 2010, when their previous effort at government micromanagement of the health ...
Medicare Advantage’s Popularity Shows Americans Won’t Like Single-Payer
Democrats hope their advocacy of single-payer health care will help them in the upcoming midterm elections. More than half the Democrats running for seats in the House back Medicare for All. It remains to be seen if their embrace of government-run health care, where private coverage is banned for anything ...
Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers
This month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would require advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price of the medicine. To be sure, a free market is dependent on consumers making informed decisions. But this move would provide patients with incomplete, misleading numbers ...
President Trump didn’t sabotage Obamacare
Four U.S. cities just sued President Trump for failing to faithfully execute the Affordable Care Act. The governments of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus accuse the Trump administration of “waging a relentless campaign to sabotage” Obamacare by cutting its advertising budget, shortening the open enrollment period and ending some legally dubious subsidies. None ...
Government Policies Are Driving Doctors To Quit Health Care
Doctors nationwide are burnt out and unsatisfied. Many want to quit the profession entirely, according to a new survey from the Physicians Foundation. The government deserves much of the blame for doctors’ low morale. For years, the feds have cut their pay, meddled in their decisions, and subjected them to ...
California’s Leaders Ban Affordable Health Coverage
California just outlawed a form of health insurance that could save thousands of its residents millions of dollars. Late last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 910, which bans the sale of short-term health plans — those that last less than a year and don’t have to comply with Obamacare’s ...