Obamacare
Commentary
Biden sets the stage for a radical health care agenda
President Joe Biden recently announced his picks to lead his administration’s approach to health care policy — and moderate they are not. Take his nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. He served in the House for 12 terms but has no on-the-ground experience in public ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 23, 2021
Commentary
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 29, 2020
Blog
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
Kerry Jackson
December 29, 2020
Commentary
Work Requirements Can Preserve Medicaid For Those Who Need It Most
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case early next year that will decide whether states have the power to impose work requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. The question before the high court is a legal one. But as a matter of policy, work requirements are a great ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 21, 2020
Commentary
For HHS post Biden taps ObamaCare’s lead defender – don’t expect him to be a moderate
President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday that he plans to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. It’s a conventional, if unexpected, pick. The Washington rumor mill had New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as the front-runners to lead HHS until ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 8, 2020
Commentary
Don’t Lower the Medicare Eligibility Age
President-elect Joe Biden wants Congress to lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60. That’s long been a goal of Democrats. But even 7 in 10 Republicans have expressed support for expanding Medicare in the direction Biden has suggested, according to polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Opening up ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 4, 2020
Commentary
Three Healthcare Achievements To Be Thankful For
Thanksgiving is this Thursday. It may seem hard to believe, but even in this year unlike any other, there’s still plenty to be thankful for—including some notable developments in healthcare policy. *** 1. Individual health insurance premiums have stabilized and declined. Open enrollment on the HealthCare.gov exchanges run by the ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 23, 2020
Commentary
AOC’s ‘path forward’ on healthcare is just a giant step back
On Wednesday, Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Katie Porter, and Pramila Jayapal joined former insurance industry executive and now “Medicare for all” advocate Wendell Potter in an online strategy session to “chart the path forward” for health reform under a Biden administration. The trio of liberal lawmakers pressed ahead with their demand for ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 23, 2020
Commentary
What uninsured crisis?
Roughly 30 million Americans lack health insurance, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. But there’s more to that 30-million figure than meets the eye. The majority are more or less uninsured by choice. Getting those folks covered can be done for a lot less than the hundreds of ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 19, 2020
Commentary
Big plans for BidenCare doomed if Republicans keep Senate majority
President-elect Joe Biden’s ambitious plan for a dramatic and costly overhaul of America’s health care sector that would start us down the road to socialized medicine and worse health care has no chance of approval if Republicans capture majority control of the U.S. Senate. And even if Democrats manage to control the Senate by ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 13, 2020
Biden sets the stage for a radical health care agenda
President Joe Biden recently announced his picks to lead his administration’s approach to health care policy — and moderate they are not. Take his nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. He served in the House for 12 terms but has no on-the-ground experience in public ...
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
Work Requirements Can Preserve Medicaid For Those Who Need It Most
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case early next year that will decide whether states have the power to impose work requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. The question before the high court is a legal one. But as a matter of policy, work requirements are a great ...
For HHS post Biden taps ObamaCare’s lead defender – don’t expect him to be a moderate
President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday that he plans to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. It’s a conventional, if unexpected, pick. The Washington rumor mill had New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as the front-runners to lead HHS until ...
Don’t Lower the Medicare Eligibility Age
President-elect Joe Biden wants Congress to lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60. That’s long been a goal of Democrats. But even 7 in 10 Republicans have expressed support for expanding Medicare in the direction Biden has suggested, according to polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Opening up ...
Three Healthcare Achievements To Be Thankful For
Thanksgiving is this Thursday. It may seem hard to believe, but even in this year unlike any other, there’s still plenty to be thankful for—including some notable developments in healthcare policy. *** 1. Individual health insurance premiums have stabilized and declined. Open enrollment on the HealthCare.gov exchanges run by the ...
AOC’s ‘path forward’ on healthcare is just a giant step back
On Wednesday, Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Katie Porter, and Pramila Jayapal joined former insurance industry executive and now “Medicare for all” advocate Wendell Potter in an online strategy session to “chart the path forward” for health reform under a Biden administration. The trio of liberal lawmakers pressed ahead with their demand for ...
What uninsured crisis?
Roughly 30 million Americans lack health insurance, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. But there’s more to that 30-million figure than meets the eye. The majority are more or less uninsured by choice. Getting those folks covered can be done for a lot less than the hundreds of ...
Big plans for BidenCare doomed if Republicans keep Senate majority
President-elect Joe Biden’s ambitious plan for a dramatic and costly overhaul of America’s health care sector that would start us down the road to socialized medicine and worse health care has no chance of approval if Republicans capture majority control of the U.S. Senate. And even if Democrats manage to control the Senate by ...