Obamacare
Commentary
Undoing Short-Term Health Plans Is Bad Policy
Last week, President Joe Biden signed several executive orders that aim to kick-start his administration’s approach to health reform. He’s re-opening the exchanges in the three dozen states that use HealthCare.gov for three months, from February 15 through May 15. And he’s directing federal agencies to re-examine several rules promulgated by the Trump administration, ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 1, 2021
Commentary
Biden’s health care plans – this is what Americans can expect from Democrats
Last week, President Joe Biden signed executive orders that will re-open ObamaCare’s insurance exchanges from Feb. 15 through May 15 and direct federal agencies to re-examine some of the health care rules enacted by the Trump administration. There’s a limit to what Biden can accomplish by executive action. But with narrow control of Congress, there’s still plenty ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 1, 2021
Commentary
Biden’s ill-advised Obamacare rescue mission
President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that includes billions in new subsidies for health insurance purchased on Obamacare’s exchanges. That may be good news for people who get coverage through those marketplaces. But is it really the best use of taxpayer resources, given that many of those ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 26, 2021
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
Undoing Short-Term Health Plans Is Bad Policy
Last week, President Joe Biden signed several executive orders that aim to kick-start his administration’s approach to health reform. He’s re-opening the exchanges in the three dozen states that use HealthCare.gov for three months, from February 15 through May 15. And he’s directing federal agencies to re-examine several rules promulgated by the Trump administration, ...
Biden’s health care plans – this is what Americans can expect from Democrats
Last week, President Joe Biden signed executive orders that will re-open ObamaCare’s insurance exchanges from Feb. 15 through May 15 and direct federal agencies to re-examine some of the health care rules enacted by the Trump administration. There’s a limit to what Biden can accomplish by executive action. But with narrow control of Congress, there’s still plenty ...
Biden’s ill-advised Obamacare rescue mission
President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that includes billions in new subsidies for health insurance purchased on Obamacare’s exchanges. That may be good news for people who get coverage through those marketplaces. But is it really the best use of taxpayer resources, given that many of those ...
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 ...