Obamacare
Blog
The Importance of the Banal: The Case of the 340B Program
Most news coverage focuses on the grandiose – repeal of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), or whether the U.S. should implement a single payer health care system. These existential questions matter of course – a lot. Click on the image above to read Wayne Winegarden’s study, “Addressing the Problems ...
Wayne Winegarden
January 18, 2018
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS:The Next Step on the Slippery Slope Toward Single-Payer in California
Download the PDF California has declared itself a sanctuary state, where illegal immigrants are sheltered from federal law. The urge to “resist” President Trump runs so red hot in California that Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned two immigrants from Cambodia on Dec. 23 who otherwise would have been deported because they ...
Kerry Jackson
January 17, 2018
California
Expanding SF Restaurant Surcharge Statewide is a Bad Idea
Dining at a premium San Francisco restaurant will always be expensive. But add in the cost of The City’s health care surcharge and eating out, even at modest and lesser establishments, is even more expensive. What’s more, one gubernatorial candidate wants to expand the program that requires the surcharge to ...
Kerry Jackson
January 7, 2018
Commentary
ObamaCare Faces Two Existential Challenges In 2018
It’s a New Year — but not a happy one for ObamaCare’s defenders. Two recent developments could lead to the collapse of the health law’s exchanges. First, the Trump administration will soon announce that it will allow insurers to sell “short-term” health plans that last up to 364 days. Currently, insurers ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 5, 2018
Commentary
Don’t Blame Trump for Obamacare’s Lackluster Open Enrollment Season
Obamacare’s 2018 open enrollment period came to a close in most states on December 15. Roughly 8.8 million people signed up for health plans through Healthcare.gov, the federal exchange that operates in 39 states. That’s a 4 percent decline compared to last year’s total of 9.2 million sign ups through ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 26, 2017
Blog
Getting Out Our 2018 Crystal Ball
With the holiday season upon us, now is the time when pundits in Washington and Sacramento get out their crystal balls and offer their unsolicited predictions on what will happen in politics, policy, and government in 2018. Now that we have the “Right by the Bay” blog at PRI, we’re ...
Tim Anaya
December 21, 2017
Commentary
Don’t Blame Trump for Lower Health Insurance Signups. Blame Obamacare.
Obamacare’s fifth open enrollment period ended Friday. In the 39 states using the federal HealthCare.gov insurance exchange, 4.7 million people signed up for 2018 coverage, as of Dec. 9. At this point, that’s about 4.5 million fewer people who signed up than last year. This year’s lower numbers shouldn’t be surprising. Those ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 20, 2017
Blog
Falling Obamacare Enrollment Should Surprise No One
Obamacare’s fifth open enrollment season just ended for the 39 states served by Healthcare.gov — and it was a major failure in terms of enrollees. Fewer than 10 million people signed up for 2018 health plans through the state and federal exchanges, according to one recent projection. That’s down from 12.2 million ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 19, 2017
Commentary
Trump Right To End Obamacare Subsidies
President Trump delivered a surprise to health insurers — he ended billions of dollars in illegal federal payments to them. These payments are Obamacare’s “cost-sharing reduction” subsidies, or CSRs. They’re intended to reimburse insurers for covering out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for certain low-income exchange enrollees. Attorneys general from 18 states and ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 11, 2017
Blog
There’s Plenty To Like About Trump’s HHS Pick, Alex Azar
President Trump’s nomination of Alex Azar for secretary of Health and Human Services is encouraging news for free-market health reformers. Azar possesses precisely the combination of legal acumen, bureaucratic savvy, management experience dealing with a large workforce, and private-sector experience required to eliminate those parts of Obamacare that can be accomplished through ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 7, 2017
The Importance of the Banal: The Case of the 340B Program
Most news coverage focuses on the grandiose – repeal of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), or whether the U.S. should implement a single payer health care system. These existential questions matter of course – a lot. Click on the image above to read Wayne Winegarden’s study, “Addressing the Problems ...
CAPITAL IDEAS:The Next Step on the Slippery Slope Toward Single-Payer in California
Download the PDF California has declared itself a sanctuary state, where illegal immigrants are sheltered from federal law. The urge to “resist” President Trump runs so red hot in California that Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned two immigrants from Cambodia on Dec. 23 who otherwise would have been deported because they ...
Expanding SF Restaurant Surcharge Statewide is a Bad Idea
Dining at a premium San Francisco restaurant will always be expensive. But add in the cost of The City’s health care surcharge and eating out, even at modest and lesser establishments, is even more expensive. What’s more, one gubernatorial candidate wants to expand the program that requires the surcharge to ...
ObamaCare Faces Two Existential Challenges In 2018
It’s a New Year — but not a happy one for ObamaCare’s defenders. Two recent developments could lead to the collapse of the health law’s exchanges. First, the Trump administration will soon announce that it will allow insurers to sell “short-term” health plans that last up to 364 days. Currently, insurers ...
Don’t Blame Trump for Obamacare’s Lackluster Open Enrollment Season
Obamacare’s 2018 open enrollment period came to a close in most states on December 15. Roughly 8.8 million people signed up for health plans through Healthcare.gov, the federal exchange that operates in 39 states. That’s a 4 percent decline compared to last year’s total of 9.2 million sign ups through ...
Getting Out Our 2018 Crystal Ball
With the holiday season upon us, now is the time when pundits in Washington and Sacramento get out their crystal balls and offer their unsolicited predictions on what will happen in politics, policy, and government in 2018. Now that we have the “Right by the Bay” blog at PRI, we’re ...
Don’t Blame Trump for Lower Health Insurance Signups. Blame Obamacare.
Obamacare’s fifth open enrollment period ended Friday. In the 39 states using the federal HealthCare.gov insurance exchange, 4.7 million people signed up for 2018 coverage, as of Dec. 9. At this point, that’s about 4.5 million fewer people who signed up than last year. This year’s lower numbers shouldn’t be surprising. Those ...
Falling Obamacare Enrollment Should Surprise No One
Obamacare’s fifth open enrollment season just ended for the 39 states served by Healthcare.gov — and it was a major failure in terms of enrollees. Fewer than 10 million people signed up for 2018 health plans through the state and federal exchanges, according to one recent projection. That’s down from 12.2 million ...
Trump Right To End Obamacare Subsidies
President Trump delivered a surprise to health insurers — he ended billions of dollars in illegal federal payments to them. These payments are Obamacare’s “cost-sharing reduction” subsidies, or CSRs. They’re intended to reimburse insurers for covering out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for certain low-income exchange enrollees. Attorneys general from 18 states and ...
There’s Plenty To Like About Trump’s HHS Pick, Alex Azar
President Trump’s nomination of Alex Azar for secretary of Health and Human Services is encouraging news for free-market health reformers. Azar possesses precisely the combination of legal acumen, bureaucratic savvy, management experience dealing with a large workforce, and private-sector experience required to eliminate those parts of Obamacare that can be accomplished through ...