Health Care
Commentary
Health spending slows but premiums still rising
A funny thing happened as a result of Obamacare, signed in March 2010: Although the cost of health care has increased at a slower rate than in previous years, premiums for health insurance and the share of premiums used for purposes other than paying claims has been increasing faster than ...
John R. Graham
March 15, 2012
Commentary
Romney-fication of health care reform
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick just exhorted legislators to overhaul the way the state pays for health care. Hes pushing for an end to the traditional arrangement of compensating doctors and hospitals for each service they provide. Its not yet clear what will replace this fee-for-service payment system. But theres growing ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 13, 2012
Commentary
Kill the CLASS Act Before It Kills Taxpayers
The House of Representatives just voted to wipe a major part of President Obamas healthcare law from the books the Community Living Assistance Service and Supports Act. This CLASS Act wouldve established a federally run long-term-care insurance program. The Senate should continue the Houses work and repeal CLASS right ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 10, 2012
Commentary
President Obama’s Medical Board: A Backdoor Path to Health Rationing
Last week, a House of Representatives subpanel overwhelmingly approved a measure to repeal a key component of President Obamas 2010 health reform bill. By a bipartisan 17-5 margin, the Energy and Commerce Committees Health Subcommittee agreed to get rid of Sections 3403 and 10320 of the Patient Protection and Affordable ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 5, 2012
Health Care
Feed the Beast: Renewing the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)
Key Points: There is a crisis in biopharmaceutical R&D in all segments of the industry – large, mid-market, and new ventures. Much of the responsibility for this can be laid at the door of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is slow to approve new drugs. The law that ...
John R. Graham
March 1, 2012
Commentary
What I Learned At Haas Business School’s Health Care Conference
Theres a lot of entrepreneurial energy in the Bay Area, but Im always surprised at how much of it is directed towards health care. As Apothecary readers surely recognize, if we were to rank sectors where the government lies ready to crush the entrepreneurial spirit, health care and education must ...
John R. Graham
February 29, 2012
Commentary
Is CDC immune to pneumonia science?
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met last week to discuss the latest developments in the fight against pneumonia. They had the chance to prevent tens of thousands of deaths from the disease each year simply by recommending a new vaccine for routine delivery to adults. Unfortunately, ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 26, 2012
Health Care
Just Say No to ACOs
Say hello to Obamacare’s latest technocratic gimmick — the Accountable Care Organization (ACO). The first of these federally-chartered Pioneer ACO groups of healthcare providers just launched. Proponents of ACOs claim that the new entities will help doctors and hospitals better coordinate care in order to improve the health of Medicare ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 23, 2012
Commentary
How ObamaCare is already failing
A key technocratic gimmick of ObamaCare, the Accountable Care Organization, is rolling out now but the wheels are already starting to come off. ACOs are federally chartered health-care providers which, were told, will help doctors and hospitals better coordinate care to improve the health of Medicare patients and reduce ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 22, 2012
Commentary
Congenital American Impatience Points to Obamacare’s Failure
Healthcare spending grew at the second-lowest rate on record in 2010, according to recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS). Still, the $2.6 trillion the United States spent represented a 3.9-percent increase over the previous year. All told, health care consumed 17.9 percent of the U.S. Gross ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 20, 2012
Health spending slows but premiums still rising
A funny thing happened as a result of Obamacare, signed in March 2010: Although the cost of health care has increased at a slower rate than in previous years, premiums for health insurance and the share of premiums used for purposes other than paying claims has been increasing faster than ...
Romney-fication of health care reform
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick just exhorted legislators to overhaul the way the state pays for health care. Hes pushing for an end to the traditional arrangement of compensating doctors and hospitals for each service they provide. Its not yet clear what will replace this fee-for-service payment system. But theres growing ...
Kill the CLASS Act Before It Kills Taxpayers
The House of Representatives just voted to wipe a major part of President Obamas healthcare law from the books the Community Living Assistance Service and Supports Act. This CLASS Act wouldve established a federally run long-term-care insurance program. The Senate should continue the Houses work and repeal CLASS right ...
President Obama’s Medical Board: A Backdoor Path to Health Rationing
Last week, a House of Representatives subpanel overwhelmingly approved a measure to repeal a key component of President Obamas 2010 health reform bill. By a bipartisan 17-5 margin, the Energy and Commerce Committees Health Subcommittee agreed to get rid of Sections 3403 and 10320 of the Patient Protection and Affordable ...
Feed the Beast: Renewing the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)
Key Points: There is a crisis in biopharmaceutical R&D in all segments of the industry – large, mid-market, and new ventures. Much of the responsibility for this can be laid at the door of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is slow to approve new drugs. The law that ...
What I Learned At Haas Business School’s Health Care Conference
Theres a lot of entrepreneurial energy in the Bay Area, but Im always surprised at how much of it is directed towards health care. As Apothecary readers surely recognize, if we were to rank sectors where the government lies ready to crush the entrepreneurial spirit, health care and education must ...
Is CDC immune to pneumonia science?
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met last week to discuss the latest developments in the fight against pneumonia. They had the chance to prevent tens of thousands of deaths from the disease each year simply by recommending a new vaccine for routine delivery to adults. Unfortunately, ...
Just Say No to ACOs
Say hello to Obamacare’s latest technocratic gimmick — the Accountable Care Organization (ACO). The first of these federally-chartered Pioneer ACO groups of healthcare providers just launched. Proponents of ACOs claim that the new entities will help doctors and hospitals better coordinate care in order to improve the health of Medicare ...
How ObamaCare is already failing
A key technocratic gimmick of ObamaCare, the Accountable Care Organization, is rolling out now but the wheels are already starting to come off. ACOs are federally chartered health-care providers which, were told, will help doctors and hospitals better coordinate care to improve the health of Medicare patients and reduce ...
Congenital American Impatience Points to Obamacare’s Failure
Healthcare spending grew at the second-lowest rate on record in 2010, according to recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS). Still, the $2.6 trillion the United States spent represented a 3.9-percent increase over the previous year. All told, health care consumed 17.9 percent of the U.S. Gross ...