Health Care
Commentary
The Latest ObamaCare Assault On Health Care Innovation
The list of health services that ObamaCare requires all insurers to cover without co-pays or deductibles keeps growing. The latest additions include an array of womens wellness services and products: birth control, breast pumps, domestic violence counseling, and more. Of course, these additional benefits arent really free. They drive up ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 15, 2011
Business & Economics
Police beating sparks needed national debate
The latest cheesy TV cop series, “Against The Wall,” is about a Chicago woman from a family of police officers who becomes a detective in the department’s internal-affairs unit. This causes outrage among her police brothers and dad, who view internal oversight work as treasonous. The trailer is filled with ...
Steven Greenhut
August 14, 2011
Commentary
Counting Up ObamaCare’s Health Cost Inflation
Its time to add yet another study to the growing list of research showing that ObamaCare isnt delivering on its grand promises. In the July issue of the journal Health Affairs, Medicares actuaries released new estimates of the rate of growth of national health costs. Surprise, surprise theyre projected ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 8, 2011
Commentary
Political control unhelpful
Faced with spiraling statewide health costs, Massachusetts passed a law in 2008 mandating the states attorney general to issue annual reports with recommendations on how to keep a lid on spending. On June 22, Martha Coakley released her latest report, which recommended that the state impose price controls on medical ...
John R. Graham
August 4, 2011
Commentary
Why Don’t Health Insurance Exchanges Work?
A previous entry reported and discussed the lackluster basically non-existent results of the Utah Health Exchange, and promised to explain why unsubsidized exchanges are unlikely to attract significant numbers of beneficiaries from the small-group market. The answer, I believe, is pretty straightforward: The administrative costs of operating an ...
John R. Graham
August 1, 2011
Commentary
Senior Citizens Will Pay Dearly For Health Care Price Controls
Squabbles over spending cuts have ruled the negotiations over increasing the debt ceiling. But even after the ink is dry on the budget deal just passed, lawmakers will still be charged with reducing federal spending further. One proposal that refuses to die would impose price controls on prescription drugs in ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 1, 2011
Health Care
Why Health Exchanges Don’t Work
Key Points: The Utah Health Exchange is failing to meet its goals. It is almost certainly true that the administrative costs of operating an exchange are greater than the administrative costs of the traditional small-group market. Any exchange that offers unsubsidized, voluntary coverage will likely have the same poor results ...
John R. Graham
August 1, 2011
Commentary
How ObamaCare Threatens Solvency Of Health Insurers
One of the most remarkable outcomes of ObamaCare is how the stock market has treated commercial health plans, which have rallied significantly. In the two years between the 2008 and 2010 elections, the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payors’ Index rallied 26% (annualized), vs. only 9% for the S&P 500. Outperformance increased ...
John R. Graham
August 1, 2011
Commentary
Obamacare threatens solvency of Colorado health plans
Obamacare encourages state politicians to increase their interference with health-insurance premiums. In 2008 Colorado passed a law giving the Division of Insurance the power to deny premium hikes. To enhance this power, known as “prior approval,” Obamacare gave Colorado a $1 million grant last year to hire more insurance analysts ...
John R. Graham
July 31, 2011
Health Care
Why the Utah Health Exchange is No Model for Health Reform
The Utah Health Exchange is the model some conservatives believe can be used to push back against Obamacare. Witness the Wall Street Journal (July 16) soundly rejecting regulatory guidance on what the Administration is now calling Affordable Insurance Exchanges, but encouraging governors to get on the exchange bandwagon, in the ...
John R. Graham
July 27, 2011
The Latest ObamaCare Assault On Health Care Innovation
The list of health services that ObamaCare requires all insurers to cover without co-pays or deductibles keeps growing. The latest additions include an array of womens wellness services and products: birth control, breast pumps, domestic violence counseling, and more. Of course, these additional benefits arent really free. They drive up ...
Police beating sparks needed national debate
The latest cheesy TV cop series, “Against The Wall,” is about a Chicago woman from a family of police officers who becomes a detective in the department’s internal-affairs unit. This causes outrage among her police brothers and dad, who view internal oversight work as treasonous. The trailer is filled with ...
Counting Up ObamaCare’s Health Cost Inflation
Its time to add yet another study to the growing list of research showing that ObamaCare isnt delivering on its grand promises. In the July issue of the journal Health Affairs, Medicares actuaries released new estimates of the rate of growth of national health costs. Surprise, surprise theyre projected ...
Political control unhelpful
Faced with spiraling statewide health costs, Massachusetts passed a law in 2008 mandating the states attorney general to issue annual reports with recommendations on how to keep a lid on spending. On June 22, Martha Coakley released her latest report, which recommended that the state impose price controls on medical ...
Why Don’t Health Insurance Exchanges Work?
A previous entry reported and discussed the lackluster basically non-existent results of the Utah Health Exchange, and promised to explain why unsubsidized exchanges are unlikely to attract significant numbers of beneficiaries from the small-group market. The answer, I believe, is pretty straightforward: The administrative costs of operating an ...
Senior Citizens Will Pay Dearly For Health Care Price Controls
Squabbles over spending cuts have ruled the negotiations over increasing the debt ceiling. But even after the ink is dry on the budget deal just passed, lawmakers will still be charged with reducing federal spending further. One proposal that refuses to die would impose price controls on prescription drugs in ...
Why Health Exchanges Don’t Work
Key Points: The Utah Health Exchange is failing to meet its goals. It is almost certainly true that the administrative costs of operating an exchange are greater than the administrative costs of the traditional small-group market. Any exchange that offers unsubsidized, voluntary coverage will likely have the same poor results ...
How ObamaCare Threatens Solvency Of Health Insurers
One of the most remarkable outcomes of ObamaCare is how the stock market has treated commercial health plans, which have rallied significantly. In the two years between the 2008 and 2010 elections, the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payors’ Index rallied 26% (annualized), vs. only 9% for the S&P 500. Outperformance increased ...
Obamacare threatens solvency of Colorado health plans
Obamacare encourages state politicians to increase their interference with health-insurance premiums. In 2008 Colorado passed a law giving the Division of Insurance the power to deny premium hikes. To enhance this power, known as “prior approval,” Obamacare gave Colorado a $1 million grant last year to hire more insurance analysts ...
Why the Utah Health Exchange is No Model for Health Reform
The Utah Health Exchange is the model some conservatives believe can be used to push back against Obamacare. Witness the Wall Street Journal (July 16) soundly rejecting regulatory guidance on what the Administration is now calling Affordable Insurance Exchanges, but encouraging governors to get on the exchange bandwagon, in the ...