Health Care
Business & Economics
Defensive Medicine
The article “Study: Only 1 in 5 medical malpractice cases pay” (Tribune, Aug. 17) reported that “most physicians and virtually every surgeon will face at least one malpractice lawsuit in their careers.” This alarming statistic is an important driver of rising U.S. health care costs. Even though most sued doctors ...
Commentary
Over-The-Counter Remedies That Would Reduce Health Care Costs
Earlier this month, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it may ask the Food and Drug Administration to allow it to market the cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor over the counter after its patent expires in November. The FDA has not yet signaled whether it would approve Pfizers proposal. And some doctors ...
Commentary
Health insurers in states’ cross hairs
The new health care law encourages state politicians to increase their interference with health insurance premiums, an underreported aspect of Obamacare with consequences for patients and health plans alike. Obamacare distributes federal grants that encourage states’ insurance departments to increase their power to dictate insurance premiums. States are responding by ...
Commentary
Competing To Save The Health-Care System Money
American seniors recently received some good news they wont be seeing higher premiums in 2012 for their Medicare prescription drug benefits. In fact, the rates they pay for prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D will decline this coming year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human ...
Business & Economics
The Federal War Against Medical Technology
At about $75 billion annually, U.S. private-sector investment in medical technology is substantial, and a large body of research demonstrates that the economic returns to these investments are enormous. But emerging federal policies are likely to create powerful disincentives for the research and development of medical innovations, in particular, pharmaceuticals ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Defensive Medicine
The article “Study: Only 1 in 5 medical malpractice cases pay” (Tribune, Aug. 17) reported that “most physicians and virtually every surgeon will face at least one malpractice lawsuit in their careers.” This alarming statistic is an important driver of rising U.S. health care costs. Even though most sued doctors ...
Over-The-Counter Remedies That Would Reduce Health Care Costs
Earlier this month, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it may ask the Food and Drug Administration to allow it to market the cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor over the counter after its patent expires in November. The FDA has not yet signaled whether it would approve Pfizers proposal. And some doctors ...
Health insurers in states’ cross hairs
The new health care law encourages state politicians to increase their interference with health insurance premiums, an underreported aspect of Obamacare with consequences for patients and health plans alike. Obamacare distributes federal grants that encourage states’ insurance departments to increase their power to dictate insurance premiums. States are responding by ...
Competing To Save The Health-Care System Money
American seniors recently received some good news they wont be seeing higher premiums in 2012 for their Medicare prescription drug benefits. In fact, the rates they pay for prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D will decline this coming year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human ...
The Federal War Against Medical Technology
At about $75 billion annually, U.S. private-sector investment in medical technology is substantial, and a large body of research demonstrates that the economic returns to these investments are enormous. But emerging federal policies are likely to create powerful disincentives for the research and development of medical innovations, in particular, pharmaceuticals ...
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 ...
