Health Care
Commentary
Read the latest on the Veterans Health Administration
Veterans have waited long enough for health reform
Republicans in Congress are moving forward with a new bill that would enable veterans to seek medical care outside the Veterans Health Administration. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., introduced the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act earlier this month. The measure has already attracted the support of more than a dozen GOP ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 13, 2023
Commentary
READ THE LATEST ON SB 525
$25 Hospital Minimum Wage Bill Would Boost Some Workers at Expense of Patients
When lawmakers feel they have no boundaries, as is the case in California, ideas that would have little to no chance elsewhere not only get a hearing, but become law. This explains how the mere thought of hiking the minimum wage for health care workers and support staff to $25 ...
Kerry Jackson
June 13, 2023
Commentary
Read Why Single Payer Health Care Is Bad For CA Patients
California’s ‘public option’ revival ends badly for patients
Once a rallying cry for pragmatic Democrats, the “public option” has fallen on hard times. Several recent attempts to create such a government-run insurance plan at the state level have proven unworkable, unpopular, or both. And despite the support of President Joe Biden, the prospects for a federal public option ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 13, 2023
Commentary
Read how shoplifting effects pharmacy shortages
Pharmacies Keep Closing: Blame Shoplifting and Intentional Pharmacist Shortages
While local and national media outlets frequently report on food deserts, particularly in cities that lack sufficient grocery stores, there is one major shortage that goes largely unnoticed by the press: pharmacies. “Pharmacy deserts” pose a real threat, particularly for vulnerable populations. This is something I’ve seen firsthand. Last year, ...
McKenzie Richards
June 12, 2023
Commentary
Take An X To The Public Health Insurance Option
There’s an old proverb—everything old is new again. That is certainly true for healthcare policy. Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2023, the single-payer health plan the Vermont socialist has been pushing for years. President Biden will surely dust off his old proposal for a ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 12, 2023
Commentary
Read the latest on Sen Bernie's plan for Medicare for All
May We Never Know Dysfunction, Cruelty of Public Health Care
“The current health care system in the United States is totally broken,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said at a recent event on Capitol Hill. “It is totally dysfunctional, and it is extremely cruel.” His preferred fix remains Medicare for All — a sweeping government takeover of health insurance. His latest ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 6, 2023
Commentary
Implementing work requirements should be a legislative priority
Medicaid work requirements aren’t in the debt limit deal. They should’ve been
President Joe Biden signed a measure on Saturday that suspended the country’s debt limit after weeks of wrangling with Republicans in the House. The legislation averts a default on the nation’s debt. Democrats managed to keep Medicaid work requirements out of the final compromise . That’s a shame. The proposal would have helped rein in federal spending while ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 5, 2023
Commentary
Read Sally Pipes' latest on health care reform
Repeal laws that stifle health care competition
Patients in several states could soon find it easier to access life-saving medical care, if state legislators and executive officials eliminate so-called certificate-of-need restrictions for new acute-care hospitals in rural areas. Certificate-of-need laws require health care providers to get a state government’s sign-off before building new facilities, expanding existing ones, ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 4, 2023
Commentary
Here’s How Lawmakers Can Slash Medicare Spending Without Cutting Benefits
Politicians don’t agree on much these days, but one thing seems to bring even Democrats and Republicans together. And that’s refusing to cut Medicare. That position may be politically popular. But it’s at odds with the long-term sustainability of the program. Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is set to go bankrupt ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 30, 2023
Commentary
State Public Plans No Blueprint for Affordable Healthcare
A divided Congress has prevented “Medicare for All” from taking off. So progressive activists have turned their attention to the states. Several have launched “public options,” health plans chartered by the state to compete against private insurers. The results have not been impressive. People are not opting for public option ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 26, 2023
Read the latest on the Veterans Health Administration
Veterans have waited long enough for health reform
Republicans in Congress are moving forward with a new bill that would enable veterans to seek medical care outside the Veterans Health Administration. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., introduced the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act earlier this month. The measure has already attracted the support of more than a dozen GOP ...
READ THE LATEST ON SB 525
$25 Hospital Minimum Wage Bill Would Boost Some Workers at Expense of Patients
When lawmakers feel they have no boundaries, as is the case in California, ideas that would have little to no chance elsewhere not only get a hearing, but become law. This explains how the mere thought of hiking the minimum wage for health care workers and support staff to $25 ...
Read Why Single Payer Health Care Is Bad For CA Patients
California’s ‘public option’ revival ends badly for patients
Once a rallying cry for pragmatic Democrats, the “public option” has fallen on hard times. Several recent attempts to create such a government-run insurance plan at the state level have proven unworkable, unpopular, or both. And despite the support of President Joe Biden, the prospects for a federal public option ...
Read how shoplifting effects pharmacy shortages
Pharmacies Keep Closing: Blame Shoplifting and Intentional Pharmacist Shortages
While local and national media outlets frequently report on food deserts, particularly in cities that lack sufficient grocery stores, there is one major shortage that goes largely unnoticed by the press: pharmacies. “Pharmacy deserts” pose a real threat, particularly for vulnerable populations. This is something I’ve seen firsthand. Last year, ...
Take An X To The Public Health Insurance Option
There’s an old proverb—everything old is new again. That is certainly true for healthcare policy. Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2023, the single-payer health plan the Vermont socialist has been pushing for years. President Biden will surely dust off his old proposal for a ...
Read the latest on Sen Bernie's plan for Medicare for All
May We Never Know Dysfunction, Cruelty of Public Health Care
“The current health care system in the United States is totally broken,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said at a recent event on Capitol Hill. “It is totally dysfunctional, and it is extremely cruel.” His preferred fix remains Medicare for All — a sweeping government takeover of health insurance. His latest ...
Implementing work requirements should be a legislative priority
Medicaid work requirements aren’t in the debt limit deal. They should’ve been
President Joe Biden signed a measure on Saturday that suspended the country’s debt limit after weeks of wrangling with Republicans in the House. The legislation averts a default on the nation’s debt. Democrats managed to keep Medicaid work requirements out of the final compromise . That’s a shame. The proposal would have helped rein in federal spending while ...
Read Sally Pipes' latest on health care reform
Repeal laws that stifle health care competition
Patients in several states could soon find it easier to access life-saving medical care, if state legislators and executive officials eliminate so-called certificate-of-need restrictions for new acute-care hospitals in rural areas. Certificate-of-need laws require health care providers to get a state government’s sign-off before building new facilities, expanding existing ones, ...
Here’s How Lawmakers Can Slash Medicare Spending Without Cutting Benefits
Politicians don’t agree on much these days, but one thing seems to bring even Democrats and Republicans together. And that’s refusing to cut Medicare. That position may be politically popular. But it’s at odds with the long-term sustainability of the program. Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is set to go bankrupt ...
State Public Plans No Blueprint for Affordable Healthcare
A divided Congress has prevented “Medicare for All” from taking off. So progressive activists have turned their attention to the states. Several have launched “public options,” health plans chartered by the state to compete against private insurers. The results have not been impressive. People are not opting for public option ...