Commentary
commentar
Hospitals Turn a Safety-Net Program Into an ATM
Washington, D.C. is finally taking a hard look at one of the most abuse-ridden federal health programs — the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Last week, the Trump administration released a request for information exploring ways to bring more transparency and accountability to the program. It’s about time.
Commentary
How Trump’s ‘Prior Authorization’ Deal Puts Patients Ahead of Paperwork
Americans increasingly need a permission slip from their insurance company before they can get medical care. And it’s driving them crazy. According to one recent survey, nearly three-quarters of patients find delays and denials of treatment by insurers to be a major problem with our health-care system. Fortunately, a new ...
Commentary
Stop Catastrophizing Catastrophic Plans
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a rule to expand access to catastrophic health insurance plans on the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. The move may appear modest. In reality, it addresses one of the central design features that has made exchange coverage ...
Commentary
An anti-science FDA is a threat to our health and prosperity
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration supposedly “implements gold standard science.” Yet the agency appears to relish obstructing scientific progress. Earlier this month, Vinay Prasad, the director of FDA’s vaccine division, rejected Moderna’s application for a new mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older on dubious grounds. The FDA ...
Commentary
Medicare’s ‘efficiency’ cut will reduce access, not costs
Many physicians received another pay cut this year, courtesy of Medicare. Under the program’s new physician fee schedule, Medicare reimbursement for the vast majority of physician-provided services will effectively decline by 2.5%. Medicare officials justify the change as an “efficiency adjustment.” The theory is that doctors have gotten more productive ...
Commentary
Drop ‘Bigger Subsidies’ Narrative for Better Insurance Options
The federal government is covering a smaller share of Obamacare enrollees’ premiums this year. That has Democrats warning of a surge in the number of uninsured, as people struggle to shoulder more of the cost themselves. But recent reporting on some of those losing their enhanced premium subsidies reveals that ...
Commentary
States should think twice before embracing single-payer
Progressives are dreaming once again of a government takeover of the healthcare system. Locked out of power in Washington, they’re taking their fight for single-payer to blue states. This week, four New Yorkers took to the pages of the journal Health Affairs to make their case for how the Empire ...
Commentary
Arizona Republicans should stop trying to ban mRNA vaccines
Despite Democratic Governor Hobbs’ past efforts to expand Arizonans’ access to cutting-edge medicines, the state Legislature continues to propose harmful anti-mRNA bills. The latest example is House Bill 2332, which, if enacted, would deny Arizonans access to promising technologies that could cure cancer and minimize the health consequences from deadly ...
Agriculture
Wolf plan needs to develop more quickly
While wolves decide beef is what’s for dinner, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is slow to address the urgent need for ranch rescue plans. A New Year’s Day wolf attack at a ranch in Lassen County highlights that, perhaps, the state is moving too slowly in its approach ...
Commentary
Proposed Patent Tax Threatens the Research That Powers Growth
Is federally funded science really a raw deal for taxpayers? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seems to think so. “If we fund it and they invent a patent,” he recently said, “the United States of America taxpayer should get half the benefit.” Lutnick is proposing a 50% excise tax on the ...
Hospitals Turn a Safety-Net Program Into an ATM
Washington, D.C. is finally taking a hard look at one of the most abuse-ridden federal health programs — the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Last week, the Trump administration released a request for information exploring ways to bring more transparency and accountability to the program. It’s about time.
How Trump’s ‘Prior Authorization’ Deal Puts Patients Ahead of Paperwork
Americans increasingly need a permission slip from their insurance company before they can get medical care. And it’s driving them crazy. According to one recent survey, nearly three-quarters of patients find delays and denials of treatment by insurers to be a major problem with our health-care system. Fortunately, a new ...
Stop Catastrophizing Catastrophic Plans
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a rule to expand access to catastrophic health insurance plans on the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. The move may appear modest. In reality, it addresses one of the central design features that has made exchange coverage ...
An anti-science FDA is a threat to our health and prosperity
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration supposedly “implements gold standard science.” Yet the agency appears to relish obstructing scientific progress. Earlier this month, Vinay Prasad, the director of FDA’s vaccine division, rejected Moderna’s application for a new mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older on dubious grounds. The FDA ...
Medicare’s ‘efficiency’ cut will reduce access, not costs
Many physicians received another pay cut this year, courtesy of Medicare. Under the program’s new physician fee schedule, Medicare reimbursement for the vast majority of physician-provided services will effectively decline by 2.5%. Medicare officials justify the change as an “efficiency adjustment.” The theory is that doctors have gotten more productive ...
Drop ‘Bigger Subsidies’ Narrative for Better Insurance Options
The federal government is covering a smaller share of Obamacare enrollees’ premiums this year. That has Democrats warning of a surge in the number of uninsured, as people struggle to shoulder more of the cost themselves. But recent reporting on some of those losing their enhanced premium subsidies reveals that ...
States should think twice before embracing single-payer
Progressives are dreaming once again of a government takeover of the healthcare system. Locked out of power in Washington, they’re taking their fight for single-payer to blue states. This week, four New Yorkers took to the pages of the journal Health Affairs to make their case for how the Empire ...
Arizona Republicans should stop trying to ban mRNA vaccines
Despite Democratic Governor Hobbs’ past efforts to expand Arizonans’ access to cutting-edge medicines, the state Legislature continues to propose harmful anti-mRNA bills. The latest example is House Bill 2332, which, if enacted, would deny Arizonans access to promising technologies that could cure cancer and minimize the health consequences from deadly ...
Wolf plan needs to develop more quickly
While wolves decide beef is what’s for dinner, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is slow to address the urgent need for ranch rescue plans. A New Year’s Day wolf attack at a ranch in Lassen County highlights that, perhaps, the state is moving too slowly in its approach ...
Proposed Patent Tax Threatens the Research That Powers Growth
Is federally funded science really a raw deal for taxpayers? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seems to think so. “If we fund it and they invent a patent,” he recently said, “the United States of America taxpayer should get half the benefit.” Lutnick is proposing a 50% excise tax on the ...
