Commentary
Commentary
Health laws’ cost-cutting and patient care priorities
The Affordable Care Act promised to cut Medicare’s costs by encouraging doctors to coordinate care — and thus eliminate waste and duplication. So far, it’s backfiring. The White House claimed that its first efforts to get doctors to coordinate care — the Shared Savings Program and Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations ...
Commentary
Single-payer collides with reality
It’s a two-horse race for the Democratic nomination for president. This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) came within 0.2 percentage points of beating Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders zealots are “feeling the Bern” in large part because of his healthcare plan. “I believe in a Medicare for all ...
Commentary
The Right Way to Replace Obamacare’s Subsidy
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, nine candidates for the Republican presidential nomination remain. All are staunch critics of Obamacare. But they differ on what they’d put in its place. One point of tension? How to replace Obamacare’s overly complicated subsidy system. The GOP roughly falls into two ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Freedom, Not Union, Key to Teachers’ Case
Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
Commentary
Obama’s veto won’t save the Affordable Care Act
To the surprise of no one, President Obama swiftly vetoed the latest bill aiming to repeal his signature health law. Soon afterward, Senate Republican leaders made clear that they don’t want to offer up an Obamacare alternative until after the election in November. That’s garnered criticism among Democrats. “When will ...
Commentary
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
Commentary
Obama’s claims collide with health care realities
The New Year isn’t shaping up to be a particularly happy one for the 154 million Americans who receive health insurance through their employers. Premiums for the average employer-sponsored family plan have climbed to a record high of $17,545, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study. That’s an increase ...
Commentary
Sally Pipes Talks About her Latest Book
Listen here. President Barack Obama has declared that his signature health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – is “here to stay.” But his days in the White House are numbered, and the law has failed: insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed, patients are losing access ...
Commentary
The Ugly Reality of Single-Payer
Late Sunday night, just hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled what’s probably the purest expression to date of his unreconstructed 1970s radicalism: a plan for “universal” single-payer health care in the United States. Proudly titled “Medicare-for-All,” the Sanders scheme would eliminate the private insurance ...
California
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
Health laws’ cost-cutting and patient care priorities
The Affordable Care Act promised to cut Medicare’s costs by encouraging doctors to coordinate care — and thus eliminate waste and duplication. So far, it’s backfiring. The White House claimed that its first efforts to get doctors to coordinate care — the Shared Savings Program and Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations ...
Single-payer collides with reality
It’s a two-horse race for the Democratic nomination for president. This week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) came within 0.2 percentage points of beating Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders zealots are “feeling the Bern” in large part because of his healthcare plan. “I believe in a Medicare for all ...
The Right Way to Replace Obamacare’s Subsidy
On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, nine candidates for the Republican presidential nomination remain. All are staunch critics of Obamacare. But they differ on what they’d put in its place. One point of tension? How to replace Obamacare’s overly complicated subsidy system. The GOP roughly falls into two ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Freedom, Not Union, Key to Teachers’ Case
Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
Obama’s veto won’t save the Affordable Care Act
To the surprise of no one, President Obama swiftly vetoed the latest bill aiming to repeal his signature health law. Soon afterward, Senate Republican leaders made clear that they don’t want to offer up an Obamacare alternative until after the election in November. That’s garnered criticism among Democrats. “When will ...
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
Obama’s claims collide with health care realities
The New Year isn’t shaping up to be a particularly happy one for the 154 million Americans who receive health insurance through their employers. Premiums for the average employer-sponsored family plan have climbed to a record high of $17,545, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study. That’s an increase ...
Sally Pipes Talks About her Latest Book
Listen here. President Barack Obama has declared that his signature health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – is “here to stay.” But his days in the White House are numbered, and the law has failed: insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed, patients are losing access ...
The Ugly Reality of Single-Payer
Late Sunday night, just hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled what’s probably the purest expression to date of his unreconstructed 1970s radicalism: a plan for “universal” single-payer health care in the United States. Proudly titled “Medicare-for-All,” the Sanders scheme would eliminate the private insurance ...
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
