Medicaid
Commentary
Is ‘Obamacare’ receding as a GOP cause?
Amid the political jockeying leading up to this weekend’s Republican primary in South Carolina, a funny thing has happened: The calls for repealing Obamacare have faded. During the recent Republican debate in New Hampshire, for instance, the president’s signature law was mentioned just three times. Republicans need to refocus. No ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 19, 2012
Commentary
Where to start in repealing Obamacare
On March 23, 2010, President Obama forever altered the American health care system by signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. Its advocates promised that the measure would reinvent American health care and reinvigorate the American economy. As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., put it, “This ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 16, 2012
Commentary
Hi, Doc. I’m from the government
Officials in California just announced that they were working with Harvard University doctors Jerry Avorn and Michael Fischer to overhaul how painkillers are prescribed to disabled workers in the state. The federal health reform law aims to take this so-called “academic detailing” crusade nationwide. Proponents say it’s an effective way ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 11, 2012
Commentary
Doctors Say Obamacare Is No Remedy for U.S. Health Woes
Americas doctors have conducted a full examination of the presidents health reform law and their diagnosis of its effects on our healthcare system isnt good. Nearly two-thirds of doctors expect the quality of care in this country to decline, according to a new survey from consulting giant Deloitte. Just ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 26, 2011
Commentary
Coal In Our Stockings: The Destruction of Medical Innovation
The holidays are fast approaching, and the “elves” are busy at the North Pole. No, not the presidential candidates. No, not the Capitol Hill pols. And no, not those unrelenting pursuers of objectivity and truth: the journalists. I refer instead to the bureaucrats, in particular those implementing the new “comparative ...
Benjamin Zycher
December 21, 2011
Health Care
The Federal Government’s Deeply Flawed System For Controlling Medicare Costs
Medicares hospital trust fund is set to be exhausted by 2024, according to the latest report from the programs trustees. Federal officials are understandably looking for easy ways to cut spending in the entitlement program in hopes of shoring up its finances. They believe theyve hit on one with a ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 12, 2011
Commentary
Shopping for Health Coverage Versus Shopping for Health Care
As I read the spirited debate over whether Obamacare will drive health insurers out of business (here and here), I wonder if we need to bring the discussion back to fundamentals: The key problem with U.S health insurance is that there is too much of it whether provided by ...
John R. Graham
December 8, 2011
Health Care
Just Say ‘No’ To New Health Insurance Taxes
This month, consulting firm Oliver Wyman released a new study revealing that surprise, surprise health insurance premiums will increase by several thousand dollars over the next ten years. Thats bad enough news for consumers. Even worse? The study only looked at the cost impact of Obamacares new tax ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 21, 2011
Health Care
The Medicare Auction Design and Incentives for Research and Development
Key Points: Government has incentives to focus far more heavily upon budget outlays than patient wellbeing in the operation of its health programs. So as to obtain medical devices and equipment for the beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government uses auctions that are poorly designed, resulting in prices ...
Benjamin Zycher
November 18, 2011
Commentary
ObamaCare’s Substandard Health Care Subsidies
Last week, Ohios voters amended their states constitution to say that they wouldnt be bound by the federal individual health insurance mandate. The Buckeye State is now the 13th state to reject the mandate. Ordinary Americans arent the only ones incensed by the law. State officials are uncovering a laundry ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 14, 2011
Is ‘Obamacare’ receding as a GOP cause?
Amid the political jockeying leading up to this weekend’s Republican primary in South Carolina, a funny thing has happened: The calls for repealing Obamacare have faded. During the recent Republican debate in New Hampshire, for instance, the president’s signature law was mentioned just three times. Republicans need to refocus. No ...
Where to start in repealing Obamacare
On March 23, 2010, President Obama forever altered the American health care system by signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. Its advocates promised that the measure would reinvent American health care and reinvigorate the American economy. As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., put it, “This ...
Hi, Doc. I’m from the government
Officials in California just announced that they were working with Harvard University doctors Jerry Avorn and Michael Fischer to overhaul how painkillers are prescribed to disabled workers in the state. The federal health reform law aims to take this so-called “academic detailing” crusade nationwide. Proponents say it’s an effective way ...
Doctors Say Obamacare Is No Remedy for U.S. Health Woes
Americas doctors have conducted a full examination of the presidents health reform law and their diagnosis of its effects on our healthcare system isnt good. Nearly two-thirds of doctors expect the quality of care in this country to decline, according to a new survey from consulting giant Deloitte. Just ...
Coal In Our Stockings: The Destruction of Medical Innovation
The holidays are fast approaching, and the “elves” are busy at the North Pole. No, not the presidential candidates. No, not the Capitol Hill pols. And no, not those unrelenting pursuers of objectivity and truth: the journalists. I refer instead to the bureaucrats, in particular those implementing the new “comparative ...
The Federal Government’s Deeply Flawed System For Controlling Medicare Costs
Medicares hospital trust fund is set to be exhausted by 2024, according to the latest report from the programs trustees. Federal officials are understandably looking for easy ways to cut spending in the entitlement program in hopes of shoring up its finances. They believe theyve hit on one with a ...
Shopping for Health Coverage Versus Shopping for Health Care
As I read the spirited debate over whether Obamacare will drive health insurers out of business (here and here), I wonder if we need to bring the discussion back to fundamentals: The key problem with U.S health insurance is that there is too much of it whether provided by ...
Just Say ‘No’ To New Health Insurance Taxes
This month, consulting firm Oliver Wyman released a new study revealing that surprise, surprise health insurance premiums will increase by several thousand dollars over the next ten years. Thats bad enough news for consumers. Even worse? The study only looked at the cost impact of Obamacares new tax ...
The Medicare Auction Design and Incentives for Research and Development
Key Points: Government has incentives to focus far more heavily upon budget outlays than patient wellbeing in the operation of its health programs. So as to obtain medical devices and equipment for the beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government uses auctions that are poorly designed, resulting in prices ...
ObamaCare’s Substandard Health Care Subsidies
Last week, Ohios voters amended their states constitution to say that they wouldnt be bound by the federal individual health insurance mandate. The Buckeye State is now the 13th state to reject the mandate. Ordinary Americans arent the only ones incensed by the law. State officials are uncovering a laundry ...