Medical debt
Commentary
The Regulatory Threat From Payment Do-Overs And Un-Economical Reimbursements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an update to the home health payment system on June 22nd. This proposed rule, rife with legalese and sheer complexity, should be held up as Exhibit A for why socialized healthcare schemes such as Medicare for All will never work. The proposal’s obsessions with “aggregate ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 3, 2022
Blog
No More Surprise Medical Bills
Imagine going to your local furniture store to pick out a new couch. An eager employee approaches you and helps you find the perfect piece for your new home. You make the purchase, thank the employee, and go on your merry way. Weeks later, you open the mail. Congratulations! You ...
McKenzie Richards
September 6, 2022
Commentary
The Ultimate Price Of Government Price Controls
Democrats have nudged the U.S. healthcare system closer to Canadian-style socialism with their recently signed, and dubiously named, Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA will impose a collection of price caps on prescription drugs. Canada has long forcibly controlled drug prices—and thereby deprived patients of access to cutting-edge care. The story ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 29, 2022
Commentary
There’s no epidemic of medical bankruptcy
An estimated 100 million Americans have healthcare debt, according to polling released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The problem is so dire, Kaiser says, that it’s pushing millions of people out of their homes or into bankruptcy. But a closer look at the data reveals that medical debt, while burdensome ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 29, 2022
Blog
Dysfunctional Department Store Demonstrate Health Care Hoodwinks
Recently, a storewide sale sign lured me into a local department store. I meandered the aisles until I found a birthday gift for my toddler: a cute magnetic fishing pole toy. But to my surprise, I couldn’t find the item’s price anywhere. Not on the box, not on the shelf. ...
McKenzie Richards
June 17, 2022
Commentary
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 11, 2022
Featured
NEW BRIEF: Broken System Imposes Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs on Patients, Puts Interests of Government and Insurers First
America’s broken third-party healthcare payment system prioritizes government and insurance companies as the largest payers, leaving patients with higher out-of-pocket costs, greater exposure to healthcare financial risk, and reduced access to care – finds the latest paper in the Coverage Denied series released today by the Center for Medical Economics ...
Wayne H Winegarden
April 28, 2022
Commentary
Don’t Believe the ‘Medical Bankruptcy’ Narrative
Americans collectively have about $140 billion in outstanding medical debts, according to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those hefty bills are driving many people into bankruptcy – at least according to prominent progressives. Left-wing leaders have long stoked fears of “medical bankruptcy” to ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 20, 2022
Commentary
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 7, 2022
Featured
New PRI Series to Show How Flawed U.S. Health Insurance System Inflates Costs, Decreases Quality and Reduces Health Outcomes
Addressing the ongoing problems with the U.S. health insurance system, the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today announced the release of the first paper in the Coverage Denied series, which will analyze and propose reforms to fix the problems in the current system ...
Wayne H Winegarden
October 21, 2021
The Regulatory Threat From Payment Do-Overs And Un-Economical Reimbursements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an update to the home health payment system on June 22nd. This proposed rule, rife with legalese and sheer complexity, should be held up as Exhibit A for why socialized healthcare schemes such as Medicare for All will never work. The proposal’s obsessions with “aggregate ...
No More Surprise Medical Bills
Imagine going to your local furniture store to pick out a new couch. An eager employee approaches you and helps you find the perfect piece for your new home. You make the purchase, thank the employee, and go on your merry way. Weeks later, you open the mail. Congratulations! You ...
The Ultimate Price Of Government Price Controls
Democrats have nudged the U.S. healthcare system closer to Canadian-style socialism with their recently signed, and dubiously named, Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA will impose a collection of price caps on prescription drugs. Canada has long forcibly controlled drug prices—and thereby deprived patients of access to cutting-edge care. The story ...
There’s no epidemic of medical bankruptcy
An estimated 100 million Americans have healthcare debt, according to polling released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The problem is so dire, Kaiser says, that it’s pushing millions of people out of their homes or into bankruptcy. But a closer look at the data reveals that medical debt, while burdensome ...
Dysfunctional Department Store Demonstrate Health Care Hoodwinks
Recently, a storewide sale sign lured me into a local department store. I meandered the aisles until I found a birthday gift for my toddler: a cute magnetic fishing pole toy. But to my surprise, I couldn’t find the item’s price anywhere. Not on the box, not on the shelf. ...
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
NEW BRIEF: Broken System Imposes Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs on Patients, Puts Interests of Government and Insurers First
America’s broken third-party healthcare payment system prioritizes government and insurance companies as the largest payers, leaving patients with higher out-of-pocket costs, greater exposure to healthcare financial risk, and reduced access to care – finds the latest paper in the Coverage Denied series released today by the Center for Medical Economics ...
Don’t Believe the ‘Medical Bankruptcy’ Narrative
Americans collectively have about $140 billion in outstanding medical debts, according to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those hefty bills are driving many people into bankruptcy – at least according to prominent progressives. Left-wing leaders have long stoked fears of “medical bankruptcy” to ...
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
New PRI Series to Show How Flawed U.S. Health Insurance System Inflates Costs, Decreases Quality and Reduces Health Outcomes
Addressing the ongoing problems with the U.S. health insurance system, the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today announced the release of the first paper in the Coverage Denied series, which will analyze and propose reforms to fix the problems in the current system ...