Medicare
Commentary
Medicare fraud should be next in line for DOGE
The Department of Government Efficiency’s crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse is off to a fast start. But as an engine of government savings, DOGE still has substantial untapped potential. That’s because it hasn’t yet addressed the fraud crippling one of the federal government’s largest programs: Medicare. In fiscal year ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 14, 2025
Commentary
Time to Administer DOGE to Medicare, Medicaid
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is setting its sights on fraud and abuse within Medicare and Medicaid. It’s about time. The two government programs have been cesspools of malfeasance, incompetence, and duplicity for too long. And the cost of all this corruption and waste has grown at a ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 20, 2025
Commentary
Creative Counting Can’t Fix The Inflation Reduction Act’s Flaws
Just three days before President Biden left office, his appointees tried to tie incoming Trump staffers’ hands on a health policy decision that affects millions of Americans and tens of billions in federal spending. On January 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a new list of 15 ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 27, 2025
Commentary
Republicans can make Medicaid work again
The incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress are looking to rein in Medicaid, the health insurance entitlement that consumed a record 10% of the federal budget in 2023 despite delivering substandard care to its 79.4 million enrollees. Democrats are lining up to denounce the GOP’s plans, which they claim will ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 13, 2025
Commentary
Medicare should cover anti-obesity drugs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule expanding Medicare and Medicaid patients’ access to anti-obesity drugs such as GLP-1s. Congress is also considering such a move. Expanding coverage to these patient groups makes sense. Read the entire op-ed here.
Sally C. Pipes
January 6, 2025
Commentary
Dear Elon, Add Medicare ‘Site-Neutrality’ To DOGE’s To-Do List
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have declared war on government bloat. They hope to use the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to axe wasteful spending and slash bureaucratic red tape that costs Americans trillions of dollars in foregone economic growth. One of the best places to start would ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 16, 2024
Commentary
Congress must act now to stop Medicare physician pay cuts
Doctors in private practice could soon be ringing in the new year by reducing the services they offer, laying off staff, or even preparing to close their practices. That’s because the federal government is set to slash the reimbursements they receive from Medicare come January. The proposed cuts would have ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 16, 2024
Commentary
Learn more about Medicare flaws
Medicare’s Latest Pay Cut Will Harm Seniors
Doctors are getting a pay cut in 2025. That’s the upshot of a rule issued by Medicare earlier this month. Patients will be the ones who pay the price for Medicare’s parsimony. Seniors and younger people alike will find it harder to secure access to doctors and care. Read the ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 12, 2024
Commentary
Learn more about how price controls hurt patients
Harris’s Home Care Promises Unworkable, Unwise
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s new proposal to provide subsidized at-home care for seniors through Medicare has received a warm reception from many academics and advocates for the elderly. But the likely cost of this new plan — not just to taxpayers but to the health of patients both present and future ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 22, 2024
Commentary
Learn more about escalating healthcare costs
Medicare should not cover at-home care
Vice President Kamala Harris announced a plan earlier this month to add home healthcare benefits to Medicare. The plan is a fiscal fantasy. Medicare is already in a fiscal crisis, and new benefits will only make things worse. According to the Brookings Institution, covering seniors’ home care for even one year would cost Medicare $40 billion. The program ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 21, 2024
Medicare fraud should be next in line for DOGE
The Department of Government Efficiency’s crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse is off to a fast start. But as an engine of government savings, DOGE still has substantial untapped potential. That’s because it hasn’t yet addressed the fraud crippling one of the federal government’s largest programs: Medicare. In fiscal year ...
Time to Administer DOGE to Medicare, Medicaid
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is setting its sights on fraud and abuse within Medicare and Medicaid. It’s about time. The two government programs have been cesspools of malfeasance, incompetence, and duplicity for too long. And the cost of all this corruption and waste has grown at a ...
Creative Counting Can’t Fix The Inflation Reduction Act’s Flaws
Just three days before President Biden left office, his appointees tried to tie incoming Trump staffers’ hands on a health policy decision that affects millions of Americans and tens of billions in federal spending. On January 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a new list of 15 ...
Republicans can make Medicaid work again
The incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress are looking to rein in Medicaid, the health insurance entitlement that consumed a record 10% of the federal budget in 2023 despite delivering substandard care to its 79.4 million enrollees. Democrats are lining up to denounce the GOP’s plans, which they claim will ...
Medicare should cover anti-obesity drugs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule expanding Medicare and Medicaid patients’ access to anti-obesity drugs such as GLP-1s. Congress is also considering such a move. Expanding coverage to these patient groups makes sense. Read the entire op-ed here.
Dear Elon, Add Medicare ‘Site-Neutrality’ To DOGE’s To-Do List
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have declared war on government bloat. They hope to use the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to axe wasteful spending and slash bureaucratic red tape that costs Americans trillions of dollars in foregone economic growth. One of the best places to start would ...
Congress must act now to stop Medicare physician pay cuts
Doctors in private practice could soon be ringing in the new year by reducing the services they offer, laying off staff, or even preparing to close their practices. That’s because the federal government is set to slash the reimbursements they receive from Medicare come January. The proposed cuts would have ...
Learn more about Medicare flaws
Medicare’s Latest Pay Cut Will Harm Seniors
Doctors are getting a pay cut in 2025. That’s the upshot of a rule issued by Medicare earlier this month. Patients will be the ones who pay the price for Medicare’s parsimony. Seniors and younger people alike will find it harder to secure access to doctors and care. Read the ...
Learn more about how price controls hurt patients
Harris’s Home Care Promises Unworkable, Unwise
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s new proposal to provide subsidized at-home care for seniors through Medicare has received a warm reception from many academics and advocates for the elderly. But the likely cost of this new plan — not just to taxpayers but to the health of patients both present and future ...
Learn more about escalating healthcare costs
Medicare should not cover at-home care
Vice President Kamala Harris announced a plan earlier this month to add home healthcare benefits to Medicare. The plan is a fiscal fantasy. Medicare is already in a fiscal crisis, and new benefits will only make things worse. According to the Brookings Institution, covering seniors’ home care for even one year would cost Medicare $40 billion. The program ...