Medicare
Commentary
It’s time for hospitals to be transparent about their prices
More than a year after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services enacted a rule requiring hospitals to disclose prices for routine procedures, most still aren’t complying. That’s according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As of last month, CMS had issued 335 warnings ...
Commentary
Don’t Fall for the ‘Certificate of Need’ Laws Con Game
Last week, the South Carolina state Senate voted overwhelmingly to end the state’s certificate of need program, which requires healthcare providers to seek government approval before building or expanding a hospital or purchasing pricey medical equipment. Such policies have long been justified as tools for avoiding duplicative or wasteful healthcare expenditures. Their only real ...
Commentary
Drug discount program padding hospital profits
Improving vulnerable populations’ access to medicines is clearly important. But something is amiss when a program that is supposed to improve access to healthcare has turned into a cash cow for hospitals. Yet, that is what has happened to the obscure 340B drug discount program. Too many hospitals across Massachusetts ...
Commentary
Medicare Advantage Gives Seniors An Advantage
More than 28.5 million patients are now enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, according to new federal data. That’s up nearly 9% compared with the same time last year. More than 40% of the more than 63 million people enrolled in Medicare are now in an MA plan. Enrollment in MA has been surging for some ...
Commentary
Oregon wants to ration health care in new proposal
One of the most important health care protections for low-income Americans is the requirement that state Medicaid programs cover nearly all medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This directive prevents states from balancing their books on the backs of the poor by excluding expensive drugs from Medicaid. Last ...
Commentary
Democrats Eye Canada’s Failed Healthcare System – Why?
Democrats in Congress are working to resurrect the Build Back Better Act, their massive social spending proposal that stalled in the Senate last month. To be certain, there’s plenty of disagreement across the party’s moderate and progressive wings. Yet, they’re largely aligned on healthcare. Indeed, Democrats are determined to increase the number ...
Blog
Three Legislative Reforms So Physicians Can Open Hospitals
It is rare to find an issue that unites both political parties. Finding such an issue within healthcare policy is even rarer. However, the worrisome trend of medical care provider consolidation – both individual practitioners and hospitals – concerns everyone. A well-researched fact, consolidation in medical care can dramatically drive ...
Commentary
Biden deserves no credit for COVID-19 test website
Last Tuesday, the Biden administration launched its new website for ordering COVID-19 tests. They did so one day earlier than expected. We’re well into year three of the pandemic. And a concerted effort to get more tests to the public now passes for progress? Let’s be clear: The federal government ...
Commentary
Cutting through the lies about seniors’ favorite government program: Sally C. Pipes
PASADENA, California — Critics of Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, have tried to undermine it for years. Now they’re going after it again, this time through the massive Democratic spending bill that’s stalled in Congress. Never mind that 27 million American seniors out of 64 million Medicare ...
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 ...
It’s time for hospitals to be transparent about their prices
More than a year after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services enacted a rule requiring hospitals to disclose prices for routine procedures, most still aren’t complying. That’s according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As of last month, CMS had issued 335 warnings ...
Don’t Fall for the ‘Certificate of Need’ Laws Con Game
Last week, the South Carolina state Senate voted overwhelmingly to end the state’s certificate of need program, which requires healthcare providers to seek government approval before building or expanding a hospital or purchasing pricey medical equipment. Such policies have long been justified as tools for avoiding duplicative or wasteful healthcare expenditures. Their only real ...
Drug discount program padding hospital profits
Improving vulnerable populations’ access to medicines is clearly important. But something is amiss when a program that is supposed to improve access to healthcare has turned into a cash cow for hospitals. Yet, that is what has happened to the obscure 340B drug discount program. Too many hospitals across Massachusetts ...
Medicare Advantage Gives Seniors An Advantage
More than 28.5 million patients are now enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, according to new federal data. That’s up nearly 9% compared with the same time last year. More than 40% of the more than 63 million people enrolled in Medicare are now in an MA plan. Enrollment in MA has been surging for some ...
Oregon wants to ration health care in new proposal
One of the most important health care protections for low-income Americans is the requirement that state Medicaid programs cover nearly all medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This directive prevents states from balancing their books on the backs of the poor by excluding expensive drugs from Medicaid. Last ...
Democrats Eye Canada’s Failed Healthcare System – Why?
Democrats in Congress are working to resurrect the Build Back Better Act, their massive social spending proposal that stalled in the Senate last month. To be certain, there’s plenty of disagreement across the party’s moderate and progressive wings. Yet, they’re largely aligned on healthcare. Indeed, Democrats are determined to increase the number ...
Three Legislative Reforms So Physicians Can Open Hospitals
It is rare to find an issue that unites both political parties. Finding such an issue within healthcare policy is even rarer. However, the worrisome trend of medical care provider consolidation – both individual practitioners and hospitals – concerns everyone. A well-researched fact, consolidation in medical care can dramatically drive ...
Biden deserves no credit for COVID-19 test website
Last Tuesday, the Biden administration launched its new website for ordering COVID-19 tests. They did so one day earlier than expected. We’re well into year three of the pandemic. And a concerted effort to get more tests to the public now passes for progress? Let’s be clear: The federal government ...
Cutting through the lies about seniors’ favorite government program: Sally C. Pipes
PASADENA, California — Critics of Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, have tried to undermine it for years. Now they’re going after it again, this time through the massive Democratic spending bill that’s stalled in Congress. Never mind that 27 million American seniors out of 64 million Medicare ...
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 ...
