Medicare
Commentary
Single-Payer Would Sicken, Not Cure, Massachusetts
Progressives in Massachusetts believe they’ve taken the first step toward a government-run, single-payer health care, thanks to a bill that passed the state Senate in November. The measure would, among other things, commission a study to analyze the cost of a statewide single-payer system. If the tab is less expensive ...
Commentary
Californians Like Single-Payer Health Care — Until They Learn Taxes Must Rise To Pay For It
Whether to establish a state-run, single-payer health-care system is shaping up to be one of the main differences among the candidates for governor in California in the run-up to the June primary election. The front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, says the only thing stopping single-payer in California is a lack ...
Commentary
Congress Must Reform The Broken 340B Program
The Trump administration recently announced a $1.6 billion cut to the badly abused “340B” program, which forces pharmaceutical companies to sell medicines to hospitals that treat significant numbers of poor patients at steep discounts. A bipartisan group of senators — including supposed fiscal hawks like Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and ...
Commentary
Keep Big Government Out of Medicare Drug Pricing Negotiations
Tomorrow, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (HELP) will discuss a proposed alteration to Medicare. The proposal comes from a report released in late November by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. NASEM urges Congress to allow federal bureaucrats to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. Currently, private insurance ...
Health Care
Azar Pick Signals Regulatory Action on Obamacare
By Erin Durkin The next potential Health and Human Services secretary appears likely to emphasize administrative actions to dismantle Obamacare after congressional Republicans failed to repeal the law this year. Former Eli Lilly and Company executive Alex Azar—who was HHS deputy secretary in the George W. Bush administration— shares former ...
Business & Economics
Fiscal Conservatives Should Support Tax Reform
This week, the U.S. Senate is slated to vote on comprehensive tax reform. But some fiscal hawks are worried about the bill’s impact on the deficit. In the short term, these lawmakers are right to worry. Contrary to the analyses of some optimistic supporters, the tax cuts probably won’t pay ...
Blog
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
Blog
Australia’s Health Care System is Hardly “Free”
During my recent vacation in Australia and New Zealand, my friends and I spent an enjoyable day in Melbourne while on a Tasmanian cruise. Whenever I visit a big city for the first time on a trip, I always book a survey tour to take in all the key highlights. ...
Commentary
A Public Option Would Lead to Single-Payer
Senate Democrats recently introduced two bills that would create a “public option” — a government-run health plan that would compete against private insurers for the business of shoppers on Obamacare’s exchanges. Proponents claim that this would offer consumers an additional choice — and lead to lower prices. But a public ...
Commentary
Single-Payer Is Failing Overseas — We Shouldn’t Adopt It Here
Two weeks ago, Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a bill that would effectively allow some Americans to buy into Medicare. Other congressional Democrats favor an even more aggressive expansion of the program. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Mich., recently proposed dropping the program’s eligibility age from 65 ...
Single-Payer Would Sicken, Not Cure, Massachusetts
Progressives in Massachusetts believe they’ve taken the first step toward a government-run, single-payer health care, thanks to a bill that passed the state Senate in November. The measure would, among other things, commission a study to analyze the cost of a statewide single-payer system. If the tab is less expensive ...
Californians Like Single-Payer Health Care — Until They Learn Taxes Must Rise To Pay For It
Whether to establish a state-run, single-payer health-care system is shaping up to be one of the main differences among the candidates for governor in California in the run-up to the June primary election. The front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, says the only thing stopping single-payer in California is a lack ...
Congress Must Reform The Broken 340B Program
The Trump administration recently announced a $1.6 billion cut to the badly abused “340B” program, which forces pharmaceutical companies to sell medicines to hospitals that treat significant numbers of poor patients at steep discounts. A bipartisan group of senators — including supposed fiscal hawks like Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and ...
Keep Big Government Out of Medicare Drug Pricing Negotiations
Tomorrow, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (HELP) will discuss a proposed alteration to Medicare. The proposal comes from a report released in late November by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. NASEM urges Congress to allow federal bureaucrats to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. Currently, private insurance ...
Azar Pick Signals Regulatory Action on Obamacare
By Erin Durkin The next potential Health and Human Services secretary appears likely to emphasize administrative actions to dismantle Obamacare after congressional Republicans failed to repeal the law this year. Former Eli Lilly and Company executive Alex Azar—who was HHS deputy secretary in the George W. Bush administration— shares former ...
Fiscal Conservatives Should Support Tax Reform
This week, the U.S. Senate is slated to vote on comprehensive tax reform. But some fiscal hawks are worried about the bill’s impact on the deficit. In the short term, these lawmakers are right to worry. Contrary to the analyses of some optimistic supporters, the tax cuts probably won’t pay ...
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
Australia’s Health Care System is Hardly “Free”
During my recent vacation in Australia and New Zealand, my friends and I spent an enjoyable day in Melbourne while on a Tasmanian cruise. Whenever I visit a big city for the first time on a trip, I always book a survey tour to take in all the key highlights. ...
A Public Option Would Lead to Single-Payer
Senate Democrats recently introduced two bills that would create a “public option” — a government-run health plan that would compete against private insurers for the business of shoppers on Obamacare’s exchanges. Proponents claim that this would offer consumers an additional choice — and lead to lower prices. But a public ...
Single-Payer Is Failing Overseas — We Shouldn’t Adopt It Here
Two weeks ago, Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a bill that would effectively allow some Americans to buy into Medicare. Other congressional Democrats favor an even more aggressive expansion of the program. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Mich., recently proposed dropping the program’s eligibility age from 65 ...
