Medicare
California
California’s Dangerous Dalliance with Single-Payer Continues
Californians better get comfortable. The wait time to see a doctor in the Golden State may be about to skyrocket. Last week, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and a select committee of representatives held two days of hearings in Sacramento on Senate Bill 562 — the Healthy California Act — ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 30, 2017
Commentary
Americans hate waiting, so they’ll despise single-payer
What makes for an awful trip to the doctor? Waiting. Earlier this year, doctor-rating website Zocdoc took a look at its database of doctor reviews and found that long waits or appointment delays were the primary motivators of negative marks from patients. Given this aversion to waiting, it’s shocking that ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 30, 2017
Commentary
With Repeal And Replace On Hold, A New Path Forward For Health Reform
The drive to repeal and replace Obamacare appears dead. The latest attempt to roll it back — a bill authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La. — never even got a vote. And the September 30 deadline for passing a healthcare overhaul with a simple Senate majority under the ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 10, 2017
Commentary
Single-Payer Health Care Means You Might Be Denied Surgery for Being Too Fat — No, Really
Do people who are overweight or obese deserve health care? In the United Kingdom’s socialized health care system, the answer appears to be “no.” And if Democrats get their way, the same could be true in the United States. To save money, the U.K. National Health Service recently announced it ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 8, 2017
Commentary
Obamacare Might Not Be Dead, But IPAB Should Be
Full-scale repeal of Obamacare has failed, at least for now. But there are still components of the law that can, and should, be rolled back immediately. The Independent Payment Advisory Board is a prime example. Obamacare created the board of 15 unelected, presidentially-appointed bureaucrats to keep Medicare’s costs under control. If entitlement spending growth ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 5, 2017
Commentary
Docs Need to Inoculate Themselves Against Single-Payer
A majority of doctors now approve of government-run, single-payer health care, according to a new survey from Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruitment firm. Doctors should be careful what they wish for. Single-payer could transform doctors from highly respected, independent professionals to order-taking, unionized government employees. It’s hard to understand why ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 2, 2017
Commentary
Sanders’ Single-Payer Fairy Tale
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his plan for extending Medicare to all Americans. Sanders’ proposal would provide more generous coverage than Medicare currently does. Private insurance would be a thing of the past, as would premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Dental, vision, and hearing coverage would be included. ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 29, 2017
Business & Economics
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Wayne Winegarden
September 28, 2017
Commentary
Bernie Sanders’ Socialized Healthcare Plan is Even Worse Than Canada’s Health System
There’s little to envy about the Canadian health system. Yet, when Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rolled out his single-payer Medicare for All Act on Sept. 13, he pointed to Canada as a model. The comparison should strike Americans as more than a little troubling. As a native of Canada, I’ve ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 22, 2017
Health Care
Statement from Sally C. Pipes on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s New “Medicare-for-All” Bill
Pacific Research Institute President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes today issued the following statement in response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ announcement of his new “Medicare-for-All” bill: “Sen. Bernie Sanders’s new ‘Medicare-for-All 2017 Act’ released today would be disastrous for taxpayers, doctors, and ...
Pacific Research Institute
September 13, 2017
California’s Dangerous Dalliance with Single-Payer Continues
Californians better get comfortable. The wait time to see a doctor in the Golden State may be about to skyrocket. Last week, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and a select committee of representatives held two days of hearings in Sacramento on Senate Bill 562 — the Healthy California Act — ...
Americans hate waiting, so they’ll despise single-payer
What makes for an awful trip to the doctor? Waiting. Earlier this year, doctor-rating website Zocdoc took a look at its database of doctor reviews and found that long waits or appointment delays were the primary motivators of negative marks from patients. Given this aversion to waiting, it’s shocking that ...
With Repeal And Replace On Hold, A New Path Forward For Health Reform
The drive to repeal and replace Obamacare appears dead. The latest attempt to roll it back — a bill authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La. — never even got a vote. And the September 30 deadline for passing a healthcare overhaul with a simple Senate majority under the ...
Single-Payer Health Care Means You Might Be Denied Surgery for Being Too Fat — No, Really
Do people who are overweight or obese deserve health care? In the United Kingdom’s socialized health care system, the answer appears to be “no.” And if Democrats get their way, the same could be true in the United States. To save money, the U.K. National Health Service recently announced it ...
Obamacare Might Not Be Dead, But IPAB Should Be
Full-scale repeal of Obamacare has failed, at least for now. But there are still components of the law that can, and should, be rolled back immediately. The Independent Payment Advisory Board is a prime example. Obamacare created the board of 15 unelected, presidentially-appointed bureaucrats to keep Medicare’s costs under control. If entitlement spending growth ...
Docs Need to Inoculate Themselves Against Single-Payer
A majority of doctors now approve of government-run, single-payer health care, according to a new survey from Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruitment firm. Doctors should be careful what they wish for. Single-payer could transform doctors from highly respected, independent professionals to order-taking, unionized government employees. It’s hard to understand why ...
Sanders’ Single-Payer Fairy Tale
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his plan for extending Medicare to all Americans. Sanders’ proposal would provide more generous coverage than Medicare currently does. Private insurance would be a thing of the past, as would premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Dental, vision, and hearing coverage would be included. ...
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Bernie Sanders’ Socialized Healthcare Plan is Even Worse Than Canada’s Health System
There’s little to envy about the Canadian health system. Yet, when Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rolled out his single-payer Medicare for All Act on Sept. 13, he pointed to Canada as a model. The comparison should strike Americans as more than a little troubling. As a native of Canada, I’ve ...
Statement from Sally C. Pipes on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s New “Medicare-for-All” Bill
Pacific Research Institute President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes today issued the following statement in response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ announcement of his new “Medicare-for-All” bill: “Sen. Bernie Sanders’s new ‘Medicare-for-All 2017 Act’ released today would be disastrous for taxpayers, doctors, and ...