Medicare
Commentary
The GOP’s Obamacare Replacement: Better Than Good
Last week, the GOP kept a promise to the American people by delivering a replacement plan for Obamacare. The plan — part of the party’s “A Better Way” campaign — was unveiled by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc. “What we are laying out today is a first-time-in-six-years consensus by the ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 27, 2016
Commentary
Hello, HillaryCare?
Hillary Clinton is within striking distance of the White House. Last week, she secured enough delegates to ensure that she’ll be the Democrats’ presidential nominee, barring any hiccups. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, Clinton would beat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, if the election were ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 13, 2016
Commentary
Medicare Drug Reimbursement Cuts Are Backdoor Rationing
Imagine being denied treatment for cancer because Washington bureaucrats decided that a cutting-edge new therapy that could cure you just wasn’t “cost effective.” That’s already happening in Britain under its government-run health care system, the National Health Service. And Medicare officials are poised to bring similar policies here. The NHS’s ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 6, 2016
Commentary
Obamacare is Failing–On Purpose?
Obamacare’s exchanges could soon be out of health insurers. This month, UnitedHealth – the largest U.S. insurer — announced that it would no longer sell exchange plans in New Jersey in 2017. It has now withdrawn from 27 states. Last year, UnitedHealth lost about $475 million on the exchanges; this ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 31, 2016
Commentary
Bundled payments bad medicine for Medicare seniors
Medicare is changing the way it pays for seniors’ knee and hip replacements. That change could be awfully painful for patients. The new payment scheme pits doctors and patients against one another by punishing providers for excess costs — and rewarding them for denying access to more expensive, potentially better ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 18, 2016
California
No end in sight for higher Obamacare premiums
Weren’t health insurance premiums supposed to go down under Obamacare and its California exchange, Covered California? During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama predicted that, in his administration, “we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.” Covered California premium increases the past two years ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 18, 2016
Commentary
America Marches Blindly Toward Single-Payer
Hillary Clinton just dipped her toe a little bit further into the waters of single-payer health care, prodded by her competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders. Last week, she called for allowing more people to join Medicare — the government-run healthcare program for seniors — by allowing those ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 16, 2016
Commentary
As insurers leave Obamacare exchanges, doctors pay the price
Major insurers are no longer sure if they can afford to participate in the Affordable Care Act’s (Obamacare) insurance exchanges. That’s making the White House nervous. In late March, the Obama administration met with insurance industry representatives in what was officially billed as an effort to fix Obamacare’s “risk adjustment” ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 9, 2016
Commentary
Good riddance to Obama’s failing co-ops
Obamacare’s co-ops are about to go out of business. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the chief operating officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently testified before a congressional subcommittee that eight of Obamacare’s 11 remaining co-op insurance plans are in serious financial trouble. That’s not surprising. Twelve co-ops went ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 5, 2016
Commentary
For GOP Health Reformers, No Sleep Til Cleveland
The Republican National Convention is less than three months away. The party may not have settled on a presidential nominee by then but if the GOP’s top elected official, Speaker Paul Ryan, has his way, Republicans will arrive in Cleveland with a brand-new plan for replacing Obamacare. The time is ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 2, 2016
The GOP’s Obamacare Replacement: Better Than Good
Last week, the GOP kept a promise to the American people by delivering a replacement plan for Obamacare. The plan — part of the party’s “A Better Way” campaign — was unveiled by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc. “What we are laying out today is a first-time-in-six-years consensus by the ...
Hello, HillaryCare?
Hillary Clinton is within striking distance of the White House. Last week, she secured enough delegates to ensure that she’ll be the Democrats’ presidential nominee, barring any hiccups. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, Clinton would beat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, if the election were ...
Medicare Drug Reimbursement Cuts Are Backdoor Rationing
Imagine being denied treatment for cancer because Washington bureaucrats decided that a cutting-edge new therapy that could cure you just wasn’t “cost effective.” That’s already happening in Britain under its government-run health care system, the National Health Service. And Medicare officials are poised to bring similar policies here. The NHS’s ...
Obamacare is Failing–On Purpose?
Obamacare’s exchanges could soon be out of health insurers. This month, UnitedHealth – the largest U.S. insurer — announced that it would no longer sell exchange plans in New Jersey in 2017. It has now withdrawn from 27 states. Last year, UnitedHealth lost about $475 million on the exchanges; this ...
Bundled payments bad medicine for Medicare seniors
Medicare is changing the way it pays for seniors’ knee and hip replacements. That change could be awfully painful for patients. The new payment scheme pits doctors and patients against one another by punishing providers for excess costs — and rewarding them for denying access to more expensive, potentially better ...
No end in sight for higher Obamacare premiums
Weren’t health insurance premiums supposed to go down under Obamacare and its California exchange, Covered California? During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama predicted that, in his administration, “we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.” Covered California premium increases the past two years ...
America Marches Blindly Toward Single-Payer
Hillary Clinton just dipped her toe a little bit further into the waters of single-payer health care, prodded by her competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders. Last week, she called for allowing more people to join Medicare — the government-run healthcare program for seniors — by allowing those ...
As insurers leave Obamacare exchanges, doctors pay the price
Major insurers are no longer sure if they can afford to participate in the Affordable Care Act’s (Obamacare) insurance exchanges. That’s making the White House nervous. In late March, the Obama administration met with insurance industry representatives in what was officially billed as an effort to fix Obamacare’s “risk adjustment” ...
Good riddance to Obama’s failing co-ops
Obamacare’s co-ops are about to go out of business. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the chief operating officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently testified before a congressional subcommittee that eight of Obamacare’s 11 remaining co-op insurance plans are in serious financial trouble. That’s not surprising. Twelve co-ops went ...
For GOP Health Reformers, No Sleep Til Cleveland
The Republican National Convention is less than three months away. The party may not have settled on a presidential nominee by then but if the GOP’s top elected official, Speaker Paul Ryan, has his way, Republicans will arrive in Cleveland with a brand-new plan for replacing Obamacare. The time is ...