Medicare
Commentary
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Commentary
Two More Pieces Of Obamacare May Be On Their Way Out
House Republicans have launched another assault on Obamacare. This time, they have some support from their foes on the other side of the aisle. Two bipartisan bills that would repeal parts of Obamacare are scheduled to reach the House floor this week. One would get rid of a job-killing tax ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s ‘Accountable Care’ experiment is all hype, no substance
Good news about Obamacare keeps coming out of the White House. In May, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the law’s “Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations” have saved Medicare $385 million. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell proudly proclaimed that this “innovative payment model”has produced “substantial savings,” so she’s now ...
Commentary
Ordinary consumers are paying for Obamacare’s ‘savings’
Federal programs rarely come in under budget. Consider Medicare, which will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. In 1967, lawmakers projected annual spending in the program would reach $12 billion in 1990. The actual tab that year? A cool $110 billion. A new report from the Congressional Budget Office says that ...
Commentary
Reconciliation can solve GOP’s irreconcilable differences with Obamacare
“It’s time to embrace reality.” That’s what President Obama said about Obamacare on its 5th anniversary in late March. He meant it as a warning to critics — Obamacare is here to stay, so quit “belly-aching.” But after five years of false promises, massive disruptions to the healthcare marketplace, enormous ...
Commentary
Medicare Part D saves money and lives
Federal officials recently set off budgetary alarm bells with new data on Medicare prescription drug spending. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pegged Medicare Part D’s 2013 price tag at $103 billion. That’s a large number — and largely misleading. A closer look at Part D reveals a program ...
Commentary
We all deserve better than single-payer health care
A new report from the Government Accountability Office has confirmed that the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t take care of those it’s supposed to serve. The GAO has placed the VA’s health system on the “high risk” list of federal programs that are vulnerable to “fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.” ...
Commentary
Buried In The Numbers: Obamacare’s Costs Are Climbing, Not Receding
Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the provisions within Obamacare expanding access to insurance coverage would cost 20% less than the agency estimated in 2010, when the law passed. The White House was ecstatic. “The estimates released today by CBO once again confirm the progress we’ve made,” ...
Commentary
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Commentary
Obamacare has failed to increase competition among insurers
Obamacare has done everything short of cure sickness altogether, according to its supporters. “Ten million Americans have gained health insurance just this past year,” said the president. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that patients “will pay less than they pay for their cable or their cellphone ...
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Two More Pieces Of Obamacare May Be On Their Way Out
House Republicans have launched another assault on Obamacare. This time, they have some support from their foes on the other side of the aisle. Two bipartisan bills that would repeal parts of Obamacare are scheduled to reach the House floor this week. One would get rid of a job-killing tax ...
Obamacare’s ‘Accountable Care’ experiment is all hype, no substance
Good news about Obamacare keeps coming out of the White House. In May, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the law’s “Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations” have saved Medicare $385 million. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell proudly proclaimed that this “innovative payment model”has produced “substantial savings,” so she’s now ...
Ordinary consumers are paying for Obamacare’s ‘savings’
Federal programs rarely come in under budget. Consider Medicare, which will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. In 1967, lawmakers projected annual spending in the program would reach $12 billion in 1990. The actual tab that year? A cool $110 billion. A new report from the Congressional Budget Office says that ...
Reconciliation can solve GOP’s irreconcilable differences with Obamacare
“It’s time to embrace reality.” That’s what President Obama said about Obamacare on its 5th anniversary in late March. He meant it as a warning to critics — Obamacare is here to stay, so quit “belly-aching.” But after five years of false promises, massive disruptions to the healthcare marketplace, enormous ...
Medicare Part D saves money and lives
Federal officials recently set off budgetary alarm bells with new data on Medicare prescription drug spending. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pegged Medicare Part D’s 2013 price tag at $103 billion. That’s a large number — and largely misleading. A closer look at Part D reveals a program ...
We all deserve better than single-payer health care
A new report from the Government Accountability Office has confirmed that the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t take care of those it’s supposed to serve. The GAO has placed the VA’s health system on the “high risk” list of federal programs that are vulnerable to “fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.” ...
Buried In The Numbers: Obamacare’s Costs Are Climbing, Not Receding
Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the provisions within Obamacare expanding access to insurance coverage would cost 20% less than the agency estimated in 2010, when the law passed. The White House was ecstatic. “The estimates released today by CBO once again confirm the progress we’ve made,” ...
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Obamacare has failed to increase competition among insurers
Obamacare has done everything short of cure sickness altogether, according to its supporters. “Ten million Americans have gained health insurance just this past year,” said the president. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that patients “will pay less than they pay for their cable or their cellphone ...
