Virtually all of the news coverage about the health care positions of newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson have focused on his evangelical advocacy for pro-life, pro-family, and religious liberty principles. Those are very important but not the whole story. Speaker Johnson served as the chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest Republican caucus in the House, where he showed … [Read more...] about Renewed Hope
Focus on Health Costs
Fifty percent of Americans believe reducing health costs should be the government’s primary focus on health care. And 39% of voters say they’d be willing to cross party lines to support a candidate whose top priority is reducing health cost, according to a survey by West Health/Gallup. While conservatives avoided health reform like the plague (during the plague), this can either be a threat or … [Read more...] about Focus on Health Costs
Quick Takes
Tom Miller of the American Enterprise Institute is engaging a conversation about rechanneling health policy to focus on better health. “U.S. health policy was (and remains) pathological: We are neurotic, and we insist on making government psychotic,” he writes in “Doing Better, Still Feeling Worse.” Health spending is astronomically high yet Americans’ longevity is … [Read more...] about Quick Takes
What a Mess
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted the dissidents in his caucus would try to oust him after he passed, with big bi-partisan support, a spending deal, which no one thought had a prayer, to keep the government open. He worked under the threat that any one Republican could bring a motion to remove him on a whim, which Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz gleefully did on Tuesday, along with seven … [Read more...] about What a Mess
HSA Modernization
While most of Congress is focused on the shutdown turmoil, we have good news to report on the free-market health reform front. The House Ways and Means Committee yesterday advanced two bills that would give consumers more freedom and flexibility in using their Health Savings Accounts to pay health costs. The measures would allow more people to create and contribute to an HSA while … [Read more...] about HSA Modernization
Fueling the Fires of Medical Inflation
The checks and balances of a properly functioning market are subverted in the U.S. health sector by public and private third-party payments. Neither sellers nor buyers know what goods and services actually cost, and this blindness allows spending to rise faster than inflation year after year. Massive taxpayer subsidies and hidden private-sector transactions fuel the fires. So enter … [Read more...] about Fueling the Fires of Medical Inflation
Targeting Big Health Care
Consolidation of large hospitals and health systems is on the political and policy radar screens of both Republicans and Democrats, offering a rare opportunity for action in a polarized Congress. Janet Trautwein, who heads the National Assn. of Benefits and Insurance Professionals, explains how consolidation harms patients in “Healthcare Concentration Is Far From What the Doctor … [Read more...] about Targeting Big Health Care
Unseen Harm
As we anticipated last week in Medicare Drugs on the Chopping Block, President Biden announced on Tuesday the first 10 drugs his administration will target for its aggressive and punitive price control regime. One is Eliquis, a blood thinner created by Bristol Myers Squibb. “I am one of the 40 million preventing an early death taking Eliquis twice a day for 6 years. It … [Read more...] about Unseen Harm