Galen Institute

Leading congressional Democrats appear ready to impose a new tax on prescription drugs for seniors -- a tax that would increase Medicare drug plan premiums for some seniors by as much as 40 percent.Those lawmakers wouldn't describe their plan that way, of course, but that would be the effect of their proposal to require drug companies to pay Medicaid-style rebates to Medicare.Pharmaceutical … [Read more...] about Washington’s Rebate Tax Would Be Paid By Seniors

The conclusion is inescapable that Obamacare is killing job creation and smothering the recovery, and now the Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk has produced a study that clearly shows the correlation.He compared job growth before and after the health overhaul law passed in March of 2010 and finds that it basically flatlined after the law was signed.Before Obamacare passed, the number of new jobs … [Read more...] about Jobs Gone to Obamacare

Tempers are flaring in Washington’s sweltering July heat over the looming government default. The debate is also heating up over one of the scariest parts of Obamacare: the powerful, unelected, 15-member Medicare payment board.Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before two hearings in one week about the controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). She did everything she could … [Read more...] about Sebelius in the Hot Seat over IPAB

I would like to commend the committee for traveling to Salt Lake City to hear testimony from governors about the huge impact that Medicaid has on their state budgets. States are desperate to find savings to get their budgets in balance. Medicaid spending has nearly doubled over the last decade, and for many it consumes the first or second biggest share of state expenditures, threatening education, … [Read more...] about U.S. Senate Finance Committee Field Hearing: “Perspectives on Medicaid from Select Governors”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThere is no question that Medicare spending must be controlled if we are to have any hope of getting overall federal spending under control. The question is who will make the decisions. There is a wide diversity of opinion and legitimate concern about the new Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) and the powers given in PPACA to its 15 unelected officials who are charged with … [Read more...] about Medicare’s Future: An Examination of the Independent Payment Advisory Board