Here’s a quick checklist of the 10 worst things that will be left in the law if the Supreme Court voids only the individual and Medicaid mandates: 1. Employer mandate: Most companies will have to provide and pay for expensive government-determined health insurance for their employees or face federal fines. 2. Conscience mandate: Religious organizations will still be required to provide free … [Read more...] about The Court Should Strike It All Down
Tom Miller: Beyond Repeal and Replace Series
The Beyond Repeal and Replace series is an AEI project that aims to provide a deeper, more fundamental foundation for policymakers considering a different path to real health reform. With a Republican majority in the House and the prospective Republican presidential nominee committed to repealing PPACA, health policy analysts and academics present their distinct and detailed proposals to remedy … [Read more...] about Tom Miller: Beyond Repeal and Replace Series
Don’t Be Reckless with New Drug Law
Congress is on the verge of completing work on legislation to renew the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which establishes the rules under which private companies pay fees to support the Food and Drug Administration’s process for reviewing their drug applications. Under the legislation, pharmaceutical, medical-device, and biotech companies would agree to pay at least $6 billion in user fees over … [Read more...] about Don’t Be Reckless with New Drug Law
Michael Cannon: IPAB, Obamacare’s Super-Legislature
The individual mandate isn’t Obamacare’s only unconstitutional provision, or even its most unconstitutional provision. That distinction belongs to the Independent Payment Advisory Board. A heretofore unreported feature of this super-legislature makes it even more authoritarian and dangerous than anyone knew. IPAB consists of up to 15 unelected government “experts.” Its stated purpose is to … [Read more...] about Michael Cannon: IPAB, Obamacare’s Super-Legislature
Avik Roy: How Margaret Hamburg’s FDA Causes Cancer Drug Shortages
One of the most serious problems in American health care today is acatastrophic shortage of supply for dozens of important generic drugs, especially certain injectable medications that form the backbone of modern cancer chemotherapy. As a result of the shortages, many cancer patients today are unable to gain access to basic, life-extending drugs that cost less than a bottle of Coke. Today, the … [Read more...] about Avik Roy: How Margaret Hamburg’s FDA Causes Cancer Drug Shortages
Cato Study: Heretofore Unreported ObamaCare ‘Bug’ Puts IPAB Completely beyond Congress’ Reach
When the unelected government officials on this board submit a legislative proposal to Congress, it automatically becomes law: PPACA requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement it. Blocking an IPAB “proposal” requires at a minimum that the House and the Senate and the president agree on a substitute. The Board’s edicts therefore can become law without congressional action, … [Read more...] about Cato Study: Heretofore Unreported ObamaCare ‘Bug’ Puts IPAB Completely beyond Congress’ Reach
If ObamaCare Is Judged Unconstitutional, Here’s How To Reform Healthcare
If the U.S. Supreme Court declares ObamaCare’s individual mandate unconstitutional and non-severable, the first reaction from a large majority of Americans will be a huge sigh of relief, gauging from opinion polls that show two-thirds want the law, or at least its individual mandate, struck down. But then what? There is universal agreement that there are serious problems in the health sector … [Read more...] about If ObamaCare Is Judged Unconstitutional, Here’s How To Reform Healthcare
Barak Richman: Concentration in health care markets: Chronic problems and better solutions
Health care providers with market power enjoy substantially more pricing freedom than monopolists in other markets, for a reason not generally recognized: US-style health insurance. Consequently, monopolies in health care cause undesirable redistribution of wealth and inefficient allocation of resources, both of which burden consumers at levels beyond those of other monopolists. The unusual … [Read more...] about Barak Richman: Concentration in health care markets: Chronic problems and better solutions