The Trump Administration’s rule expanding health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), specifically allowing employers to reimburse employee’s individual market premiums under certain conditions, is a significant step to empower American families with greater choice and control of their health insurance. These individual coverage HRAs (ICHRAs) are already being used by hundreds of employers … [Read more...] about Trump Administration Needs To Take Action To Maximize HRA Rule Potential
Brian Blase
Nursing Homes, Coronavirus and Medicaid
How a program for the poor pushes Americans into poor-quality facilities. By Stephen A. Moses and Brian C. Blase | June 1, 2020 7:13 pm ET With increased focus on the huge number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, long-term care expert Steve Moses and Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase write that federal payment policies are partly to blame for the low quality of care in many … [Read more...] about Nursing Homes, Coronavirus and Medicaid
Incentives and Data Matter: An analysis of the left’s coronavirus relief plan
Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase concludes in an important new paper that the formula being proposed by leading House Democrats to provide coronavirus relief to states would exacerbate Medicaid’s already-serious problems and provide a huge incentive for states to keep their unemployment rates high. His analysis shows most states would receive $19 in federal money for every $1 they spend through … [Read more...] about Incentives and Data Matter: An analysis of the left’s coronavirus relief plan
Caution! Medicaid and coronavirus relief don’t mix!
Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal by Brian Blase | The left’s new priority is to convince Congress to send hundreds of billions of additional dollars to states to help them weather the coronavirus storm. A leading Democratic proposal would funnel the money through Medicaid, with a built-in incentive for states to keep their economies closed and unemployment rates high. The bill, … [Read more...] about Caution! Medicaid and coronavirus relief don’t mix!
Is Social Distancing Working?
“Sweden has largely eschewed social distancing, choosing instead to permit more normal levels of economic and social interaction,” Galen Senior Fellow Doug Badger writes in a piece he coauthored for The Daily Signal. So how is that working out? They link to an interview with one of the world’s leading epidemiologists, Johan Giesecke, who “gave a very blunt … [Read more...] about Is Social Distancing Working?
Subsidizing COBRA Is Bad Policy, Three Former White House Economists Say
Big businesses, insurance companies, hospitals, unions, and liberal policy groups are calling on Congress to subsidize COBRA policies to ensure that the recently unemployed can maintain their employer-based health insurance coverage. While the goal is understandable, the policy is misguided and would create a series of problems. As such, Congress should avoid taking this action. First, … [Read more...] about Subsidizing COBRA Is Bad Policy, Three Former White House Economists Say
Is Medicaid Expansion Worth It?
Targeted initiatives focused on vulnerable patients and children prove to be far better public investments than does a broad-based Medicaid expansion, according to a new paper by Brian Blase and David Balat for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Their detailed review of academic studies and state experience shows the most cost-effective way to use public resources to improve health is … [Read more...] about Is Medicaid Expansion Worth It?
It’s Time to Redesign Government-Hospital Coronavirus Funding
Brian Blase, Doug Badger, and Josh Archambault argue in National Review that new funding to hospitals should be coupled with reforms that will protect patients from surprise medical bills and require price transparency. Congress has provided more than $100 billion to help hospitals whose revenue has plummeted during the coronavirus crisis and is preparing to spend another $75 in legislation … [Read more...] about It’s Time to Redesign Government-Hospital Coronavirus Funding