If you’re wondering why Congress still hasn’t protected consumers from surprise medical bills, ask Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. “It’s troubling that it’s taking this long,” Doggett, a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, recently told Politico. “But this can’t be something that is 100 percent for the provider or 100 percent for the insurer. … [Read more...] about On Surprise Medical Bills, Congress Should Side With Consumers, Not Special Interests
The Daily Signal
Spending Deal Would Make Obamacare More Fiscally Irresponsible
In selling Obamacare before Congress a decade ago, President Barack Obama promised that he “would not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future.” From her perch behind the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaped out of her seat applauding at this line. So did Vice President Joe Biden and the entire Democrat caucus. But it turns out that … [Read more...] about Spending Deal Would Make Obamacare More Fiscally Irresponsible
Not ‘Junk’: Setting the Record Straight on Short-Term Health Coverage Plans
Several Democrats on a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee at a hearing Wednesday derided short-term health-insurance plans as “junk,” accusing the Trump administration of “sabotaging” the health care system with a rule that expanded people’s ability to purchase these plans. The accusations are without merit. While I was at the National Economic Council, I coordinated the … [Read more...] about Not ‘Junk’: Setting the Record Straight on Short-Term Health Coverage Plans
This Senate Measure Would Restrict Health Care Choices and Raise Premiums
The Senate is expected to vote soon on a resolution aimed at curbing the president’s efforts to reduce health care premiums and expand insurance options for Americans. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., authored the resolution, which would curtail an administration initiative that was the driving force behind the first-ever reduction in average Obamacare premiums: the authority to grant states … [Read more...] about This Senate Measure Would Restrict Health Care Choices and Raise Premiums
Why Pelosi’s Drug Price Control Scheme Is a Prescription for Disaster
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly readying a plan that could limit Americans’ access to lifesaving medicines and impede the development of new treatments for deadly and debilitating diseases. Her plan, a summary of which was leaked last week, would double down on the failures of existing government policies that have contributed to higher health care costs. It would … [Read more...] about Why Pelosi’s Drug Price Control Scheme Is a Prescription for Disaster
Good and Bad Ideas in the Senate’s Medicare Drug Bill
Responding to popular anxiety over prescription drug prices, the Senate Finance Committee last month approved a bill to restructure the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The bill is part of broader congressional and administration efforts to address rising health care costs, one in which lawmakers are laying aside partisan differences to seek constructive solutions. The … [Read more...] about Good and Bad Ideas in the Senate’s Medicare Drug Bill
The Facts About the Individual Mandate Repeal and the Increase in Premiums
by Doug Badger — It turns out sabotage might be overrated. A new study by the Center for American Progress argues Congress’s repeal of the individual mandate and a proposed Trump administration rule that would expand the sale and renewal of short-term policies will have a devastating effect on 2019 premiums. These acts of “sabotage” mean 40-year-old non-smokers will pay an average of … [Read more...] about The Facts About the Individual Mandate Repeal and the Increase in Premiums