The pre-existing condition scare tactics continue. I testified yesterday—as the sole witness called by the Republican minority—during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on “Examining Threats to Workers with Preexisting Conditions.” It was the first hearing of the new Congress under the new Chairman Bobby Scott, D-VA, and virtually all members on both sides of the … [Read more...] about Preview Of The Coming Medicare For All Debate
Reform Initiatives
Replacing Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance with Government-Financed Coverage: Considerations for Policymakers
In an important paper the Galen Institute is releasing today, Senior Fellow Doug Badger examines the role that employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) plays in the larger U.S. health sector and offers considerations for policymakers contemplating replacing ESI with government-financed coverage. In “Replacing Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance with Government-Financed … [Read more...] about Replacing Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance with Government-Financed Coverage: Considerations for Policymakers
Congress Can Slash the Cost of Health Care Premiums by as Much as a Third. Here’s How.
By Doug Badger — A proposal to repeal Obamacare entitlements and replace them with grants to states would reduce premiums for individual coverage by as much as 32 percent, according to an analysis by the Center for Health and Economy. The Health Care Choices Proposal also would modestly reduce the deficit, increase the number of people with private health insurance and cut Medicaid spending, … [Read more...] about Congress Can Slash the Cost of Health Care Premiums by as Much as a Third. Here’s How.
Several States Have Found Ways To Mitigate Obamacare’s Damage To Their Health Insurance Markets
By Grace-Marie Turner & Doug Badger — A few states have found a key to undoing some of Obamacare’s damage to their individual health insurance markets by redirecting some federal funding to help sick people. These states are providing separate assistance to those with the highest health costs, thereby reducing premiums and increasing enrollment for healthy people driven out of the market by … [Read more...] about Several States Have Found Ways To Mitigate Obamacare’s Damage To Their Health Insurance Markets
State Innovation: The Key to Affordable Health Care Coverage Choices
by Doug Badger & Edmund Haislmaier— Obamacare’s rigid and centralized federal regulation of the nongroup market is failing. Premiums have risen, choices have contracted, and enrollment in individual policies continues to fall. Section 1332 of the Obamacare statute provides states with very limited authority to escape Obamacare’s mandates and test new approaches to undoing some of this … [Read more...] about State Innovation: The Key to Affordable Health Care Coverage Choices
One Week At CMS: Steps Toward Transformative Changes
by Grace-Marie Turner — The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services is continuing the drumbeat of modernizing the two gargantuan programs it runs to generate more accountability, greater transparency, and provide better value for both patients and taxpayers. Administrator Seema Verma announced on Thursday a new proposed rule that would bring more accountability into “Accountable” Care … [Read more...] about One Week At CMS: Steps Toward Transformative Changes
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
Obamacare Is A Political Nightmare That’s Not Going Anywhere. Here’s A Solution
Congressional Republicans, who ran against Obamacare through four election cycles, have spent most of the past year running away from it. But they are finding the law hard to escape. Democrats who once shied away from Obamacare now can’t stop talking about it. They are blaming Republicans for the next round of premium increases that will become finalized in the weeks leading up to the November … [Read more...] about Obamacare Is A Political Nightmare That’s Not Going Anywhere. Here’s A Solution