The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) launched its latest mistaken Obamacare-related estimate this week, predicting that a House-passed bill to repeal and replace the embattled law would lead to 23 million more uninsured people by 2026. Although CBO itself acknowledges that this latest prediction is “especially uncertain,” one thing is especially certain: CBO is wrong. We explain why at … [Read more...] about CBO Is Wrong And Its Numbers Shouldn’t Deter Needed Reform
Reform Initiatives
The CBO Bludgeon
Bureaucratic oracles at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have decreed that 23 million fewer people will have health coverage in 2026 if a House-passed bill to repeal and replace Obamacare were to become law. As with CBO’s past Obamacare-related pronouncements, corporate and social media sources are uncritically repeating that estimate, overlooking the questionable assumptions that underlie … [Read more...] about The CBO Bludgeon
More and better information can enhance patient care
With Congress intensely focused on big decisions involving health reform legislation, it’s easy to miss other initiatives that are quietly moving through Congress which could make a major contribution to achieving the goals of health reform One example is a measure offered by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) that would open the lines of communication between biopharmaceutical, medical device, and … [Read more...] about More and better information can enhance patient care
New Taxes Won’t Lower Drug Prices
Prescription drug prices continue to be a hot political issue, with the Trump administration preparing to release an action plan as soon as repeal and replace legislation clears Congress. Mick Mulvaney, who heads the White House budget office and is participating in the talks, floated an idea last week that should quickly be crossed off the list of policy ideas. He told the LIGHT 2017 Forum at … [Read more...] about New Taxes Won’t Lower Drug Prices
Dems Might Want To Consider Supporting House Health Bill
By Grace-Marie Turner and Doug Badger Democrats will rally on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday to “save ObamaCare,” but they might want to re-think what is really best for their constituents. Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to join House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats outside the Capitol for the rally, which will be held one day before … [Read more...] about Dems Might Want To Consider Supporting House Health Bill
Allow Our ‘Laboratories Of Democracy’ To Help People Escape Poverty
The political world changed in August 1996 when a Democratic president signed a welfare reform law that ended a federal entitlement to cash benefits created by the New Deal. President Bill Clinton’s decision to “end welfare as we know it” was a political anomaly much like Nixon going to China. Early in his first term, Clinton had launched an unsuccessful plan to enlarge the welfare state … [Read more...] about Allow Our ‘Laboratories Of Democracy’ To Help People Escape Poverty
CBO’s Alternate Facts about Obamacare
Millions may lose coverage next year if Congress does not repeal Obamacare. That’s not what this week’s Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis says, but it is reality. CBO’s estimating models seem impervious to reality. In the real world, the Obamacare exchanges are in crisis, millions of uninsured people willingly pay or avoid IRS penalties, and consumers struggle with rising premiums … [Read more...] about CBO’s Alternate Facts about Obamacare
House Repeal and Replace Bill Contains Important Conservative Reforms
Voting against “repeal” could be the death knell for Republicans in 2018 The American Health Care Act is taking fire from all sides, not the least from the circular firing squad conservatives have formed, threatening passage of the only piece of repeal and replace legislation that House leaders say will be presented to members for a vote this year. President Trump has made it clear to Congress … [Read more...] about House Repeal and Replace Bill Contains Important Conservative Reforms