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As the political back and forth over Obamacare intensified this summer, it largely went overlooked that the Medicare prescription drug benefit continues to outperform expectations.  In July, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the average premium for the drug benefit in 2014 would be just $31.  That’s remarkable given that the average premium had held steady at $30 in … [Read more...] about James Capretta: More Good News as the Medicare Drug Benefit Approaches Ten Years

Prostitution. Bribery. Blackmail. Thuggery. Hypocrisy. Those were just some of the incendiary words thrown around the U.S. Senate last week, and that doesn’t count what people said in private. The Senate may still have a reputation as a genteel club, but lawmakers seemed to abandon rules of decorum completely last week in arguments about whether Congress should be treated like the rest of … [Read more...] about John Fund: Congress’s Exemption from Obamacare

The September 4, 2013, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine includes an article by liberal Brookings Institution economist Henry Aaron and DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority Board Member Kevin Lucia, appropriately entitled “Only the Beginning – What’s Next at the Health Insurance Exchanges?” “Mundane administrative tasks will occupy the exchanges for the first year or two. But the … [Read more...] about Health Exchanges just a Step in Government Take-Over of Health

Syria has taken over the top of the agenda, but very soon Congress will necessarily return to high stakes fiscal negotiations, not just over the continuing resolution to fund the government, but also over the federal debt ceiling. Speaker John Boehner is committed to the principle that has so effectively constrained discretionary spending since the historic summer 2011 deal: debt ceiling increases … [Read more...] about Phil Kerpen: Repealing The Individual Mandate Is A Budget Deal Winner

It’s arguably the favorite myth of progressives, the oft-repeated claim that Republicans have no health plan. Hence, President Obama was fully justified in ignoring them and proceeding to enact a comprehensive health reform law on a strict party line vote—something completely unprecedented in American political history. Karl Rove last week did an excellent job of countering that myth in a Wall … [Read more...] about Chris Conover: Seriously? The Republicans Have No Health Plan?

The White House is considering awarding ObamaCare subsidies, which are intended for the uninsured, to labor unions, Avik Roy writes in Forbes. "The text of the Affordable Care Act is straightforward; if you have gained coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan, you’re not eligible for subsidized coverage in the exchange, because you already get a subsidy through the tax code: you don’t … [Read more...] about Is Big Labor about to get a Big Exemption from ObamaCare?

Proponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) have advocated for Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs)—groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that form new organizations to serve Medicare patients—as a way to supposedly transform how hospitals and physicians care for their patients and thus slow the rate of health spending while also improving … [Read more...] about James Capretta: Reforming Medicare integrated care: An alternative to the Obama administration’s accountable care organizations

Despite promises by President Obama that people can keep the insurance they have once Obamacare is in full effect, millions will have to upgrade their policies to meet the benefit standards laid out by the Affordable Care Act. The measure will be in full swing this January. Continue Reading... … [Read more...] about Kelley Weiss: Obamacare To Force Millions To Upgrade Insurance