All types of monopoly are not created equal in the U.S. economy. In a forthcoming study later this month for the American Enterprise Institute, Barak Richman of Duke Law School emphasizes that health care providers with market power enjoy substantially more pricing freedom than monopolists in other markets. Traditional antitrust enforcement tools have done little to halt extraordinary … [Read more...] about Tom Miller: Dueling forces in today’s health care markets
Why ObamaCare health insurance exchanges won’t work
A new paper published by the Galen Institute warns that states which fall into lockstep with ObamaCare’s health insurance exchanges will end up in a bureaucratic morass with exchanges that won’t work, won’t increase access to affordable health care, and won’t improve health outcomes or increase value. Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., writes in “What’s Wrong with Health Insurance Exchanges...” that the … [Read more...] about Why ObamaCare health insurance exchanges won’t work
Robert Book: The Medical Device Tax: Killing Jobs and Raising Premiums
The 2010 health care law has several new taxes designed to offset its costs. Many of the taxes seem to be narrowly targeted at sick people and the people who help them. There are taxes on prescription drugs, taxes on health insurance, extra taxes on high-benefit health insurance, and reduced tax deductions for people with high medical costs. In the news recently is the excise tax on medical … [Read more...] about Robert Book: The Medical Device Tax: Killing Jobs and Raising Premiums
Merrill Matthews: Medicare And Medicaid Fraud Is Costing Taxpayers Billions
When President Obama pushed through his health care bill, he cut more than $500 billion (over 10 years) in future Medicare spending in order to claim the bill was “paid for.” A better option would have been to aggressively target Medicare and Medicaid fraud, which could have provided the same amount of savings, and possibly more. Barely a day goes by without a major news story highlighting some … [Read more...] about Merrill Matthews: Medicare And Medicaid Fraud Is Costing Taxpayers Billions
Three ‘What-if’ Scenarios for Obamacare
The health sector is in a state of semi-paralysis over the fate of Obamacare. While the Supreme Court’s decision is likely a month away, the American people already have made up their minds: Opinion polls show support for the law is at its lowest level since it passed more than two years ago, and two-thirds of Americans say they either want the whole law or the individual mandate overturned, … [Read more...] about Three ‘What-if’ Scenarios for Obamacare
What’s Wrong With Health Insurance Exchanges…
The purpose of this paper is to describe why the health insurance exchanges defined in PPACA won’t work, won’t increase access to affordable health care, and won’t do anything to improve health outcomes or increase value. The solution to affordable coverage isn’t to be found in these new bureaucracies, but rather in reducing barriers to competition and consumer choice and removing regulations that … [Read more...] about What’s Wrong With Health Insurance Exchanges…
AHIP: January 2012 Census Shows 13.5 Million People Covered by HSAs/HDHPs
An annual census by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U.S. health insurance carriers shows that the number of people covered by health savings account/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 13.5 million in January 2012. This census does not include coverage associated with health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), which are most commonly offered in the large-group … [Read more...] about AHIP: January 2012 Census Shows 13.5 Million People Covered by HSAs/HDHPs
Sally Pipes: Obamacare diagnosed as quackery
The Supreme Court hasn’t yet rendered its verdict on Obamacare, but the nation’s doctors have. And they think it will wreck America’s health care system. The latest evidence comes from a new survey of young doctors by the Physicians Foundation. Nearly 60 percent of doctors aged 40 and under are pessimistic about the future of American health care. Just 22 percent are optimistic. The number-one … [Read more...] about Sally Pipes: Obamacare diagnosed as quackery