What a week! Medicare is speeding toward insolvency five years faster than the Trustees reported just a year ago, and the program is now facing $38 trillion in red ink. Chief Medicare Actuary Richard S. Foster said in a supplementary report that under current law Medicare is on track to pay providers less than Medicaid does, and this would lead to "severe problems with beneficiary access to … [Read more...] about Medicare, Individual Mandate Stir Debate
Sweeping Overhaul Will Save Medicare
The escalating political debate about the future of Medicare reveals a fear of change coupled with the growing recognition that change is essential to sustain the program for the future.Medicare is facing $38 trillion in red ink. The recent Medicare Trustees report showed the program is careening toward bankruptcy and will run out of money in 2024 - five years faster than the trustees predicted … [Read more...] about Sweeping Overhaul Will Save Medicare
Mitt's Missed Opportunity
Former governor Mitt Romney hoped his major speech in Ann Arbor on Thursday would let him move on from persistent questions about health care, but judging from reports, blogs, editorials, and a National Review Online poll, it's clear he has much more to do: By a margin of more than seven to one, NRO readers said they thought the speech hurt him. It's hard to hate ObamaCare and love RomneyCare. … [Read more...] about Mitt's Missed Opportunity
Missed Hit by Mitt
Former governor Mitt Romney may very well have hoped he could put health care behind him with his major speech in Ann Arbor, but judging from the results so far of the National Review Online poll, it’s clear he still has a lot of work to do: By a margin of about seven to one, readers said they thought the speech hurt him.It’s hard to hate Obamacare and love Romneycare. For example, Romney … [Read more...] about Missed Hit by Mitt
Stalling the Engine of Economic Recovery
As America struggles to get people back to work after the deep recession, the best strategy is to focus on unleashing those industries most primed to create high-quality jobs, to innovate, and to strengthen our manufacturing sector so we can boost exports. President Obama apparently disagrees. The pharmaceutical industry fits the description of an industry ready to contribute to U.S. recovery, yet … [Read more...] about Stalling the Engine of Economic Recovery
On Medicare, the Right Role for Congress
In late April, erstwhile Obamacare champion Rep. Allyson Schwartz became the fourth Democrat in Congress to support legislation repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a powerful new body established by President Obama's health care law. IPAB assumes much of the Medicare cost-cutting powers previously endowed to Congress.In a letter to her colleagues, the congresswoman wrote that … [Read more...] about On Medicare, the Right Role for Congress
Misguided on Medicaid
One of the major innovations in the House 2012 Budget Resolution is a plan to give states much greater flexibility in running their Medicaid programs through block grants.Yet today, a new study was released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, with researchers from the Urban Institute, that is highly critical of the plan. The study concludes that if Obamacare were repealed and states were given block … [Read more...] about Misguided on Medicaid
Doctors, Not Politicians, Should Decide
In Alex Brill’s paper on “Overspending on Multi-Source Drugs in Medicaid,” he writes about “the potential savings that could have been achieved had Medicaid consistently used the lower-cost version” of 20 multi-source drugs.While there is little or no debate about the need to control Medicaid spending, Brill’s recommendations could lead legislators to institute policies that would be even more … [Read more...] about Doctors, Not Politicians, Should Decide