Sally C. Pipes
Commentary
Inflation act will fuel higher insurance premiums
The Senate is set to consider the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ massive budget reconciliation legislation. President Joe Biden has stumped for the bill’s hundreds of billions in tax hikes on corporations as a way to ensure they “pay their fair share.” But many of those dollars will subsidize the purchases of people who ...
Commentary
A Birthday Wish For Medicare And Medicaid: Less Waste And Better Care
This Saturday, July 30, marked 57 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law as part of his “Great Society.” For almost six decades, the healthcare entitlements have grown increasingly costly and expansive while delivering subpar care to beneficiaries. Consider Medicare, the health plan for Americans 65 and ...
Commentary
Should the federal government forgive medical debt?
Progressives claim that medical debt leads to financial ruin for hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently argued that the high cost of health care is pushing so many people into bankruptcy that the government must cancel medical debt. It’s the precursor to his call ...
Commentary
‘Speak Out Act’ Hardly Pro-women
A new proposal in Congress aims to allow victims of sexual misconduct to go public with their stories. That goal is admirable. But — as written — the legislation, the Speak Out Act, which was introduced in both the House and Senate in recent weeks will force victims to go public, even if they don’t want to. That’s hardly pro-women. ...
Commentary
Hospitals must be more transparent about health care costs
Some Illinois hospitals are keeping their prices secret from their patients. Only three out of a sample of 11 major medical facilities in the state are fully compliant with a federal rule requiring hospitals to publish the costs of common services, according to data from the nonprofit group PatientsRightsAdvocate.org. That includes hospitals ...
Commentary
Drug price controls would limit new medicines
The Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill is winding its way through the Senate. Last week, Republican and Democratic senators met with the chamber’s parliamentarian to discuss whether the bill’s proposal for Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs with manufacturers has a direct impact on government spending or tax revenue, as reconciliation ...
Commentary
Dems’ Reconciliation Bill Would Push US Economy Over Cliff
Inflation is at its highest level in four decades, according to federal data out last week. Senate Democrats say they have a solution — their newly revamped budget reconciliation bill, which would levy price controls on prescription drugs and provide billions in subsidies for health insurance sold through Obamacare’s exchanges. How this proposal ...
Commentary
Stop funneling more money toward failing Affordable Care Act
Democrats in Congress are scrambling to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies signed into law by President Biden last year as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. It’s no mystery why. If lawmakers allow these premium tax credits to expire — as they’re set to at the end of this year — ...
Commentary
It’s Time To Cure The FDA’s Regulatory Sclerosis
Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration advised COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to develop booster shots aimed at the omicron variant of the virus. Regulators hope the shots will be ready by the fall. That will probably be too late to stop BA.5, the highly transmissible subvariant that has quickly become the dominant strain in ...
Commentary
Improving Access to Paxlovid Long Overdue
The following op-ed has been authored by a non-clinician, it does not constitute medical advice. In an effort to boost access to the antiviral Paxlovid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now allow pharmacists to prescribe the medicine; the agency announced this last week, on July 6. Previously, patients seeking the ...
Inflation act will fuel higher insurance premiums
The Senate is set to consider the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ massive budget reconciliation legislation. President Joe Biden has stumped for the bill’s hundreds of billions in tax hikes on corporations as a way to ensure they “pay their fair share.” But many of those dollars will subsidize the purchases of people who ...
A Birthday Wish For Medicare And Medicaid: Less Waste And Better Care
This Saturday, July 30, marked 57 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law as part of his “Great Society.” For almost six decades, the healthcare entitlements have grown increasingly costly and expansive while delivering subpar care to beneficiaries. Consider Medicare, the health plan for Americans 65 and ...
Should the federal government forgive medical debt?
Progressives claim that medical debt leads to financial ruin for hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently argued that the high cost of health care is pushing so many people into bankruptcy that the government must cancel medical debt. It’s the precursor to his call ...
‘Speak Out Act’ Hardly Pro-women
A new proposal in Congress aims to allow victims of sexual misconduct to go public with their stories. That goal is admirable. But — as written — the legislation, the Speak Out Act, which was introduced in both the House and Senate in recent weeks will force victims to go public, even if they don’t want to. That’s hardly pro-women. ...
Hospitals must be more transparent about health care costs
Some Illinois hospitals are keeping their prices secret from their patients. Only three out of a sample of 11 major medical facilities in the state are fully compliant with a federal rule requiring hospitals to publish the costs of common services, according to data from the nonprofit group PatientsRightsAdvocate.org. That includes hospitals ...
Drug price controls would limit new medicines
The Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill is winding its way through the Senate. Last week, Republican and Democratic senators met with the chamber’s parliamentarian to discuss whether the bill’s proposal for Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs with manufacturers has a direct impact on government spending or tax revenue, as reconciliation ...
Dems’ Reconciliation Bill Would Push US Economy Over Cliff
Inflation is at its highest level in four decades, according to federal data out last week. Senate Democrats say they have a solution — their newly revamped budget reconciliation bill, which would levy price controls on prescription drugs and provide billions in subsidies for health insurance sold through Obamacare’s exchanges. How this proposal ...
Stop funneling more money toward failing Affordable Care Act
Democrats in Congress are scrambling to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies signed into law by President Biden last year as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. It’s no mystery why. If lawmakers allow these premium tax credits to expire — as they’re set to at the end of this year — ...
It’s Time To Cure The FDA’s Regulatory Sclerosis
Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration advised COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to develop booster shots aimed at the omicron variant of the virus. Regulators hope the shots will be ready by the fall. That will probably be too late to stop BA.5, the highly transmissible subvariant that has quickly become the dominant strain in ...
Improving Access to Paxlovid Long Overdue
The following op-ed has been authored by a non-clinician, it does not constitute medical advice. In an effort to boost access to the antiviral Paxlovid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now allow pharmacists to prescribe the medicine; the agency announced this last week, on July 6. Previously, patients seeking the ...
