Health Care
Commentary
Is Statewide Single-Payer Feasible, or Is It Just California Dreamin’?
California’s leading progressives are currently debating — amicably, for the moment — when the right time will arrive to destroy the state’s healthcare system. The frontrunner in the race for the governor’s mansion, current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, has long championed single-payer health care. But he recently softened his support. ...
Commentary
States Must Save Themselves from Medicaid Expansion
This month, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill that will expand Medicaid coverage to roughly 400,000 low-income, able-bodied adults in the state. The governor praised the expansion as “the right thing for our people.” His heart may be in the right place. But Medicaid has a well-documented history of ...
Commentary
Canadian Pharmacy Scandal Reveals The Dangers of Drug Importation
A U.S. district court in Montana just imposed a $34 million fine on Canada Drugs, an online pharmacy charged with selling counterfeit medications to unsuspecting Americans. Some of the drugs contained no active ingredients. Canada Drugs isn’t the only online pharmacy that puts patients’ lives in serious jeopardy. The National ...
Commentary
Does America really have the worst health system in the developed world?
America spends twice as much on health care as its peers in the developed world yet fares worse on a range of health indicators, including life expectancy and infant mortality. That’s the finding of a new survey of 10 developed countries published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. ...
Blog
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
Commentary
Canadians Are One in a Million — While Waiting for Medical Treatment
Canada’s single-payer healthcare system forced over 1 million patients to wait for necessary medical treatments last year. That’s an all-time record. Those long wait times were more than just a nuisance; they cost patients $1.9 billion in lost wages, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think-tank. Lengthy treatment ...
California
California’s ‘All-Payer’ Healthcare Proposal Is Rationing by Another Name
California lawmakers believe they’ve found an ingenious way to make health care more affordable — just legislate lower prices. That’s effectively what AB 3087, which was introduced by San Jose Democrat Ash Kalra in the Assembly in March, would do. The bill would direct a panel of nine experts to set prices for ...
Commentary
Health Care Premiums Will Soar Again In 2019 — Thanks, Obama
ObamaCare enrollees should brace themselves for another year of double-digit premium hikes. Average premiums for plans sold through the state and federal insurance exchanges will jump as much as 32% next year, according to a recent report from actuarial firm Milliman. Consumers in some markets could face 80% rate hikes, ...
Business & Economics
New Study: Patients, Employers and Taxpayers Could Save Significantly if Barriers to Biosimilars Removed
A new study released today found that, by removing barriers holding back the increased use of biosimilars, savings could be significant. In a case study of infliximab, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and other illnesses, reforms could realize an annual savings of between $412 million and $465 million. ...
Blog
When the Public Option Is the Only Option
Single-payer has failed abroad and at home. Yet the call for single-payer from progressives has never been louder. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his dedicated followers have been the loudest. In his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, he promised “Medicare for All.” In September 2017, he ...
Is Statewide Single-Payer Feasible, or Is It Just California Dreamin’?
California’s leading progressives are currently debating — amicably, for the moment — when the right time will arrive to destroy the state’s healthcare system. The frontrunner in the race for the governor’s mansion, current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, has long championed single-payer health care. But he recently softened his support. ...
States Must Save Themselves from Medicaid Expansion
This month, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill that will expand Medicaid coverage to roughly 400,000 low-income, able-bodied adults in the state. The governor praised the expansion as “the right thing for our people.” His heart may be in the right place. But Medicaid has a well-documented history of ...
Canadian Pharmacy Scandal Reveals The Dangers of Drug Importation
A U.S. district court in Montana just imposed a $34 million fine on Canada Drugs, an online pharmacy charged with selling counterfeit medications to unsuspecting Americans. Some of the drugs contained no active ingredients. Canada Drugs isn’t the only online pharmacy that puts patients’ lives in serious jeopardy. The National ...
Does America really have the worst health system in the developed world?
America spends twice as much on health care as its peers in the developed world yet fares worse on a range of health indicators, including life expectancy and infant mortality. That’s the finding of a new survey of 10 developed countries published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. ...
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
Canadians Are One in a Million — While Waiting for Medical Treatment
Canada’s single-payer healthcare system forced over 1 million patients to wait for necessary medical treatments last year. That’s an all-time record. Those long wait times were more than just a nuisance; they cost patients $1.9 billion in lost wages, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think-tank. Lengthy treatment ...
California’s ‘All-Payer’ Healthcare Proposal Is Rationing by Another Name
California lawmakers believe they’ve found an ingenious way to make health care more affordable — just legislate lower prices. That’s effectively what AB 3087, which was introduced by San Jose Democrat Ash Kalra in the Assembly in March, would do. The bill would direct a panel of nine experts to set prices for ...
Health Care Premiums Will Soar Again In 2019 — Thanks, Obama
ObamaCare enrollees should brace themselves for another year of double-digit premium hikes. Average premiums for plans sold through the state and federal insurance exchanges will jump as much as 32% next year, according to a recent report from actuarial firm Milliman. Consumers in some markets could face 80% rate hikes, ...
New Study: Patients, Employers and Taxpayers Could Save Significantly if Barriers to Biosimilars Removed
A new study released today found that, by removing barriers holding back the increased use of biosimilars, savings could be significant. In a case study of infliximab, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and other illnesses, reforms could realize an annual savings of between $412 million and $465 million. ...
When the Public Option Is the Only Option
Single-payer has failed abroad and at home. Yet the call for single-payer from progressives has never been louder. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his dedicated followers have been the loudest. In his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, he promised “Medicare for All.” In September 2017, he ...
