Health Care
Commentary
The Real Lesson Of America’s Rising Uninsured Rate
The number of uninsured Americans ticked upward to 26.7 million in 2024, according to an analysis published this month by KFF. The report’s authors attribute that trend to the “high cost of private insurance and limited availability of public coverage.” Unpack the numbers, though, and the situation becomes more complicated. ...
Commentary
Healthcare costs keep rising. Hospitals are a big reason why.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., accused hospitals of building “empires” and told executives that the prices they charge patients amount to “borderline extortion.” The hearing underscored a reality Washington has been slow to confront. Hospitals are the primary drivers of rising health costs. They are consolidating markets, ...
Commentary
Declining Obamacare enrollment isn’t the crisis critics claim
Enrollment in Obamacare’s exchange is falling, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. The study suggests that the expiration of the enhanced premium subsidies enacted during the pandemic has made coverage unaffordable for many Americans. Some consumers undoubtedly have decided that exchange plans are no longer worth the ...
Commentary
No, Proving Medical Frailty Isn’t Too Much to Ask
The Trump administration just released a new rule making clear that Medicaid’s work requirements are just that — requirements. Beginning in 2027, able-bodied adults who gained Medicaid coverage through Obamacare’s expansion of the program will generally need to spend at least 80 hours per month working, studying, participating in job ...
Biosimilars
PBM’s Drug Cut Exceeds the Total Cost of Medicines In Most Other Countries
Another fundamental problem is these comparisons rely on U.S. medicines’ gross (or list) price. But list prices do not account for the complex U.S. drug supply chain, where manufacturers receive only a portion of the gross price and intermediaries, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), receive a disproportionate share. As ...
Commentary
The FDA’s sunscreen rules leave Americans exposed
Just in time for the beginning of summer, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than a quarter-century. Bemotrizinol is a next-generation ultraviolet filter already widely used in other nations. The FDA fully approved the ingredient for use in the ...
Commentary
Congress should fulfill this drug program’s promise to vulnerable Californians
A federal program intended to help low-income patients has instead become a major revenue source for large California hospital systems. Hospitals are using gaps in oversight within the 340B Drug Pricing Program to lock in substantial margins on prescription drugs — and driving healthcare costs higher for Californians in the ...
Commentary
Canada’s Assisted-Suicide Boom Reveals the Human Costs of Single-Payer
In Canada, access to medical care can take months. Access to assisted suicide, however, is much easier to come by. Ten years ago today, Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program was legalized, and this year, Canada is on track to surpass 100,000 assisted-suicide deaths. Earlier this year, an Ontario ...
Commentary
This Drug Patent Bill Would Hurt Innovation Without Lowering Prices
This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will consider several bills that aim to “make health care more affordable and accessible to American families.” One in particular deserves a closer look. The Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act, introduced by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and co-sponsored ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s Enrollment Figures Deserve A Closer Look
Enrollment on the Obamacare exchanges is falling for the first time in years. The exchanges launched on January 1, 2014—nearly four years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. A new analysis from KFF estimates that the number of people enrolled in an ...
The Real Lesson Of America’s Rising Uninsured Rate
The number of uninsured Americans ticked upward to 26.7 million in 2024, according to an analysis published this month by KFF. The report’s authors attribute that trend to the “high cost of private insurance and limited availability of public coverage.” Unpack the numbers, though, and the situation becomes more complicated. ...
Healthcare costs keep rising. Hospitals are a big reason why.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., accused hospitals of building “empires” and told executives that the prices they charge patients amount to “borderline extortion.” The hearing underscored a reality Washington has been slow to confront. Hospitals are the primary drivers of rising health costs. They are consolidating markets, ...
Declining Obamacare enrollment isn’t the crisis critics claim
Enrollment in Obamacare’s exchange is falling, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. The study suggests that the expiration of the enhanced premium subsidies enacted during the pandemic has made coverage unaffordable for many Americans. Some consumers undoubtedly have decided that exchange plans are no longer worth the ...
No, Proving Medical Frailty Isn’t Too Much to Ask
The Trump administration just released a new rule making clear that Medicaid’s work requirements are just that — requirements. Beginning in 2027, able-bodied adults who gained Medicaid coverage through Obamacare’s expansion of the program will generally need to spend at least 80 hours per month working, studying, participating in job ...
PBM’s Drug Cut Exceeds the Total Cost of Medicines In Most Other Countries
Another fundamental problem is these comparisons rely on U.S. medicines’ gross (or list) price. But list prices do not account for the complex U.S. drug supply chain, where manufacturers receive only a portion of the gross price and intermediaries, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), receive a disproportionate share. As ...
The FDA’s sunscreen rules leave Americans exposed
Just in time for the beginning of summer, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than a quarter-century. Bemotrizinol is a next-generation ultraviolet filter already widely used in other nations. The FDA fully approved the ingredient for use in the ...
Congress should fulfill this drug program’s promise to vulnerable Californians
A federal program intended to help low-income patients has instead become a major revenue source for large California hospital systems. Hospitals are using gaps in oversight within the 340B Drug Pricing Program to lock in substantial margins on prescription drugs — and driving healthcare costs higher for Californians in the ...
Canada’s Assisted-Suicide Boom Reveals the Human Costs of Single-Payer
In Canada, access to medical care can take months. Access to assisted suicide, however, is much easier to come by. Ten years ago today, Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program was legalized, and this year, Canada is on track to surpass 100,000 assisted-suicide deaths. Earlier this year, an Ontario ...
This Drug Patent Bill Would Hurt Innovation Without Lowering Prices
This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will consider several bills that aim to “make health care more affordable and accessible to American families.” One in particular deserves a closer look. The Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act, introduced by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and co-sponsored ...
Obamacare’s Enrollment Figures Deserve A Closer Look
Enrollment on the Obamacare exchanges is falling for the first time in years. The exchanges launched on January 1, 2014—nearly four years after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. A new analysis from KFF estimates that the number of people enrolled in an ...