Medicaid
Commentary
Partial Medicaid expansion isn’t the solution
Some Trump administration officials, and even President Trump himself, reportedly favor allowing states to partially expand Medicaid, the program for low-income Americans jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Any expansion is a bad idea, for both fiscal and moral reasons. Obamacare enabled states to enroll able-bodied, childless adults ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 18, 2019
California
Governor Newsom’s troubling first act on medications
In one of his first acts, Governor Newsom signed an executive order that will change how medicines are purchased in California. With visions of big-box store discounts dancing in his head, Governor Newsom has established a bulk program that will now purchase drugs for the state’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal). The ...
Wayne Winegarden
January 17, 2019
Commentary
Electronic records are driving doctor burnout
Doctors are being driven daffy by electronic health records, or EHRs. That’s the takeaway from a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Seven in 10 Rhode Island doctors surveyed who used electronic health records said that the technology stressed them out. Those who reported health ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 16, 2019
Commentary
The Rising Support for Single-Payer Health Care
Public support for single-payer health care is soaring. Seven in 10 Americans want to adopt a “Medicare for All” system, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. This shift in public opinion has been good news for Democrats. The party took back the House in part by promising to make voters’ ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 10, 2019
Commentary
No Matter What the Courts Say, Obamacare Is Ineffective and Unconstitutional
Last month, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling declaring Obamacare unconstitutional. The case was brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general. Seventeen Democratic state attorneys general responded January 3 by appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Judge O’Connor ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 7, 2019
Commentary
Checking In On New York’s (Health Care) State Of Mind
Empire State progressives are giddy about the prospect of passing a single-payer health care bill in 2019. Every year for the past four years, the liberal State Assembly has approved the New York Health Act, which would establish a statewide single-payer plan. But the bill always died in the State Senate, ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 4, 2019
Commentary
New Study Championing Medicare for All Is Bogus
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2017 Medicare for All bill (S.1804) would guarantee exceptional care to all Americans while reducing health spending by $5.11 trillion. At least that’s what a new study from researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute, which is co-directed by Professor Robert Pollin, claims. Sound too good ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 4, 2019
Blog
Sacramento’s “Funniest Unfunny Man” Prepares to Exit Stage Left
Gov. Jerry Brown was once described by my former boss, Connie Conway, as the “funniest unfunny man” she’d ever met. For anyone who had the opportunity to watch his “exit interview” at the Sacramento Press Club, you’d know that this is an apt description. When asked to make a particularly ...
Tim Anaya
December 19, 2018
Commentary
‘Unconstitutional’ ObamaCare is deeply flawed, and it’s time to do away with it
Last week, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled that ObamaCare – in its entirety – is unconstitutional. ObamaCare’s defenders plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. The legal fight could drag on for ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 17, 2018
Commentary
ObamaCare continues to fail
Open enrollment in the 39 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov insurance exchange looks like it will end with a whimper this Saturday. Through the first month, sign-ups are down 11 percent compared to the same period last year. It’s easy to see why. The cost of insurance is unmanageable ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 12, 2018
Partial Medicaid expansion isn’t the solution
Some Trump administration officials, and even President Trump himself, reportedly favor allowing states to partially expand Medicaid, the program for low-income Americans jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Any expansion is a bad idea, for both fiscal and moral reasons. Obamacare enabled states to enroll able-bodied, childless adults ...
Governor Newsom’s troubling first act on medications
In one of his first acts, Governor Newsom signed an executive order that will change how medicines are purchased in California. With visions of big-box store discounts dancing in his head, Governor Newsom has established a bulk program that will now purchase drugs for the state’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal). The ...
Electronic records are driving doctor burnout
Doctors are being driven daffy by electronic health records, or EHRs. That’s the takeaway from a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Seven in 10 Rhode Island doctors surveyed who used electronic health records said that the technology stressed them out. Those who reported health ...
The Rising Support for Single-Payer Health Care
Public support for single-payer health care is soaring. Seven in 10 Americans want to adopt a “Medicare for All” system, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. This shift in public opinion has been good news for Democrats. The party took back the House in part by promising to make voters’ ...
No Matter What the Courts Say, Obamacare Is Ineffective and Unconstitutional
Last month, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling declaring Obamacare unconstitutional. The case was brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general. Seventeen Democratic state attorneys general responded January 3 by appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Judge O’Connor ...
Checking In On New York’s (Health Care) State Of Mind
Empire State progressives are giddy about the prospect of passing a single-payer health care bill in 2019. Every year for the past four years, the liberal State Assembly has approved the New York Health Act, which would establish a statewide single-payer plan. But the bill always died in the State Senate, ...
New Study Championing Medicare for All Is Bogus
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2017 Medicare for All bill (S.1804) would guarantee exceptional care to all Americans while reducing health spending by $5.11 trillion. At least that’s what a new study from researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute, which is co-directed by Professor Robert Pollin, claims. Sound too good ...
Sacramento’s “Funniest Unfunny Man” Prepares to Exit Stage Left
Gov. Jerry Brown was once described by my former boss, Connie Conway, as the “funniest unfunny man” she’d ever met. For anyone who had the opportunity to watch his “exit interview” at the Sacramento Press Club, you’d know that this is an apt description. When asked to make a particularly ...
‘Unconstitutional’ ObamaCare is deeply flawed, and it’s time to do away with it
Last week, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled that ObamaCare – in its entirety – is unconstitutional. ObamaCare’s defenders plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. The legal fight could drag on for ...
ObamaCare continues to fail
Open enrollment in the 39 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov insurance exchange looks like it will end with a whimper this Saturday. Through the first month, sign-ups are down 11 percent compared to the same period last year. It’s easy to see why. The cost of insurance is unmanageable ...