Medical debt
Commentary
There’s no epidemic of medical bankruptcy
An estimated 100 million Americans have healthcare debt, according to polling released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The problem is so dire, Kaiser says, that it’s pushing millions of people out of their homes or into bankruptcy. But a closer look at the data reveals that medical debt, while burdensome ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 29, 2022
Blog
Dysfunctional Department Store Demonstrate Health Care Hoodwinks
Recently, a storewide sale sign lured me into a local department store. I meandered the aisles until I found a birthday gift for my toddler: a cute magnetic fishing pole toy. But to my surprise, I couldn’t find the item’s price anywhere. Not on the box, not on the shelf. ...
McKenzie Richards
June 17, 2022
Commentary
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 11, 2022
Featured
NEW BRIEF: Broken System Imposes Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs on Patients, Puts Interests of Government and Insurers First
America’s broken third-party healthcare payment system prioritizes government and insurance companies as the largest payers, leaving patients with higher out-of-pocket costs, greater exposure to healthcare financial risk, and reduced access to care – finds the latest paper in the Coverage Denied series released today by the Center for Medical Economics ...
Wayne H Winegarden
April 28, 2022
Commentary
Don’t Believe the ‘Medical Bankruptcy’ Narrative
Americans collectively have about $140 billion in outstanding medical debts, according to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those hefty bills are driving many people into bankruptcy – at least according to prominent progressives. Left-wing leaders have long stoked fears of “medical bankruptcy” to ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 20, 2022
Commentary
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
Sally C. Pipes
January 7, 2022
Featured
New PRI Series to Show How Flawed U.S. Health Insurance System Inflates Costs, Decreases Quality and Reduces Health Outcomes
Addressing the ongoing problems with the U.S. health insurance system, the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today announced the release of the first paper in the Coverage Denied series, which will analyze and propose reforms to fix the problems in the current system ...
Wayne H Winegarden
October 21, 2021
Commentary
Bernie’s Math Problem
Anyone in earshot of a television set, or a smart phone, is undoubtedly aware that the undisputed front-runner in the Democratic Primary wants to spend more money – a lot of it. And, while these policies are economically flawed, Senator Sanders also has a fundamental math problem. Reviewing his website, there ...
Wayne Winegarden
February 24, 2020
Commentary
Obamacare’s Partisans Complain about High Premiums but Oppose Solution
Exchange plan premiums will rise an average of 15 percent next year, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released this past Wednesday. Congressional Democrats blamed the president. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., tweeted that the rate hike is “largely due to Trump Administration sabotage of the health insurance market.” Senate ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 29, 2018
Commentary
Medical bankruptcy: Fact or fiction?
This year, a whopping 1.25 million Americans are expected to file for bankruptcy. That’s about equal to the entire population of New Hampshire. Ask the president and his allies whom to blame, and they’ll point to health care. President Obama has claimed that the cost of health care causes a ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 23, 2012
There’s no epidemic of medical bankruptcy
An estimated 100 million Americans have healthcare debt, according to polling released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The problem is so dire, Kaiser says, that it’s pushing millions of people out of their homes or into bankruptcy. But a closer look at the data reveals that medical debt, while burdensome ...
Dysfunctional Department Store Demonstrate Health Care Hoodwinks
Recently, a storewide sale sign lured me into a local department store. I meandered the aisles until I found a birthday gift for my toddler: a cute magnetic fishing pole toy. But to my surprise, I couldn’t find the item’s price anywhere. Not on the box, not on the shelf. ...
A bankrupt argument for single-payer health care
Are Americans going bankrupt because of medical debt? Leading progressives seem to think so. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently called for all medical debt to be canceled. “‘Medical debt’ and ‘Medical bankruptcy’ are two phrases that should not exist in the United States of America,” he said after the major ...
NEW BRIEF: Broken System Imposes Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs on Patients, Puts Interests of Government and Insurers First
America’s broken third-party healthcare payment system prioritizes government and insurance companies as the largest payers, leaving patients with higher out-of-pocket costs, greater exposure to healthcare financial risk, and reduced access to care – finds the latest paper in the Coverage Denied series released today by the Center for Medical Economics ...
Don’t Believe the ‘Medical Bankruptcy’ Narrative
Americans collectively have about $140 billion in outstanding medical debts, according to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those hefty bills are driving many people into bankruptcy – at least according to prominent progressives. Left-wing leaders have long stoked fears of “medical bankruptcy” to ...
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
New PRI Series to Show How Flawed U.S. Health Insurance System Inflates Costs, Decreases Quality and Reduces Health Outcomes
Addressing the ongoing problems with the U.S. health insurance system, the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute today announced the release of the first paper in the Coverage Denied series, which will analyze and propose reforms to fix the problems in the current system ...
Bernie’s Math Problem
Anyone in earshot of a television set, or a smart phone, is undoubtedly aware that the undisputed front-runner in the Democratic Primary wants to spend more money – a lot of it. And, while these policies are economically flawed, Senator Sanders also has a fundamental math problem. Reviewing his website, there ...
Obamacare’s Partisans Complain about High Premiums but Oppose Solution
Exchange plan premiums will rise an average of 15 percent next year, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released this past Wednesday. Congressional Democrats blamed the president. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., tweeted that the rate hike is “largely due to Trump Administration sabotage of the health insurance market.” Senate ...
Medical bankruptcy: Fact or fiction?
This year, a whopping 1.25 million Americans are expected to file for bankruptcy. That’s about equal to the entire population of New Hampshire. Ask the president and his allies whom to blame, and they’ll point to health care. President Obama has claimed that the cost of health care causes a ...