The Truth about the Individual Market by Greg Scandlen Reprinted with permission from http://healthblog.ncpa.org The individual market for health insurance has been long disparaged for being too expensive and too restrictive. The criticisms about health insurance are usually based on what the individual market is doing. The promise by supporters of the Affordable Care Act
Read More...Healthcare System Plagued By “Perverse Incentives,” Expert Says. In an op-ed in the Washington Times (4/25), John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, says that while the Medicare Trustees Report released Monday “is a serious document reflecting accepted accounting principles,” the document presented by the Obama Administration on the eve of
Read More...Experts Say Employers, Insurance Companies In Charge If Healthcare Overhaul Collapses. In a story carried by more than 135 news sources, the AP (4/25, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that according to experts, “employers and insurance companies will take charge” if the Supreme Court decides to strike down President Obama’s healthcare overhaul. The piece details what to expect.
Read More...Poll Shows Media Surrounding High Court Hearings On ACA Did Not Change Opinions. CQ (4/24, Bristol, Subscription Publication) reports that a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll of 1,210 adults conducted April 4-10 found that “the media barrage surrounding the Supreme Court arguments on the constitutionality of the health care overhaul made more Americans say they were
Read More...Carney, Sebelius Defend Medicare Bonus Demonstration Against GAO Report. ABC News /OTUS News (4/24, Tapper) reports on its website, “The White House Monday downplayed a Government Accountability Office report calling into question the effectiveness of bonuses distributed in a $8.3 billion demonstration program for Medicare Advantage.” While “the GAO recommended that Health and Human Services
Read More...Republicans Sound Alarm On Medicare. The National Journal (4/18, McCarthy, Subscription Publication) reports, “Congressional Republicans are sounding a warning on Medicare, saying that the program would be left without a clear way to pay doctors and hospitals if it runs out of money.” The report, which comes from “Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and
Read More...Republicans Say HHS Growing To Implement ACA. The Hill (4/18, Baker) reports in its “Healthwatch” blog, “Republicans argued Tuesday that the Obama administration has hired droves of new bureaucrats to implement the administration’s healthcare reform law. The Joint Economic Committee, led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), said Tuesday that the Health and Human Services Department
Read More...HHS To Transfer $500 Million To IRS To Implement ACA. The Hill (4/10, Baker) reports in its “Healthwatch” blog, “The Obama administration is quietly diverting roughly $500 million to the IRS to help implement the president’s healthcare law.” While, “Republican lawmakers have tried to cut off funding to implement the healthcare law,” the Administration “has
Read More...Study Concludes ACA Will Increase Deficit $340 Billion In The Next Decade. The Washington Post (4/10, Montgomery) reports the Affordable Care Act, “long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by” Charles Blahous, a
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