Author Frequently asked questions. 525 items Posts navigation Newer 1 … 35 36 37 38 39 … 53 Older Unions fight for better health plans, but… December 18, 2019 By Noam N. Levey Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2019 Even as soaring insurance deductibles wreak financial havoc on millions of American families, some workers have managed to dodge the affordability crisis. In Boston, a labor union representing the city’s hotel workers offers its members health coverage with no deductible and family premiums just a […] Quote of the Day Wendell Potter pulls Choice of Care out of ‘My Care, My Choice’ December 17, 2019 By Wendell Potter Twitter, December 16, 2019 Lately I’ve noticed some Democratic politicians defending the current healthcare system by saying it preserves “choice” for Americans. As a former health insurance exec who helped draft this talking point, I need to come clean on its back story, and why it’s wrong and a trap. 1/11 When […] Quote of the Day It’s the private insurers, stupid December 16, 2019 By Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation Axios, December 16, 2019 The cost of private health insurance is out of control, compared to Medicare and Medicaid. You see that clearly if you take a long-term view of recently released federal data on health spending. Why it matters: This is why the health care industry — not […] Quote of the Day Private Medicare Advantage plans use chart review to bilk the taxpayers out of billions December 13, 2019 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, December 2019 The risk adjustment program is an important Medicare Advantage (MA) payment mechanism. It levels the playing field for MA organizations (MAOs) that enroll sicker beneficiaries who need a more costly level of care. This helps to ensure that sicker beneficiaries have continued […] Quote of the Day President Trump’s Executive Order to privatize Medicare December 12, 2019 By Donald J. Trump The White House, October 3, 2019 (Excerpts) By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Purpose. The proposed Medicare for All Act of 2019, as introduced in the Senate (“Medicare for […] Quote of the Day Moving forward on Medicare for All: House Hearing, and January Colloquium December 11, 2019 By Jessie Hellmann The Hill, December 10, 2019 “Medicare for All” supporters scored a victory Tuesday with a long-awaited hearing in one of the House’s most powerful committees, putting more focus on the health care proposal that has divided the field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The Energy and Commerce Committee discussed the single-payer health […] Quote of the Day Medicare for All would improve hospital financing December 10, 2019 By Christopher Cai, James Kahn Health Affairs Blog, December 9, 2019 Hospitals account for more than one trillion dollars of health expenditures annually, and analysts have raised concerns that a shift to single payer, or Medicare for All, might adversely affect hospital care. A common narrative has emerged in the popular press and in medical […] Quote of the Day It’s irrefutable, health insurance saves lives December 9, 2019 By Jacob Goldin, Ithai Z. Lurie, and Janet McCubbin National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2019 Abstract We evaluate a randomized pilot study in which the IRS sent informational letters to 3.9 million taxpayers who paid a tax penalty for lacking health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Drawing on administrative data, we study […] Quote of the Day National Health Care Spending; But what’s the real story? December 6, 2019 By Micah Hartman, Anne B. Martin, Joseph Benson, Aaron Catlin – CMS Office of the Actuary Health Affairs, December 5, 2019 Abstract US health care spending increased 4.6 percent to reach $3.6 trillion in 2018, a faster growth rate than the rate of 4.2 percent in 2017 but the same rate as in 2016. The […] Quote of the Day Declining life expectancy in the United States December 5, 2019 By Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH; Heidi Schoomaker, MAEd JAMA, November 26, 2019 Abstract Importance: US life expectancy has not kept pace with that of other wealthy countries and is now decreasing. Objective: To examine vital statistics and review the history of changes in US life expectancy and increasing mortality rates; and to identify potential […] Quote of the Day Posts navigation Newer 1 … 35 36 37 38 39 … 53 Older