Audits and investigations into the effects of ObamaCare from congressional committees, government auditors, advocacy groups, and others.
“The turn toward consolidation among insurance companies is not new, and neither is it among doctors, hospitals and other providers. Yet the health bill has accelerated these trends, as all sides race to anticipate and manage political risk and regulatory uncertainty. This dynamic is leading to much larger hospital systems and physician groups, and fewer insurers dominated by a handful of national conglomerates. ObamaCare was sold using the language of choice and competition, but it is actually reducing both.”
“The president’s health-reform law is almost seven months old, and it’s already threatening thousands of Americans’ ability to access affordable health insurance.”
“The health legislation doesn’t call on government tribunals to euthanize seniors, as some fanciful critics claim, but the bill does kill off private-practice medicine. ObamaCare envisions that doctors will fold their private offices to become salaried hospital employees, making it easier for the federal government to regulate them and centrally manage the costly medical services they prescribe. To get this control, ObamaCare creates ‘Accountable Care Organizations,’ which are basically hospitals coupled with local doctor networks that the hospital owns.”
“As the details of this massive government-led health care overhaul begin to trickle out, let me be clear (to borrow the president’s go-to phrase): The medical system is about to be overwhelmed because there are no disincentives for overuse.”
“What percentage of premium revenue should health insurance companies spend on clinical services? Thanks to the new health care law, that’s for the federal government to decide.”
“This change works well as part of an incrementalist strategy to destroy the private insurance market–especially patient-driven healthcare. I realize that may sound cynical. But the far left has made no secrets about its desire to create a single-payer system and to use a strategy of patient trench warfare (no pun) to create it. Obamacare was a major advance towards that end and, tactically, the eventual destruction of HSAs must figure in to said strategy.”
Three Catholic hospitals in Pennsylvania are putting themselves up for sale because they are unable to cope with ObamaCare’s interference. “Officials said there are numerous reasons for the sale. One big one is the heath care reform bill signed into law this year… The CEO said it means the need for more spending and less federal reimbursements.”
“When a federal program is hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars and delivering poor results, policymakers should reform it. Fundamental Medicaid reform is desperately needed. Market-based principles should be introduced to re-align incentives of doctors and patients so that quality can increase and cost can decrease. Instead of addressing the many problems of Medicaid, Obamacare doubles down on the broken program and greatly adds to its rolls.”
Texas doctors will be unable to accept new Medicaid patients under scheduled reimbursement cuts. ObamaCare further squeezes these physicians with more across the board cuts, which will lead to access problems.
“So here’s the bottom line: The new health reform law does have three notable cost-control mechanisms — two of which are very aggressive. None of the three, however, are likely to achieve their objective.”