Recent Articles

“Medical prices accelerated faster than some projections last year and the number of uninsured is rising, according to data that show the U.S. goal of expanding health care is veering onto a more difficult road.”

“The concerns are also damning in the context of the the normal tug of war between the states and Washington DC. That’s because in his testimony, Mr. Consedine states he wrote to HHS weeks ago and has not received a reply. While its’ not unusual for the Feds to stiff politically inconvenient inquiries, I am fearful that the reason why HHS seems unwilling to provide a timely reply is because it doesn’t know the answers.”

“Two new independent studies of health insurance premiums and health care spending indicate both are rising at an accelerated pace, despite President Obama’s 2008 promise to contain those costs and his pledge that his health care legislation would reduce premiums.”

“The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) on fully-insured premium markets imposed by Obamacare could raise $87 billion over the next ten years and also cost between 125,000 and 249,000 jobs by 2021, according to a study.”

“Even as the new health care law adds millions of insured customers to the paying pool, medical device manufacturers say a tax on their product could cost them billions… But the manufacturers say the tax will force money away from research, send jobs overseas and stop them from expanding in the U.S.”

“PPACA is poised to radically expand Medicaid coverage beginning in 2014—adding to an already crushing state burden of Medicaid costs. The “perfect storm” of Medicaid overspending, excessive regulation, and PPACA expansion is leading to serious discussions among governors and state Medicaid directors about block-granting federal Medicaid funding in return for significant state flexibility in Medicaid program design and administration.”

“Nearly 13 million Americans have gotten, or will soon be getting, rebates from their health insurance companies. This is because of a provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) that’s supposed to force insurance companies to run better. But while the idea of getting a check from your health insurance company may sound great, some economists worry this rule could actually make health insurance more expensive.”

“According to CBO, 11-12 million uninsured Americans will be subject to the mandate; the agency expects more than half of them to pay the fine instead of buying insurance. But there’s something that the CBO didn’t say: as more people pay the ‘tax penalty’ instead of buying insurance, premiums for everyone else will go up, potentially triggering a death spiral in the private insurance market.”

“Oklahoma’s attorney general on Wednesday filed a fresh legal challenge to the federal health-overhaul law, zeroing in on penalties that employers in the state would face if they didn’t offer affordable health coverage to their workers. The lawsuit puts a new twist on opponents’ legal fight against the overhaul.”

“Nearly six million Americans, most of them middle-income workers, will face a tax penalty under President Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, Congressional analysts said Wednesday. That estimate, from analysts at the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, is significantly higher than their previous projection, calculated in 2010 shortly after the law passed.”