Recent Articles

“Republicans have rightly pledged to pass legislation in the House to repeal Obamacare, but they are also considering trying to repeal Obamacare ‘piece by piece’ after the Democrats inevitably kill that full repeal legislation. It’s understandable that Republicans, in their determination to repeal Obamacare, would seek and would welcome any partial victories in this vein. But it’s important that Republicans resist that temptation, which is highly problematic for two principal reasons…”

In light of evidence that cost controls in Medicare result in wide disparities between different regions, a study was conducted to see how private insurance fared on that measure. It turns out that medical providers respond differently to pressures in a private, competitive market and private health plans are better able to control costs than government-run plans.

“Striking down the Obamacare individual mandate would be a historic vindication of the rule of law. But if the courts find that the mandate is not severable from the remainder of the statute, then it could wipe clean the slate of health care reform. That would return this issue to a new Congress — and possibly a new president — to devise reform legislation that will actually improve health care costs, instead of an unprecedented invasion into the lives and liberties of American citizens.”

Seniors are facing growing difficulties in seeing doctors who accept Medicare patients. Medicare reimbursement rates are very low, and ObamaCare is scheduled to make them much lower, driving doctors out of the program.

“If ACOs become the only possibility for organizing, financing and delivering care, physicians and patients alike will find themselves in a treatment straightjacket. Thus, government should not give ACOs a competitive edge. If the ACO is such a good idea, let it develop in an open pluralistic market with no subsidy or other government advantage.”

“Responses to the survey combined with written comments received from physicians strongly indicate that most
physicians are not favorably disposed toward health reform and are pessimistic about its potential effects on
their practices. As reform is being implemented, many physicians plan to take steps that would remove them
from patient care or limit patient access to their practices.”

“Of all the scary scenarios predicted for the new health law this is among the scariest: A new survey of doctors predicts the rapid extinction of the private-practice physician. A survey of some 2,400 MDs from around the country found nearly three quarters said they plan to retire, work part-time, stop taking new patients, become an employee, or seek a non-clinical position in the next one to three years.”

“Liberal consumer groups are aghast to learn that the Obama health team are really monopolists at heart, bent on handing hospitals a cartel in their local markets. Sunday’s New York Times report on this horror confirms what I wrote about in these pages weeks ago… I warned that the creation of ‘accountable care organizations,’ which put hospitals in control of all the doctors in their outlying areas, would lead to concentrated power over the provision of medical care–turning physicians into salaried employees and reducing consumer choices.”

ObamaCare mandates that plans allow children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. This raises premium costs, driving many plans to drop coverage for dependents altogether. “One of the largest union-administered health-insurance funds in New York is dropping coverage for the children of more than 30,000 low-wage home attendants, union officials said.”

ObamaCare was rushed through the legislative process, and a drafting error could sharply limit access to life-saving drugs for children. “The error was a simple and unintentional omission in the final, frenetic days of drafting the landmark legislation and reconciling House and Senate versions. Con gressional staff intended to allow children’s hospitals continued access to the portion of a federal program that offers below-market prices on 347 specific medicines for rare, life-threatening conditions. But that language was accidentally altered.”