Archive for the ‘The Blog Line’ Category
The Blog Line, 2-17
The following blogs discuss alternatives to the individual mandate, Florida’s Medicaid problem, issues related to CT scan overuse and a cure for the common cold.
The Blog Line, 12-21
The legal challenges against the federal health reform law, Medicaid reforms and questionable practices in the pharmaceutical industry are on the minds of bloggers this week.
The Blog Line, 11-23
Today’s blogs look at physicians’ conflicts of interest and the medical-loss ratio rules that HHS released yesterday.
The Blog Line, 11-22
Today’s blogs discuss two senators joining the multistate lawsuit against health reform, plans to reform Medicaid and Medicare that are part of larger deficit reduction proposals, and the issues surrounding the encouragement of accountable care organizations by the federal health reform law.
The Blog Line, 10-25
Health policy blogs today discuss Halloween-themed op-eds on health reform, long-term care insurance, and FDA’s refusal to approve Arena’s weight-loss pill, among other topics.
The Blog Line
Included are recent blog postings related to lawmakers’ ideological entrenchment over health reform, recently implemented overhaul provisions and juicy tidbits about current reform efforts from Tom Daschle’s forthcoming book.
THE BLOG LINE: News From the Right — U.S. Residents Will Be Unhappy With Overhaul’s Cost
When the federal health reform law was signed in March, it was met with some with opposition and confusion. Six months later, Americans are no clearer on the fine print and how it will affect them, despite several of its provisions taking effect Thursday. As information becomes available, it has become obvious to some that the overhaul’s sometimes-secretive details are going to cost them. Today’s “Blog Line” features a trio of entries from “The Foundry,” the blog of the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Kathryn Nix writes that while U.S. residents were warned that the overhaul would increase costs, “the number of provisions in ObamaCare that will increase premiums is likely far larger than most people realize.”Nix cites research that outlines reasons our insurance premiums will go up, including mandated benefits, a minimized youth discount, and adverse selection of health insurance.
Diane Katz reports on the fact that by Jan. 1, 2011, returns from heath reimbursement accounts will only be permitted for over-the-counter medicines if they were purchased with a prescription. She argues that, “Despite President Obama’s platitudes about ‘slowing the growth of health care costs’ and ‘eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud,’ there’s no hiding the fact that his grand plan is a budget-buster.”
Kathryn Nix again checks in, this time about employee-based coverage. She argues that while Obama promised that existing plans would be “grandfathered” under the new law, it was soon obvious that “this wouldn’t be the case” due to strict requirements. Under these regulations, “51% of existing employer-sponsored plans will no longer qualify as ‘grandfathered,’” she writes. She also notes that Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) will introduce a resolution of disapproval to overturn this. “The administration’s grandfather rule is a job killing, wage cutting, game changer for small businesses. …This is not the kind of reform people wanted,” Enzi said.
by Jill Shatzen, staff writer
What’s the most-important health care news of the day? Subscribers to First Look find out by 8:30 a.m. ET. Start every morning with First Look, American Health Line’s free roundup of the key policy, strategic and clinical developments shaping health care. See a sample issue or subscribe by clicking HERE.
THE BLOG LINE: I Pledge Allegiance, to the Care, of Additional U.S. Residents
Republicans just released their “Pledge to America” agenda for how they would limit the size of government, in part by repealing and replacing the federal health reform law, if they win a majority in the midterm elections.
Igor Volsky of “The Wonk Room” writes that the smaller reforms proposed by Republicans, which the GOP says would “lower costs for families and small businesses, increase access to affordable, high-quality care and strengthen the doctor-patient relationship,” are comprised of various proposals already included in the Democrats’ reform law. In addition, Volsky notes that the GOP does not mention initiatives relating to Medicare and Medicaid reform in the pledge. He writes, “Repealing the law would increase Medicare spending,” adding, “How do the Republicans plan to hold down those costs?” He concludes, “On that their document is absolutely silent.”
Ezra Klein writes that Democrats could learn something from the GOP pledge. He writes, “Voters are obviously judging Democrats on their record, but they are also judging them based on what they’ll do next.” He continues, “Voters don’t know about the 372 bills the House has passed and the Senate has ignored, or the 44 bills the Senate has passed and the House hasn’t acted on.” Democrats, he notes, “still have big things they want to do. They’ve just stopped talking about them because they can’t pass them,” such as the public health insurance option that did not make the final reform law but remains popular. Klein writes, “Dedicating themselves to any or all of those policies would make for an exciting agenda,” adding, “In the absence of such an agenda, however, it just seems like the Democrats are running on the fumes of the past two years.”
by Matthew Wayt, staff writer
What’s the most-important health care news of the day? Subscribers to First Look find out by 8:30 a.m. ET. Start every morning with First Look, American Health Line’s free roundup of the key policy, strategic and clinical developments shaping health care. See a sample issue or subscribe by clicking HERE.
THE BLOG LINE: Medicare in the Mix
So we found out today that in 2011, the 11.3 million U.S. residents who are enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans can expect to pay on average about 1% less for their premiums. According to the New York Times, this news from CMS Administrator Donald Berwick was unexpected because some lawmakers and health policy experts actually had predicted an increase in MA premium rates. Medicare officials said they were able to negotiate with insurers using new powers provided by the federal health reform law.
Austin Frakt of “The Incidental Economist” believes the officials are making it sound simpler than it really was. “Negotiating,” he writes, “is not a magic process. You can’t just ‘negotiate’ your way to whatever you want. To reach an outcome to your liking via negotiation you need some leverage. There must be something the opposition wants that you can provide. That is, there is some reason why MA plans want to remain in the program and in the good graces of the Administration.” Frakt writes, “The reason … has to do with money.”
Still on the topic of Medicare, the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein discusses the role of the popular health care entitlement program in efforts to balance the federal budget in comparison with Social Security. He notes that “Social Security is a program of cash transfers to America’s elderly” and its “administrative costs are less than 1%,” whereas Medicare “is a program that purchases health care services on behalf of America’s elderly.” According to Klein, Medicare should be cut first to balance the budget because it is “the primary contributor to our fiscal problem (though really, the entire health care sector is).” He continues, “Washington doesn’t want to face up to this reality because it’s still exhausted from 2010′s health care reform fight, which focused mainly on coverage and contented itself with making a start on costs.”
by Santosh Rao, senior writer
What’s the most-important health care news of the day? Subscribers to First Look find out by 8:30 a.m. ET. Start every morning with First Look, American Health Line’s free roundup of the key policy, strategic and clinical developments shaping health care. See a sample issue or subscribe by clicking HERE.
THE BLOG LINE: Doesn’t Anybody Care About the Children?
This morning, American Health Line looked at how several large health insurance companies in recent days decided to halt their child-only insurance policies, just days before the federal health reform law would require them to offer the plans to all children regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. Insurance industry officials argue that without a coverage mandate in place, families could wait until their kids need medical care to obtain coverage and then cancel it after their treatment is complete, which could pose financial liabilities for their companies.
This development is not all that surprising, according Hot Air‘s Ed Morrissey. He writes, “Most of us outside of the White House understood that by forcing insurers to take on more risk while pressuring them to keep prices down, we would either see insurers stop offering certain policies or go out of business altogether.” According to Morrissey, “This should be Econ 101, or at the least Insurance 101.” He concludes, “When government intervenes in markets for social engineering and political outcomes, the outcomes are always skewed and irrational. This time, it’s the children that will pay.”
Over at the Huffington Post, entrepreneur and biotechnology consultant Paul Abrams suggests that Congress mark Thursday — the six-month anniversary of the federal health reform law, and the day that a series of new regulations on the health insurance industry are scheduled to take effect — with a special vote in the House and Senate chambers. Lawmakers, Abrams writes, will have to a cast a “Yes or No” or “Up or Down” vote, indicating where their interests lie: with the “American people or the insurance companies.” He writes, “Let us see what the Republicans do. If they vote in favor of this resolution, they will have associated themselves with President Obama’s health care reform, and alienate their base,” adding, “If they vote against it, they will have voted for the insurance companies and against the American people.”
by Santosh Rao, senior writer
What’s the most-important health care news of the day? Subscribers to First Look find out by 8:30 a.m. ET. Start every morning with First Look, American Health Line’s free roundup of the key policy, strategic and clinical developments shaping health care. See a sample issue or subscribe by clicking HERE.
