Daily Archives: September 27, 2018

To get health care costs under control, we must restore market forces and equip patients to be involved in their care. That means empowering the doctor-patient relationship, which benefits not just the patient’s health, but also the patient’s pocketbook. Currently, practice, laws and regulations work to keep the power and money surrounding health care decisions in the hands of bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists. That is wrong.

Former President Barack Obama promised the Affordable Care Act would bend “the cost curve and [start] to reduce costs for families, businesses, and government.” But his pledge has gone unfulfilled – patients and taxpayers are spending record amounts on healthcare.

This year, total healthcare spending will increase 5.3 percent, according to a recent estimate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s after spending rose by 4.6 percent last year to total $3.5 trillion.

What does health insurance cost without a subsidy? Unfortunately, not everyone qualifies for subsidies, so it’s important to see what health insurance costs without them.

• Premiums for individual coverage averaged $440 per month while premiums for family plans averaged $1,168 per month. The graphs below demonstrate the rise in both individual and family premiums since the Affordable Care Act’s inception.
• The average annual deductible for individual plans was $4,578 and the average deductible for family plans was $8,803. The graphs below demonstrate the rise in both family and individual deductibles since the Affordable Care Act’s inception.

Republicans are sending mixed messages on federalism. On “gag clauses,” all Republicans save two voted on Monday to intrude on states’ handling of pharmaceutical negotiations — even though a majority of states have passed legislation on this topic, including 15 just this year. And on “surprise billing,” Sen. Bill Cassidy — sponsor of the Graham-Cassidy legislation — apparently thinks states are smart enough to handle $1.2 trillion in Obamacare spending, yet are too stupid to craft policy regarding out-of-network medical bills.