President Trump wants you to see upfront prices for health care. That’s why a few months ago, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published a request for comments about whether and how to end secret prices in health care. The deadline for comments was last week, and the submissions from the industries…
Details“Any effort to bring more visibility and data to the consumer on health care costs is a step in the right direction. Health care is just far too opaque, and so anything we can do to address that is a step in the right direction — but there will be some controversy. There will be entrenched interests that will try to oppose it.”
DetailsIf arbitration appears innocuous, it is to a large extent because it is not transparent. Experience suggests that arbitration would be cumbersome to deploy, and highly favorable to those health care providers who charge high prices today.
DetailsTotal health expenditures under a Medicare for All plan that provides comprehensive coverage and long-term care benefits would be $3.89 trillion in 2019 (assuming such a plan was in place for all of the year), or a 1.8 percent increase relative to expenditures under current law. This estimate accounts for a variety of factors including…
DetailsAEI economist Benedic N. Ippolito testified before the Senate HELP Committee on the Lower Health Care Costs Act. Ippolito applauded the bipartisan effort to “meaningfully increase competition and transparency in health care markets…lowering costs would also improve access to health care.”
Senate HELP Committee leaders Wednesday unveiled their wide-ranging bill to address health care costs including “surprise” medical bills. [While surprise medical bills are a serious problem and the goal is laudable, Congress has tried in the past to address this issue, leading to unintended and expensive consequences. All of the proposals before the HELP committee are…
DetailsWhile Washington debates whether the “rebate rule” proposed by the Trump administration would cause federal spending to rise, too many are forgetting the people it would help. The rebate rule would convert rebates on brand-name prescription drugs—paid by pharmaceutical companies to health insurance plans—into upfront discounts—shared directly with patients at the pharmacy. The rule affects…
DetailsSingle-payer health care is a dividing line in the race, separating Democrats who want to replace the private insurance system from those who favor improving it. Some candidates — like Bernie Sanders and Michael Bennet — picked a clear side. Others, like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, took a middle path.
Despite all the hoopla about Obamacare and its individual plans, most working-age Americans still get their health insurance through their employers. And as countless health wonks have noted, there are lots of problems with that. Employer offerings are limited and are not portable when people switch jobs. And the tax advantages that perpetuate this situation…
DetailsRising support for socialism in the United States comes at a time when politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., promise a great many “free” services, to be provided or guaranteed by the government. Supporters often point to nations with large social programs, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian states, particularly when it…
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