Thursday, October 31, 2019
Sorry, rich people, you'll pay more so we can have single payer - Los Angeles Times
Sorry, rich people, you'll pay more so we can have single payer - Los Angeles Times: The rich bought themselves tax breaks; now, the rest of us need single payer. It's time to make the wealthy pay more, no matter how much they protest.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Sunday, October 27, 2019
“Medicare for All” is becoming a political quagmire for Elizabeth Warren.
“Medicare for All” is becoming a political quagmire for Elizabeth Warren.: She's promised a plan to pay for single payer that reduces costs for the middle class. Doing that is going to be hard.
To the editor: Single-payer care will save $400 billion | Toledo Blade
To the editor: Single-payer care will save $400 billion | Toledo Blade: The government needs to stop trying their failed for-profit health-care solutions and give the American people what they’ve been demanding for years. ...
Why Do The Wealthy Want to Throw Children Off Food Stamps & Medicaid? - YouTube
Why Do The Wealthy Want to Throw Children Off Food Stamps & Medicaid? - YouTube: Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
A New Generation of Activist Doctors Is Fighting for Medicare for All | Time
A New Generation of Activist Doctors Is Fighting for Medicare for All | Time: The medical field, once one of the most conservative professions, is becoming an unlikely hotbed of progressive political activity.
Hundreds lose health coverage over new Minn. Medicaid rules - StarTribune.com
Hundreds lose health coverage over new Minn. Medicaid rules - StarTribune.com: DHS said 1,300 people have lost their coverage since the state's new asset-verification policy went into effect last month. Hundreds more are at risk of losing coverage as the agency rolls out the new system statewide through next spring.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Single-payer vs. public option: Comparing cost, coverage
Single-payer vs. public option: Comparing cost, coverage: The U.S. can plausibly achieve near-universal coverage without increasing national health expenditures, according to a study of health reform policies from the left-leaning Urban Institute funded by the Commonwealth Fund.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
The positive effects of Obamacare are stalling — here's why
The positive effects of Obamacare are stalling — here's why: The state of health care is a polarizing topic in the U.S. as the 2020 presidential election draws closer. And recent data suggests that the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, is starting to slow.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Researchers Detail How Slashing Pentagon Budget Could Pay for Medicare for All While Creating Progressive Foreign Policy Americans Want | Common Dreams News
Researchers Detail How Slashing Pentagon Budget Could Pay for Medicare for All While Creating Progressive Foreign Policy Americans Want | Common Dreams News: "Proposals to fund Medicare for All have focused on raising taxes. But what if we could imagine another way entirely?"
The Urban Institute’s Single Payer Cost Estimate: False Assumptions False Conclusions - PNHP
The Urban Institute’s Single Payer Cost Estimate: False Assumptions False Conclusions - PNHP: Share on FacebookShare on Twitter By David U. Himmelstein, M.D., and Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H. The Urban Institute’s (UI) new…read more
The High Cost of Warren and Sanders's Single-Payer Plan - The Atlantic
The High Cost of Warren and Sanders's Single-Payer Plan - The Atlantic: According to new figures: more than the federal government will spend over the coming decade on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined.
“Medicare for All” is getting less popular.
“Medicare for All” is getting less popular.: But more voters than ever want a public option.
Health care debate shows the lies I told for insurance companies about 'Medicare for All' worked
Health care debate shows the lies I told for insurance companies about 'Medicare for All' worked: Democratic debate with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on health care and health insurance shows how 'Medicare for All' was sunk by insurers.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
For-Profit Hospital Industry Leads Fight Against Medicare for All
For-Profit Hospital Industry Leads Fight Against Medicare for All: Tenet Healthcare, the nation’s third-largest investor-owned operator of hospitals, has donated nearly $630,000 to the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Trump's Five Big Changes To 'Obamacare' : Shots - Health News : NPR
Trump's Five Big Changes To 'Obamacare' : Shots - Health News : NPR: Though polls show Affordable Care Act protections remain popular in the U.S., President Trump still threatens to drastically change the law if he can't repeal it. Here are five changes he's made.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Government Watchdog Faults Trump Administration’s Approval of Medicaid Work Requirements
https://www.wsj.com/articles/government-watchdog-faults-trump-administrations-approval-of-medicaid-work-requirements-11570757426?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20Daily%20Health%20Policy%20Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=77956879&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--wnCf40SN5rx0qrGlqwD8lPCe5Tp87419L5Alz3FA4r3347Z0TXGJ0YNH7EaxiuV7umbUyzu4XtJfxaJ-h9ULvI2GuFA&_hsmi=77956879
From Kip Sullivan: Early in October CMS announced that its main ACO program, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, saved $739 million in 2018 after accounting for bonuses paid out to some ACOs and collecting penalties from a few others. CMS released a similar press release a year ago announcing smaller savings in 2017 (after announcing losses between 2012-2016).
What CMS has never bothered to announce is (a) the savings constitute a tiny fraction of Medicare spending on the Medicare beneficiaries assigned to ACOs (without their knowledge) and (b) these savings are much smaller than the overhead costs of the ACOs (I'm not even counting CMS's overhead in running that complex program).
According to an article in Medpage, the savings in 2018 equaled a mere $73 per beneficiary. https://www.
When we do the math, we discover the $73 per beneficiary savings in 2018 was half a percentage point of total Medicare spending on the 10 million beneficiaries assigned to ACOs in 2018.
According to MedPAC's staff, the average ACO has overhead of 2 percent of Medicare spending. (I suspect that's low.) Obviously, 2 percent is four times half a percent. ACOs, in short, are raising total spending.
The complete disinterest in administrative costs is par for the course for CMS and other managed care advocates. All the managed care schemes ever proposed -- from HMOs in the 1970s to "medical homes" in the 2000s to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in the 2010s -- were proposed without any evidence on the administrative costs of these schemes. Managed care buffs suffer from terminal free-lunch syndrome.
Interestingly, Kaiser Health News yesterday summarized a Wall St J story about a GAO report saying Trump's wizards at HHS forgot to include administrative costs in their estimate of how much Medicaid would save if states added work requirements to their Medicaid programs. I have pasted in the blurb below. Notice the final bolded sentence.
Beats me why the GAO hasn't done this for all the managed care fads.
From Kip Sullivan: Early in October CMS announced that its main ACO program, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, saved $739 million in 2018 after accounting for bonuses paid out to some ACOs and collecting penalties from a few others. CMS released a similar press release a year ago announcing smaller savings in 2017 (after announcing losses between 2012-2016).
What CMS has never bothered to announce is (a) the savings constitute a tiny fraction of Medicare spending on the Medicare beneficiaries assigned to ACOs (without their knowledge) and (b) these savings are much smaller than the overhead costs of the ACOs (I'm not even counting CMS's overhead in running that complex program).
According to an article in Medpage, the savings in 2018 equaled a mere $73 per beneficiary. https://www.
When we do the math, we discover the $73 per beneficiary savings in 2018 was half a percentage point of total Medicare spending on the 10 million beneficiaries assigned to ACOs in 2018.
According to MedPAC's staff, the average ACO has overhead of 2 percent of Medicare spending. (I suspect that's low.) Obviously, 2 percent is four times half a percent. ACOs, in short, are raising total spending.
The complete disinterest in administrative costs is par for the course for CMS and other managed care advocates. All the managed care schemes ever proposed -- from HMOs in the 1970s to "medical homes" in the 2000s to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in the 2010s -- were proposed without any evidence on the administrative costs of these schemes. Managed care buffs suffer from terminal free-lunch syndrome.
Interestingly, Kaiser Health News yesterday summarized a Wall St J story about a GAO report saying Trump's wizards at HHS forgot to include administrative costs in their estimate of how much Medicaid would save if states added work requirements to their Medicaid programs. I have pasted in the blurb below. Notice the final bolded sentence.
Beats me why the GAO hasn't done this for all the managed care fads.
The Facts on Medicare Spending and Financing | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Facts on Medicare Spending and Financing | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: This issue brief examines the latest facts about Medicare spending and financing, including the most recent historical and projected Medicare spending data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicai…
From Kip Sullivan: "The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that Medicare overhead in 2018 was 1.3 percent of total program spending while the overhead of Medicare Advantage plans was 14 percent (scroll down to Figure 3 and look just under Figure 3). https://www.kff.org/
The 14 percent figure is lower than the 20 percent figure for private-sector insurance, in part because insurance companies don't have to pay for premium collection.
So, inquiring minds would like to know: How the hell do Medicare Advantage companies save money for Medicare with overhead like that?"
From Kip Sullivan: "The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that Medicare overhead in 2018 was 1.3 percent of total program spending while the overhead of Medicare Advantage plans was 14 percent (scroll down to Figure 3 and look just under Figure 3). https://www.kff.org/
The 14 percent figure is lower than the 20 percent figure for private-sector insurance, in part because insurance companies don't have to pay for premium collection.
So, inquiring minds would like to know: How the hell do Medicare Advantage companies save money for Medicare with overhead like that?"
What's At Stake In The Current Court Challenge To Affordable Care Act? : Shots - Health News : NPR
What's At Stake In The Current Court Challenge To Affordable Care Act? : Shots - Health News : NPR: The health law again faces possible legal evisceration with a court ruling in Texas v. Azar anticipated this fall. Here's what it's about and what's stake.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
The ‘Public Option’ on Health Care Is a Poison Pill
The ‘Public Option’ on Health Care Is a Poison Pill: Some Democratic candidates are pushing it as a free-choice version of Medicare for All. That’s good rhetoric but bad policy.
Why Is Health Insurance So Expensive? $20,000 a Year For Coverage - Bloomberg
Why Is Health Insurance So Expensive? $20,000 a Year For Coverage - Bloomberg: Ever-rising premiums have pushed some to drop coverage
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Healthcare Reformer Wendell Potter: The For-Profit 'System Is Unraveling' | Common Dreams Views
Healthcare Reformer Wendell Potter: The For-Profit 'System Is Unraveling' | Common Dreams Views: With the word “whistleblower” spinning through news cycle after news cycle these last few days, every headline about Trump, Giuliani and Ukraine is a powerful reminder that the whistleblower is a proud tradition in the United States, one that merits our support and protection. | By Michael Winship
Medicaid Expansion: Haves And Have-Nots On Two Sides Of State Border : Shots - Health News : NPR
Medicaid Expansion: Haves And Have-Nots On Two Sides Of State Border : Shots - Health News : NPR: On the Illinois side of the Mississippi river, many families struggling financially can get health care, thanks to Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, their neighbors on the Missouri side don't qualify.
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