Today’s Presentation
Obamacare is enrolling too many sick people and too few healthy ones to prevent a death spiral. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a unit of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), has proposed a new rule to stabilize the Obamacare markets for individual health insurance. This was the first rule issued since Dr. Tom Price was appointed HHS secretary. The proposed Market Stabilization rule includes a number of measures to prevent people from entering the market when sick and exiting when healthy.
Dr. Tom Price, the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, has said the Congressional Budget Office’s recent “score” of the Republican Obamacare replacement bill defies logic. Even worse, it defies the very
rules which govern the CBO.
Americans’ prescription drug bills are rising. Most drugs are affordable, but prices for a few drugs exceed the average mortgage payment. They can be especially costly when there are only one, two or three patented drugs in a given therapeutic class. Drug makers are free to establish whatever price they believe the market will bear and, depending on the number of competitors, they could have significant pricing power.
Empowering Patients, Providers and the Private Sector by lowering costs, increasing quality and expanding access.
Over the past several years, a few high-priced drugs have elevated drug spending to a political issue. Patients are more sensitive to rising costs due to increasing deductibles and, because consumers pay more of their drug costs, pharmaceutical companies are less able to pass on high prices without anyone noticing.
People with severe allergies and asthma often carry an epinephrine auto-injector or have one readily available at all times. The most common model by far is the EpiPen, which enjoys an 85 percent …
Executive Summary The number of diseases and conditions that can be treated using drug therapy has grown tremendously over the past 25 years. The vast majority of prescription drug costs are paid …
In March 2015, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress voted for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The so-called “doc fix,” a component of MACRA, was an attempt …
Executive Summary Congress has taken up the growing problem of opioid abuse. Yet for all the talk there appears to be little discussion of a commonsense solution: mandatory electronic prescribing (e-prescribing). This …
Most of the drugs Americans take are lower cost generics — accounting for about 88 percent of prescriptions. Generics are cheap because they are no longer protected by patents and different manufacturers …
Executive Summary Medicare, the health care program for the elderly, now provides insurance coverage for over 50 million Americans, and accounts for 20 percent of the $3 trillion spent annually on health …
Goals of Health Reform Health reform must replace Obamacare with increased flexibility in health plan design; tax fairness regardless of where Americans get their health coverage; increased access to primary care …
Goals of Health Reform Health reform must replace Obamacare with increased flexibility in health plan design; tax fairness regardless of where Americans get their health coverage; increased access to primary care …
An estimated 70 percent of Americans are enrolled in a prescription drug plan through their employer, health insurer or Medicare Part D. Millions more have joined discount drug card programs. When hundreds …
Health spending consumes a higher share of output in the United States than in other countries. In 2013, its U.S. share was 17 percent. The next highest country was France, where health …
Medicare celebrated its golden anniversary this past year. The program now provides insurance coverage for over 50 million Americans, and accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s health care spending. …
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is in deep trouble. It has taken nine years to finalize this extremely important multilateral deal among the United States and 11 other countries. These countries …
As Obamacare’s third open season wrap ups on January 31, 2016, a majority of enrollees in Obamacare exchange plans can expect to pay significant double-digit percentage rate hikes for 2016. Tax credits …
Digital technology and mobile applications have changed the face of nearly every service-oriented industry. Mobile health care (mHealth) applications offer access to basic care and routine monitoring anytime, anywhere. Telemedicine — the use …
Denver and Dallas both had aging public hospitals in need of replacement: one served the most vulnerable of the city’s population, the other served the most valiant. The Veterans’ Administration (VA) hospital …
Many Americans begin to experience normal aches and pains as they age. They also become increasingly at-risk for a form of heartburn called acid reflux. Drugs to treat acid reflux, including prescription …
When President Johnson signed the Medicare program into law on July 30, 1965, no one expected the program to grow at the rate it has. In 2014, the Medicare program spent $613 …
Executive Summary Medicare reform requires empowering seniors to manage more of their own health care spending using Medicare Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) coupled with high-deductible Medicare plans. A criticism of HSAs is …
Compared to the funds spent on doctors and hospitals, prescription drug therapy is a bargain. Generic drugs are especially inexpensive, accounting for 88 percent of drug prescriptions filled but only 28 percent of …