Issue Brief posted July 27, 2012 by Kathryn Nix
Ten Ways Obamacare Limits Patient Choice
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare, Americans should remember that higher taxes are not the only negative consequence of the law. Obamacare limits patient choice through expansive federal regulation of the insurance market, government interference in the decisions patients make with their doctors, and increased dependence on government health programs.…
Backgrounder posted July 18, 2012 by Kathryn Nix
Turning Medicare into True Social Insurance
Abstract:
Many retired Americans believe that they have already paid for their Medicare benefits. Their benefits, though, are not funded by the payroll taxes they paid during their working years—but mostly by payroll tax revenues from current workers. As a result, the Medicare program faces huge structural deficits, and seniors face automatic benefit reductions in…
Issue Brief posted June 6, 2012 by Kathryn Nix
But Wait, It Gets Worse: The Medicare Actuary’s Realistic Outlook for the Program
Earlier this month, the Medicare trustees released their annual report on Medicare’s financial condition. The report did not offer much in the way of news—Medicare still faces a dismal future. But the really bad news came when Medicare’s Office of the Actuary released its alternative analysis. This report, based on more realistic assumptions, shows the program’s condition…
Backgrounder posted March 21, 2012 by Nina Owcharenko, Kathryn Nix
The Obamacare Two-Year Checkup: More Reasons for Repeal
Abstract: On its second anniversary, Obamacare remains unpopular. The provisions currently in effect have fallen short of expectations and disrupted the market, causing even greater uncertainty for the future. Overall, Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ health care choices and limited consumer choice. The recent controversy over the preventive care…
Center for Policy Innovation Research Summary posted January 11, 2012 by Kathryn Nix
How Competition Improves Quality: The Case of Medicare Advantage
Abstract:
In 2003, the Medicare Modernization Act created the Medicare Advantage program, which allowed seniors to choose coverage from private health plans. Both recent research published in The American Journal of Managed Care
by Niall Brennan and Mark Shepard and another analysis by America’s Health
Insurance Plans use HEDIS measures and…
WebMemo posted December 21, 2011 by Kathryn Nix
How Medicare Price Controls Have Contributed to Drug Shortages
Recent drug shortages have received national attention as patients are forced to wait for vital treatments or substitute an alternative. As Congress searches for policy solutions, it is crucial that lawmakers understand the role that government price controls, specifically in Medicare, have played in the crisis.
A Growing Problem
According to the…
Backgrounder posted November 30, 2011 by Kathryn Nix
Government Price Controls for Health Care: A Deficit-Reduction Strategy to Avoid
Abstract:
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction—the “Super Committee”—created under the Budget Control Act of 2011 has failed to recommend a strategy for reducing the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade, leaving automatic cuts of 2 percent on the table for Medicare, other domestic programs, and national security and defense budgets. Rather than…
WebMemo posted August 10, 2011 by Kathryn Nix
A Recipe for Reform: Success of Consumer-Driven Principles in Medicare Programs
Medicare is in crisis. Already generating tens of billions of dollars annually in deficits, its financial challenges threaten taxpayers and enrollees alike. Moving to a premium-support model would reverse the program’s deterioration by using the dynamics of the free market to contain costs and improve consumer satisfaction.
Critics claim that this approach is radical…