On Friday evening, Democrats and Republicans in Congress unexpectedly announced they had reached a deal on legislation aimed at stopping surprise medical bills, one of the most widely loathed and predatory features of the American health care system. The breakthrough came after nearly two years of wrangling on Capitol Hill, amid an enormous lobbying battle that pitted insurers and…
President-elect Joe Biden campaigned on supporting and building upon the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better managing the coronavirus pandemic and lowering prescription drug costs. However, with the political balance of the Senate uncertain, some Biden proposals, like creating a new public option and lowering the Medicare age to 60, are less likely to be enacted.…
When the pandemic forced businesses to tell their employees not to work, most kept paying at least some of those workers’ wages, but NOT their health insurance premiums! Millions of people have lost their income and their health care coverage at the same time during this pandemic, which could stick them with unaffordable medical bills…
When it comes to digitisation, health care has lagged significantly behind most other industries (banking but travel, retail, car making and even packaged goods). Some 70% of American hospitals still fax and post patient records! By exposing such digital deficiencies, the pandemic is at last spurring change. Confronted with shutdowns and chaos, doctors have embraced…
Trump vowed to overhaul the health care system, notably saying in one of his first post-election speeches that pharmaceutical companies were “getting away with murder” over their pricing tactics. Four years later, not a lot has changed. If anything, the health care industry has become more financially and politically powerful. “Most of the bigger ideas have…
Health care stocks skyrocketed after Tuesday’s election results indicated Republicans likely will maintain control of the Senate, all but assuring continued gridlock in both chambers of Congress. A Republican Senate means “the public option and direct government negotiation on drug prices are dead for at least the next two years,” Spencer Perlman, an analyst at…
The likelihood of a Biden presidency and a closely divided Senate means that nothing big is likely to happen in health care for at least the next two years. For all the time Democrats spent debating Medicare for All, competing public insurance options and sweeping federal controls over drug prices, the near-term future for health…
Analyzes Medicaid enrollment and spending trends for FY 2020 and FY 2021 based on data provided by state Medicaid directors as part of the 20th annual survey of Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Overall, 43 states2 responded to the survey by mid-August 2020, although response rates for specific questions varied.…
