Americans nationwide have every reason to be optimistic that positive change is on the horizon for the nation’s healthcare system. Though new government figures show costs $4.9 trillion per year and 17.6 percent of GDP, straining families, businesses, workers and public-sector budgets, President-elect Trump and his healthcare nominees are poised to deliver access to quality care at far lower costs, by fully realizing his price transparency legacy.
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healthcare
Don’t blame insurers for what doctor and hospital cartels did to US health care
The murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has touched off a wave of anger that’s easy to understand. “Deny, delay, depose” comes from the lived experiences of thousands of Americans. But how much does health insurance actually cost us? According to the American Medical Association, it’s just 6 percent of health care spending.
In other words, if insurers were to donate every cent of profit they made, your health care would become just 3 percent&...
Instead of justifying murder, Democrats could do this to make health care better
After some sentences there should never, ever be a “but.” Far too often, however, the word appears, and what follows it is inevitably a justification of horrible things.
The worst example of this in 2024 came only recently, when liberals online and even some Democratic elected officials said they were “opposed to political violence, but ... ” when it comes to the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson by someone who appears to be a progressive anti-cap...
Government-run health care systems also deny or delay treatment
Many critics of the U.S. health care system claim the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is understandable because health insurance companies occasionally refuse to cover certain medical treatments. And they often assert that if the country were to embrace a U.K. or Canadian-style government-run health care system, no one would be denied care. Those critics are either misinformed or intentionally trying to deceive the public, because government-run health care systems ...
How much impact could RFK Jr have as the head of HHS?
Whether or not the U.S. Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of Health and Human Services, his nomination and that of others suggests the federal government's role in health policy might change dramatically in the second Trump administration. Members of Congress — and many others — are now asking an important question: What impact might changes at Health and Human Services have on the health of the nation?
Between us, we have worked in federal, state and loc...
UnitedHealthcare shooting highlights US insurance crisis
The shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street corner last week suggests an unsettling truth about American healthcare: Our system hasn't just failed — it has lost its moral legitimacy entirely.
The chilling messages inscribed on the shell casings, "deny," "defend" and "depose", read like an indictment of our entire healthcare apparatus.
What's even more disturbing is the public response. Across social media, many are not expressin...
Biden makes push to extend Obamacare subsidies after gloomy CBO report
President Biden called on Congress to extend the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, tax credits on Friday after a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report highlighted national healthcare disparities.
“A new report from the Congressional Budget Office underscores just how critical the legislation to bring down health care costs, enacted under my Administration, have been,” Biden said in the statement.
“Millions of Americans are benefiting from expanded pr...
How America can make health insurance great again
You may be thinking, “When was health insurance in America ever great?” Point taken, but at least there was a time when health insurance was more affordable and individuals were better able to buy what they wanted, not what the government demanded. And the good news is Republicans can take steps toward getting us moving in that direction again.
For 30 years Democrats have tried to make health insurance “affordable” — or even “free” if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I...
What big change in health care really looks like
Health care reform is an evergreen topic that keeps thousands of health policy wonks busily wringing their hands. Yet, little meaningful reform ever takes place, while spending continually rises at an unsustainable rate.
It’s as if we’re watching the famous psychology experiment where participants are so focused on counting basketball passes that they fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. In health care, we’re so fixated on the min...