As the 119th Congress seeks to reduce government spending through reconciliation, talk of Medicaid reductions has raised concerns about vulnerable populations losing Medicaid coverage. But simply following the law and paying only for what Medicaid allows would save hundreds of billions of dollars without ending coverage for any of Medicaid’s intended recipients.
According to official reports, the government issued $543 billion in improper Medicaid payments from ...
healthcare
Republicans must learn from their crash-and-burn attempt to repeal Obamacare
Health care is going to play a key role in Republicans’ budget reconciliation efforts, but they risk failure by repeating the mistakes of 2017.
During the first Trump administration, Republicans famously pursued a longstanding campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. However, the effort went down in flames after it became clear that there were policy, political and process concerns that prevented Republicans from coalescing around a single proposal.
As the...
Restore Medicaid’s intent: Prioritize the most vulnerable over able-bodied childless adults
As Republicans unveil proposed cuts to government programs, they should take this opportunity to reform a program that is the fourth-largest driver of spending: Medicaid.
Congress should refocus the program on its original intent: vulnerable Americans, especially those with disabilities who have nowhere else to turn for health coverage.
Nearly 700,000 people with disabilities are sitting on Medicaid waitlists for vital home and community-based care, and they will ...
How Medicaid cuts could improve access to care
The news is awash with dire predictions of whether or whe Trump or DOGE will cull the Medicaid rolls.
“Millions could lose health insurance,” warns Newsweek. “Medicaid on the chopping block,” is the CBS News headline.
Florida, meanwhile, has already cut more than 1 million from its Medicaid rolls.
It is noteworthy that these publications accurately report that health insurance was or will be cut, not health care. Journalists...
Patients, not government, should set health care prices
One of us trained with a world-renowned neurosurgeon who practices outside of the U.S. and operates on “inoperable brain tumors” with outcomes that leave other neurosurgeons in awe. He provides free or discounted care to half of his patients. For others, he charges 10-100 times what Medicare pays. Patients from around the world eagerly wait to see him and gladly pay, with many even wanting to pay more after surgery. That’s the value of his labor.
If this neurosurgeon wer...
Our nation’s hard-fought right to preventive care is at risk
The Affordable Care Act has transformed healthcare in the U.S. by ensuring access to no-cost preventive care services, such as cancer screenings, immunizations and contraceptives, for millions of Americans. However, the Supreme Court's decision to review the constitutionality of this provision, as highlighted in Becerra v. Braidwood Management Inc., threatens to undermine a critical component of the law.
The implications of this case extend beyond legal nuances, touching the...
Price transparency could be the healthcare win Trump wants (and America needs)
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.
Using power vested...
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...