President Donald Trump lived up to a campaign promise and began the process to repeal and replace “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)”, or Obamacare, within hours of becoming president. On Friday night, he signed an executive order to “Minimize the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal.” […]
Obamacare Repeal Has Started
Let’s be clear. There is no fixing Obamacare. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed, deductibles are so high that an insurance plan is almost worthless to millions of Americans, people have fewer choices, and many insurers are leaving the exchanges in numerous counties across the country. Remember how President Obama promised his healthcare reform law would save […]
Recovery Auditors and the Administrative Law Backlog: More “Fake News” Debunked
News junkies have been inundated lately with commentary on the ubiquity of “fake news” and its viral spread online. On December 12, 2016, The New York Times President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson gave a thought-provoking speech before the Detroit Economic Club in which he made some incisive observations about the epidemic of junk news, including the fact that in this new anything-goes, free-for-all information environment, it is easy to forget that “fake news is not new. The spreading of false rumors for political advantage, for pure malice, or just for entertainment, is as old as the hills….Until something is proven to be false, it’ll remain a story. …Though it often seems like it to partisans, this is not a battle between Left and Right. …It’s a battle between facts and lies.”
CMMI is Neither Centered nor Innovative
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) sounds like it should be involved in ground-breaking, state-of-the-art healthcare projects and programs. However, the center was created in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, which in and of itself raises red flags. CMMI is run by the Centers for Medicare […]
Tobacco Harm-Reduction: Big League Healthcare Savings
In the twenty-first century, remarkable technology innovations have improved nearly every aspect of everyone’s lives. Smart TVs and smartphones are the most well-known examples; however, these innovations even extend to smoking. By 2025, health experts approximate that there will be nearly 1 billion cigarette smokers around the world. While cigarette smoking has declined in the […]
Obamacare Obituary
The Affordable Care Act of Washington, D.C., lovingly known as Obamacare, was born on March 23, 2010 and after a long illness, left this Earth on November 8, 2016. Beloved policy of President Barack Obama, it is also survived by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and former-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). After a long illness and being […]
Some Good News on Drug Prices
We have read a lot about high drug prices in the news lately and how politicians, including presidential candidates former-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have called for the government to “negotiate” drug prices. But the government doesn’t negotiate drug prices. Instead, they use price controls to lower costs, which distorts the marketplace […]
Obamacare’s Sky-High 2017 Rates are Finally Announced
Reports have been popping up since the summer that the 2017 premium rates for Obamacare would be increasing – by a lot. In addition, for more than a year, insurers have been announcing they will no longer participate in many of the Obamacare exchanges. On Monday, and just 16 days prior to the election, the […]
The Cover Oregon Debacle
On September 15, 2016, and with little hubbub beyond the state’s borders, Oregon and Oracle, the prime vendor for the state’s Obamacare’s online marketplace exchange “Cover Oregon,” announced they had reached a settlement in a lawsuit. The dispute revolved around who was at fault for the website’s colossal failure. While the state had been asking more than $6 billion in damages, it will receive $100 million in goods, services, and cash.
A Cure for Electoral Depression: Focus Final 2016 Presidential Debate on Policy Solutions
In a recent poll, a sizable portion of young Americans said they would rather vote for a giant meteor to strike the Earth over either of the two presidential candidates. There might be a reason for such a dark and depressing result. The first two presidential debates have utterly failed to discuss important issues facing the nation with any depth, choosing to focus on shenanigans instead of substance.