For some 7 years now, all we’ve been hearing from the GOP is that Obamacare (aka PPACA- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ACA) is horrendous, it’s failing, and it must be repealed. But, we’ve seen what the House GOP produced- and now the Senate GOP has just proved that they can produce something worse that Obamacare. MUCH, MUCH, Worse.
Continue reading No. Not “anything else will be better”
Here we go again. It looks like the GOP is ready to throw a bunch of monkey wrenches into the Obamacare (PPACA, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) system.
Continue reading Woo-Hee. This is gonna be fun. I hope!
I am sure you are all wondering what’s been happening about the dialysis patient organizations- and, now, it seems that some dialysis clinics- are paying the health insurance premiums for dialysis patients. (I first discussed this issue here). There is a new complainant- it’s not just private insurance companies now.
Continue reading Creative Accounting or Illegal Practice?
Yesterday, we spoke about how PPACA (Obamacare) has been attenuating the US healthcare cost spiral. Over the past few years, the overall cost growth has dropped dramatically. But, many of us don’t feel the love- because our employers and our insurance companies have been playing the “cost shifting” game. They’ve changed our co-insurance, they’ve raised our deductibles- claiming that when we have ‘skin in the game’, we are more attentive to the costs of our healthcare.
Continue reading Costs slow, but it still bad news
In the late 2000s- long before Obamacare- Oregon began considering how it could best manage the health care costs for its poorer citizens. This program eventually became known as the Oregon Health Care Experiment.
Continue reading Oregon leads the way- again. Or, is that still?
Most of you know that I believe in universal health insurance. Because in the long run it will save us (as a nation, and individually) money. Notice, I did not say universal “free” health insurance, even though I recognize that about 10% of Americans can’t afford it, another 10% will need help paying for all of it, and about 15% of Americans think they don’t need it. (Of course, about 15% – or more- of Americans don’t think they need car insurance, but that doesn’t mean we don’t demand they carry it.)
Continue reading What Medicare Needs?
The US constitution sets up a system of checks and balances for the three branches of government, the Executive (White House and Cabinet), the Legislative (the “Congress- House and Senate) and the Judicial (Supreme Court). The ability of the Legislative Branch to regulate our lives- economically and socially- involve four enunciated powers within that document.
Continue reading PPACA, SCOTUS, and Reality…
