What’s Really At Stake In the Medicaid Spending Debate June 2, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman highlights that the federal debate about the American Health Care Act’s Medicaid spending reductions will ultimately be a debate about every state’s general budget spending priorities, as states discuss whether to offset reductions in federal revenues with some combination of cuts to their Medicaid programs, increased taxes, and cuts to spending in other areas.
The Other Implication of the CBO Report: Election-Year Pain May 30, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman lays out how the “political pain” from the American Health Care Act would play out over the next two election cycles if passed in its current form, based on the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the House-passed bill.
No, Medicaid Isn’t Broken May 15, 2017 Perspective With Medicaid about to be a focal point of debate in the Senate, Drew Altman’s Axios column looks at why the idea that the program is broken is more urban legend than fact.
Prescription Drug Costs Break Through the Partisan Logjam May 2, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman analyzes new poll findings which show how one issue breaks through the gridlock between Democrats and Republicans in health – the high cost of prescription drugs.
Why Trump’s Dealmaking Model Doesn’t Fit Health Care Policy April 20, 2017 Perspective In this column as an Axios contributor, Drew Altman discusses President Trump’s threat to withhold cost sharing subsidies and questions whether his approach to deal making can bridge health care’s partisan and ideological divide. “Health policy is not like real estate,” he says.
JAMA Forum: Is the Affordable Care Act Imploding? April 17, 2017 Perspective In this April 2017 post, Larry Levitt discusses the current status of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, and explains how the Trump administration’s choices — including whether to continue cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers — could influence stability of the marketplaces going forward. The post is now available at The JAMA Forum.
A Warning From the Polls About Letting Obamacare “Explode” April 7, 2017 Perspective In this column for Axios, Drew Altman sees a warning for the Trump administration and Republicans in the latest Kaiser Tracking Poll: the more they do to undermine the Affordable Care Act marketplaces the more the public is likely to hold them, and not the Democrats, accountable for the problems with the law.
Don’t Expect Medicaid Work Requirements to Make a Big Difference April 3, 2017 Perspective Under the Trump Administration, some Republican governors may look to move their Medicaid programs in a more conservative direction. In his latest column for Axios, Drew Altman discusses the arguments about Medicaid “work requirements” and why few people are likely to be affected by them in practice.
Why Deductibles Would Rise Under the GOP Health Care Plan March 22, 2017 Perspective This inaugural Drew Altman column for Axios examines how the GOP House bill would impact deductibles for people who buy insurance in the non-group market. A KFF analysis for the column shows deductibles in a typical non-group plan would be about $1550 higher under the American Health Care Act compared to the Affordable Care Act.
The Republican Health-care Plan the Country Isn’t Debating February 9, 2017 Perspective In this Washington Post op-ed, Drew Altman discusses how Republicans’ ideas to change Medicaid and Medicare and repeal the Affordable Care Act would fundamentally change the federal role in health, calling it: the biggest change in health we are NOT debating.