Health Costs

Conservatives obviously don’t like what they call “Obamacare” because they think it expands the role of government too much and spends too much money.  But ironically, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) actually promotes — though not explicitly — something that has been a fundamental objective of conservatives in health care…

Health spending is rising faster than incomes in most developed countries, which raises questions about how countries will pay for their future health care needs. The issue is particularly acute in the United States, which not only spends much more per capita on health care, but also has had one of…

A major goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to significantly expand coverage and reduce the number of uninsured. Beginning in 2014, the ACA will establish a new continuum of coverage that will provide assistance to individuals with incomes up to 400% of poverty through a…

Health insurance premiums have increased rapidly over the recent past, growing a cumulative 138% between 1999 and 2010 and outpacing cumulative wage growth of 42% over the same period.1  These figures, which have been widely cited to demonstrate the growing burden of health insurance costs on employers and employees, illustrate…

In recent years, awareness of the patient’s important role in managing his or her own care has been steadily growing—fed not only by such trends as the proliferation of health information on the internet and direct-to-consumer advertising, but also by the emerging science of patient-centered decision making. One way to…

I am seldom surprised by our poll findings, but this month’s tracking poll produced a doozy.  Twenty-two percent of the American people think the Affordable Care Act has been repealed, and another 26 percent aren’t sure.  Those are surprisingly large numbers even with the 52 percent who still know it…

The House will soon vote to repeal the health reform law, the Senate won’t, and the President would veto it if they did.  So what does a House vote for repeal mean? It is, of course, a campaign promise kept to the political right.  It is also a signal from…

As 2010 draws to a close, the latest tracking poll shows the public still divided in their views of the health reform law, a sentiment largely unchanged since the law’s enactment in March. Forty-two percent of Americans say they have a generally favorable view of the law, while 41 percent…

Like you, the holidays always make me think about those who are less fortunate.  Last year around this time, I wrote a”Holiday Reminder” column about the health reform debate and people’s economic difficulties.  The drive to pass the health reform law was struggling, and it would struggle even more in the…

As 2010 draws to a close, the latest tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows the public still divided in their views of the health reform law, a sentiment largely unchanged since the law’s enactment in March. Forty-two percent of Americans say they have a generally favorable view of…