In a , AEI health care policy expert Thomas (Tom) Miller explains why current Medicare reform proposals are mostly “policy concepts devoid of structural details.” Miller points out that even the Ryan-Wyden proposal which “makes an honest effort to start this process at the ‘high-concept’ level,” needs “a more detailed script that begins to answer at least 13 more questions.”

Miller first asks:

“What is the primary policy goal of premium support (or other Medicare reform alternatives)? Is it a more efficient and higher-value health care? To lower the future rate of growth of Medicare spending? Or, jus

Full Article…

• 0 Comments

Thank you, Chairman Kohl, Ranking Member Corker, and members of the Committee for the opportunity to discuss Medicare reforms that can responsibly slow the growth of program spending and help set this country on a sustainable fiscal path.

I am Joseph Antos, the Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. I am also a member of the panel of health advisers for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and I was formerly the Assistant Director for Health and Human Resources at CBO. My

Full Article…

• 0 Comments

The new healthcare reform law passed in 2010 has many individuals and employers scratching their head.  Not only is it in depth, and not always straightforward, but there are different aspects to the law that make it even more complicated.  With this being the case, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) developed a useful tool called AskBlue Healthcare Reform which is an interactive tool developed to help consumers better understand the new law and learn how it will impact their individual heath insurance policies.

AskBlue Healthcare Reform is accessed through the same name website and offers a simple explanation of healthcare reform and the different aspects throughout the law.  

Full Article…

• 0 Comments

The article found on Commonhealth.wbur.org by Carey Goldberg titled “Election’s Effects On Health Care Reform: New Harvard Public Health Forum Webcast” directs readers to a video of the Forum At Harvard School of Public Health.  This webcast was a discussion on the election results which was held Friday, November 5th.

This important discussion points out how powerful these election results may be since Democrats and Republicans have very different opinions on the direction health care reform should take.  With Republicans having a very successful election, health care reform may take a major turn affecting health insurance for millions.  It’s a

Full Article…

• 0 Comments

Insurers, the young, the uninsured and lawmakers are just a few of the groups sorting out what the implementation of health reform means for them as details emerge on changes to the system.

The New York Times: Insurers are fighting over the details of how much of the premiums they collect they must spend on health care. “The law requires health insurers to spend at least 80 cents out of every dollar they collect in premiums on the welfare of patients, a critical issue for the companies’ bottom lines.” Sides are fighting over just what would be considered “care,” however. “WellPoint, which operates Blue Cross plans in more than a dozen states, wants to include the cost of verifying the credentials of doctors in its networks. Full Article…

• 0 Comments