That question came from Matt Holt today over at his blog: The Health Care Blog.Good question.As any regular reader of this blog knows, I have been arguing that the Democratic Congress is going to cut Medicare Advantage payments to HMOs as soon as they get their hands on the federal budget.If that is a good bet, why wouldn't Medicare HMO stocks be reflecting that risk? Instead, they have generally
Read full post »
Browse » Home » Archives for February 2007
CBO Pours Gasoline on the Democratic Plans to Cut Medicare Advantage Payments to HMOs
Told you so.For some time I have been warning that the Medicare Advantage payments to HMOs are going to be "target number one" when it comes time for Democrats to reshuffle the federal health care spending priorities after 12 years of Republican Congressional rule.For the last year, a number of estimates have put the "over payments" to HMOs when compared to the traditional Medicare plan at around
Read full post »
Deja Vu in Massachusetts--We've Been Down this Road Before--The Massachusetts Health Care Plan and Health Care Costs
The good news is that the health policy world is full of new and exciting health care reform proposals.The bad news is that while these plans focus on the all important access problems (the uninsured) they almost ignore the underlying problem that makes so many people uninsured in the first place--health care costs.With the federal government (The National Health Statistics Group at CMS)
Read full post »
Barack Obama is a Rookie on Health Care Policy Reform
Barack Obama was recently quoted as saying he would institute a system of universal health care by the end of his first term. He provided no other details for what would be the Obama Health Care Reform Plan.He is apparently new at this--health care reform policy and fixing America's health care problems.Apparently, he doesn't understand it is the details that matter when it comes to health care
Read full post »
Does the Massachusetts Health Plan Make Mit Romney Vulnerable Among Conservatives?
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is working hard to boost his popularity among conservative Republicans. He seems to be saying all the right things for conservatives. That, plus the longstanding suspicion conservative Republicans have had for both Rudy Giuliani and John McCane have given Romney a shot at the party's powerful conservative wing.Romney has a certain amount of health care
Read full post »
Congressman Waxman Ought to Ask AARP How Much Money It's Making on Medicare Part D
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman recently sent a letter to the CEOs of the 12 largest Part D insurers. In it, he asked them to provide the Committee with information on their Part D profit, drug discounts, rebates, and administrative costs.Two of these insurers--Kaiser Permanente and Highmark--are "not-for-profit" insurers.I am more curious about another "
Read full post »
President Bush Has a Proven Strategy to Fix the Individual Health Insurance System!!!
The Bush administration has already implemented an individual health insurance system that is voluntary, community rated, and excludes no one--no matter what their age or health status.President Bush's recent proposal to reform the health insurance system (see post) is based upon greater use of the individual health insurance system. He would eliminate the employee tax exemption on
Read full post »
Rural Health Care and Medicare Advantage Plans--A Sacred Cow for Both Republicans and Democrats?
If you have been reading this site for any time you know that I believe the Democrats are going to cut Medicare Advantage payments to the HMOs the first time they get their hands on the federal budget (see earlier post).But I also think there may be an exception to what will generally happen to Medicare Advantage (MA) HMOs--payments to plans operating in "rural" areas.The original Medicare
Read full post »
10 Bipartisan Senators Offer a Health Care Reform Outline
Just a few weeks ago I wrote a post that began, it's a new day in the health care debate. Health care reform is breaking out all over.My point was that I haven't seen such enthusiasm for reform since the early 90's and the resulting Clinton Health Plan effort. Everyone seems to have a plan--not the least of which are offered by some very powerful bedfellows.That trend continued this week when
Read full post »
Mitt Romney Looking for Support Among Conservative Republicans--A Health Care Achilles Heel?
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is working hard to boost his popularity among conservative Republicans. He seems to be saying all the right things for conservatives. That, plus the longstanding suspicion conservative Republicans have had for both Rudy Giuliani and John McCane have given Romney a shot at the party's powerful conservative wing.Romney has a certain amount of health care
Read full post »
Waxman Investigates Part D Medicare Drug Plans
When the Democrats took over the Congress I pointed out that not only would they launch a health care legislative agenda of their own but they would also focus on the oversight of existing health care policy.Their greatest interest was always going to be the new Medicare Advantage plans and the Part D Medicare drug benefit. While the Democrats don't have the votes to repeal either of these
Read full post »
Don't Forget Consumer Choice in Reforming the Health Care System!
Bill Boyles is the publisher of Consumer Driven Market Report and Health Market Survey. He is one of the most effective spokesmen for the consumer driven movement and the effectiveness of the market in managing the cost and quality of care.Today, he reminds us that those offering the new reform proposals shouldn't forget consumer choice:The Uninsured Need Consumer Choice FirstThe only humane way
Read full post »
Mental Health Parity Legislation--This May Be the Year
Federal legislation that would require health plans to cover mental illnesses in the same way they cover other illnesses has been on the Congressional health care agenda for years.The late Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, along with his Republican colleague Pete Domenici of New Mexico, have been the longtime bipartisan champions of eliminating what are common limitations on
Read full post »
Joe Paduda Reflects on Today's Great Times in the Casualty Insruance Business
Joe Paduda may well be the smartest observer of the casualty insurance business--particularly the workers compensation sector.He recently had the following post on his bog, Managed Care Matters:Happy Days are Here Again Seventy years. That's how long its been since the P&C insurance industry enjoyed profit levels
Read full post »
The Edwards Health Plan--Where Are the Other Plans?
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has proposed a comprehensive health care reform plan. (See the entire plan on his site).Good for him!It is going to be very easy for all of us to point to all the things we don't like about it.But I will suggest there is something more important for all of us to do--ask where all the other candidates, Democrat and Republican, are with their plans.It
Read full post »
The Bush Budget--It's One Thing for People to Call You a "Lame Duck" and Another to Act Like It!
On health care, this Bush budget just tells me this President has given up.To start with, he would let scheduled Medicare physician fee cuts simply take place. Those cuts, now estimated to be 8.5% on January 1, 2008, will under no circumstances take place at anywhere near that level (if at all) and everyone in Washington, DC knows that.So why include this in your budget.The Bush budget calls for
Read full post »
Bush Defends Medicare Advantage Plans--That and Five Bucks Will Get You a Six Pack
President Bush will shortly release his new budget. He will cut $70 billion from Medicare--largely from providers--and leave Medicare Advantage payments unchanged.President Bush's budget is about as close to irrelevant as it can be. The Democratic Congress will start from scratch.Doctors and hospitals have enormous clout on the Hill. Just as doctors have been able to protect their Medicare fees
Read full post »
Medicare Drug Negotiation Legislation and a Drug Reimportation Bill––Will They Be Merged?
Legislation to give pharmacies and drug wholesalers the ability to take advantage of lower drug prices in places like Canada, where government controls produce much lower prices, has been introduced in the new Congress.Unlike bills that would only give consumers this ability to import drugs—something lots of people are doing anyway—this would turn the market upside-down by letting the big U.S.
Read full post »
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)