Focus on Health

Focus on Health

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On April 6, the Commonwealth Fund published a new survey on changes that consumers would like to see in the health system.

In an April 6 commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine, four prominent health economists defended the Medicaid program against charges that it is worse for patients than having no health insurance at all.

Also on April 6, Brookings Institution economist Henry Aaron published a commentary that is highly critical of Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan.

On April 5, the New York Times published a roundtable discussion on privatizing Medicare as Republicans propose.

On March 31, Senators Orrin Hatch and John Cornyn released a March 11 memorandum from Medicare’s chief actuary suggesting a wider range of potential budgetary effects from the Affordable Care Act than estimated in the president’s budget.

On March 30, Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the economic effects of health care reform.

A March 29 study from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated the impact of raising the age to qualify for Medicare from 65 to 67. In a March 30 commentary, health economist Austin Frakt discussed the study.

A March 28 study from the American Enterprise Institute found that Medicaid is overpaying for prescription drugs by failing to use generics as much as it could.

I last posted items on this topic on March 24.

Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).

Bruce Bartlett’s columns focus on the intersection of politics and economics. The author of seven books, he worked in government for many years and was senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House.