Budget Battles
-
‘The Most Important Thing That Has Happened to the Federal Budget in the Last 20 Years’
Something strange has been happening with Medicare, The New York Times reports : “Instead of growing and growing, as it always had before, spending per Medicare beneficiary has nearly leveled off...
-
Biden Administration Picks First 10 Drugs for Medicare Price Negotiations
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced the first 10 prescription drugs it has selected for unprecedented federal price negotiations with drugmakers, a milestone in efforts to reduce U.S...
-
A Major Insurer Has a New Plan to Save Big Money on Drug Costs
The U.S. system of pricing and insurance coverage for prescription drugs has come under immense criticism for being overly complicated and costly. Now, a major health insurer — Blue Shield of...
-
Biden Celebrates His Signature Law, but Americans Aren’t Sure What It Is
President Joe Biden today marked the one-year anniversary of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, calling it “one of the most significant laws” ever enacted. In an event at the White House, Biden...
-
One Year Later, Biden Pushes Inflation Reduction Act — but Laments Its Name
President Joe Biden and several top administration officials will be fanning out across the country this week to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act being signed into...
-
Uninsured Rate Drops to Record Low – but Probably Not for Long
By Michael RaineyThe share of the U.S. population without health insurance fell to an all-time low of 7.7% in the first quarter of 2023, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The...
-
The Great Post-Pandemic Medicaid Purge Continues
More than 3.8 million Americans across 39 states and the District of Columbia have been removed from Medicaid since April after the expiration of a pandemic-era provision ensuring that they could...
-
Just 36% of Hospitals Are Complying With Price Transparency Rule: Report
A federal law that took effect at the start of 2021 requires hospitals to meet new standards for price transparency. Two and a half years later, only 36% of hospitals are complying with the rule,...
-
Private Equity Has Been Buying Up Medical Practices and Raising Prices: Report
Private equity firms have been buying up medical practices at a rapidly increasing rate over the past decade, building up market share and increasing prices, according to a study released this week...
-
Biden Moves to Limit ‘Junk Insurance’
By Michael RaineyPresident Joe Biden on Friday proposed a set of initiatives intended to reduce health care costs, including new restrictions on short-term insurance plans that critics sometimes refer to as “junk...
-
National Debt Projected to Soar Over Next 30 Years: CBO
By Michael RaineyDespite the dramatic showdown over the debt ceiling and the resulting budget agreement that restrains federal spending through 2025, the national debt is projected to rise to record levels over the...
-
Top Drug Industry Trade Group Sues to Block Medicare Price Negotiations
The pharmaceutical industry’s top lobbying group filed a lawsuit Wednesday arguing that a law enacted last year allowing Medicare to directly negotiate some prescription drug prices is...
-
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans Encounter Problems with Heath Insurance: Report
By Serena T. Cody, The Fiscal TimesNearly six in 10 U.S. adults reported having at least one problem with their health insurance in the past year, according to a new analysis from the healthcare policy foundation KFF. KFF, a nonprofit...
-
Conservatives’ Budget Plan Slashes Spending, Takes Aim at ‘Woke’ Policies
By Michael RaineyThe House Republican Study Committee released a 2024 budget plan Wednesday that would slash federal spending by $16.3 trillion and cut taxes by $5.1 trillion over a decade, while balancing the budget...
-
Merck Sues to Block Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
Pharmaceutical giant Merck on Tuesday sued the U.S. government over the federal law enacted last year that allows Medicare to negotiate certain prescription drug prices with manufacturers. In the...