Big Pharma and Politics
At a rally in Kentucky, President Donald Trump said drug prices were “outrageous”. The next day, according to Kaiser Health News, the pharmaceutical industry donated more money to political campaigns than any other day this year. On March 21, eight pharma political action committees made 137 contributions to 77 politicians totaling nearly $280,000. Both Republicans and […]
Electronic Health Records
I continue to deplore Congress for not talking about the real problem in American healthcare, the cost of delivering healthcare. Premiums and deductibles are high because the cost of healthcare delivery is high. Drug prices are in runaway price growth. When the CEO of a major drug company was asked why they keep raising prices, he said, “Because […]
The Real Problem With Healthcare
Paul Matadeen called me for an impromptu interview about the stall in the Senate healthcare legislation. Here is what I told him.
Medicaid and Poverty
Medicaid is an “entitlement” program. That means anyone who meets eligibility criteria related to poverty has a right to enroll and receive Medicaid coverage. It also means states have guaranteed financial support from Washington for part of the cost of their Medicaid programs if the states cover certain “mandatory” populations: Children through age 18 in […]
Medicaid
Medicaid is in the news every day. People, politicians, policymakers, providers, and payers are expressing points of view ranging from kill it to expand it. Unfortunately, most people are not well informed about what Medicaid is. I would like to help on the informing part of the issue by describing what it is, how it […]
