Fix Health Care Policy

Obamacare Causes Doctor to Retire

Newscom

Yet another doctor has decided to quit practicing medicine due to Obamacare’s onerous burdens.

“I am in my mid-70s and have both the capacity and willingness to care for patients for another decade. But I am retiring,” Dr. John Curry of Fairfax, VA, wrote to one of his patients, columnist Cal Thomas, in an explanation of how the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly known as Obamacare, is leading him to retire early.

“I cannot stand it anymore. More than half of my time in the office is spent filling out forms, writing letters, responding to inquiries, and attending to ‘urgent’ matters that did not exist 10 years ago. And every year my income is less,” he wrote. “At this point I would rather be paid nothing and have the freedom to decide what is right for my patients.”

“ACA is only another straw, but for this tired camel, it will break my back,” wrote Curry.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: doctors, low reimbursement, ObamaCare, regulatory burden, repeal the law, retirement

Thanks to Obamacare…

It’s Obamacare’s third anniversary. Though many key parts of Obamacare—including some of its tax hikes and mandates—don’t go into effect until next year, Americans are feeling many of its changes already.

Please share these impacts to mark three years of this bureaucratic nightmare.

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Learn more: Obamacare’s 18 New Tax Hikes

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Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: anniversary, costs, health coverage, jobs, ObamaCare, premiums, regulations, repeal the law, three years

Obamacare at Three Years: One Entitlement Repealed, Two to Go

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom

When the same Congressmen who voted for Obamacare vote to repeal a provision of it, it’s obvious that provision must be totally unworkable on every level. And that’s what happened to the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act.

Formally repealed in January’s fiscal cliff deal, CLASS was Obamacare’s attempt at creating a new long-term care entitlement that was once referred to by Senator Kent Conrad (D–ND) as “a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of.” CLASS was one of Obamacare’s most overt failures.

CLASS was supposed to begin in 2011 as a voluntary, government-run long-term care program that was supposed to be fully funded by beneficiaries’ premiums and require no federal tax dollars. Like most government entitlements, this deal sounded too good to be true—and it was.

This concept was so flawed that even the Obama Administration recognized that implementation had to be stopped. A letter to Congress in 2011 from a CLASS administrator warned of extreme adverse selection in the program, stating that “if healthy purchasers are not attracted to the CLASS benefit package, then premiums will increase, which will make it even more unattractive to purchasers who could also obtain policies in the private market. This imbalance in the beneficiary pool would cause the program to quickly collapse.”

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: CLASS Act, entitlements, extreme adverse selection, high costs, ObamaCare, repeal the law

Obamacare’s Medicaid Trap

While Members of Congress are arguing about defunding parts of Obamacare, the rubber is meeting the road in the states. Governors and state legislatures are sweating decisions about setting up government health care exchanges and expanding the Medicaid program.

While the offer of additional federal money for Medicaid is tempting for many governors and legislatures, it is a trap. And it is just one of the reasons Obamacare doesn’t work.

>>> STATE OF CONFUSION: Maps of State Positions on Obamacare Lawsuits, Exchanges, and Medicaid Expansion

The Medicaid expansion is a crucial part of Obamacare that is supposed reduce the number of uninsured. But adding millions of people onto an already strained program doesn’t help anyone. The Medicaid program is already struggling to provide care to its core obligations—a diverse group of low-income children, disabled people, pregnant women, and seniors. So dumping more people into the program will make matters worse. Research shows that Medicaid enrollees already have worse access and outcomes than privately insured individuals.

This will have real effects on America’s needy, including children. Dr. Hal Scherz has seen the problems Medicaid creates firsthand. He practices in the only pediatric urology group in the state of Georgia, and more than half of his practice is made up of Medicaid patients.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: America's needy, exchanges, expansion, lawsuits, Medicaid, repeal the law, state of confusion

Obamacare May Hike Your Pet’s Health Care Bills

American health care consumers aren’t the only ones who will be hit by slated Obamacare tax hikes. Medical bills for their pets may go up as well.

According to a rule published Friday by the Internal Revenue Service, some medical devices used in veterinary practices will be hit by Obamacare’s 2.3 percent device tax. Many of their manufacturers are expected to hike prices, meaning higher veterinary costs for the nation’s pet owners.

The tax will not hit devices that are used exclusively for veterinary purposes. But a host of such devices are manufactured for use in both human health care and veterinary practices. Those devices’ manufacturers will have to pay the tax.

The IRS rule states:

Section 4191 [of the Internal Revenue Code] limits the definition of a taxable medical device to devices described in section 201(h) of the [Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act] that are intended for humans, but does not provide that the device must be intended exclusively for humans. Under existing [Food and Drug Administration] regulations, a device intended for use exclusively in veterinary medicine is not required to be listed as a device with the FDA, whereas a device intended for use in human medicine is required to be listed as a device with the FDA even if the device may also be used in veterinary medicine.

According to the FDA, common “dual use” medical devices are “examination gloves, sterile catheters, infusion pumps, etc.”

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Medical device tax, ObamaCare, pet health, repeal the law, veterinary prices

Obamacare Insurance Exchanges: States Have Options

Governor John Kasich (R) is expected to opt not to set up a state Obamacare exchange. This is the right decision for Ohio. The President’s health care law is unworkable and unsustainable. Rejecting the health insurance exchanges, and equally as important, the Medicaid expansion, are two opportunities states have to push back on this law and instead push forward on a better health reform agenda for Ohio.

These exchanges are used in the law to funnel subsidies to government-controlled health plans. Some proponents of the law will undoubtedly criticize the Governor’s decision. But, there are more practical and sound reasons why opting not to adopt a state exchange is best for the states.

First, under the exchange regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), states would gain no meaningful flexibility or advantage by operating their own exchanges, relative to a federally facilitated exchange. They would simply be acting as vendors to HHS.

Second, states still regulate insurers (including those participating in exchanges) in all matters not otherwise preempted by federal law, regardless of who operates the exchange. States can also regulate exchange “navigators” through state professional licensure statutes, to ensure equal standards/level playing field with other insurance producers, again, regardless of who operates the exchange.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: federal mandate, health insurance exchange, HHS, ObamaCare, options, repeal the law, States

Obamacare: The Battle Intensifies

Obamacare is not here to stay. Despite the 2012 election, the assumption that the health care law will stay on course is another example of the left’s wishful thinking.

Of course, efforts for a complete repeal will likely face the same fate as efforts in the last Congress did. But there are ample reasons, as well as opportunities, to change the course of this law.

Public opinion has not changed. Exit polls show that more Americans still want the law repealed in full or in part. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) was absolutely right when she famously remarked in 2010 that “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” With continuing revelations of increasing costs, higher taxes, and a flood of directives from Washington bureaucrats, the polls have since shown that the American people still do not like the law.

There is still so much more to know—and not like. Americans know that this law was enacted in haste and that critical details are still to be decided and enforced. What is a qualified health plan? What will be in the essential benefit package? How will the employer and individual mandate be implemented? The list goes on.

The law is already becoming a managerial nightmare, as Administration officials have missed deadline after deadline, failing to provide crucial information—doubtlessly to avoid further political fallout from exposing their controversial plans, such as the contraception mandate undermining religious freedom, or because overhauling one-sixth of the economy is riddled with innumerable unintended consequences that are nearly impossible to avoid.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Americans, elections, ObamaCare, qualified health plan, repeal the law

The Contraception Misconception

The contraception debate in a nutshell: There is no contraception debate.

No one—neither Republicans nor the more than 100 individuals and organizations suing over the HHS mandate—is calling for a ban on contraception.

Governor Romney has said that “with regards to contraceptives, of course, Republicans, and myself in particular, recognize that people should have a right to use contraceptives. There’s absolutely no validity whatsoever to the Obama effort to try and bring that up.”

As for religious employers and organizations, they simply don’t want to have their religious beliefs trampled on by being forced to pay for contraception and abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their faith. Heritage legal expert John Malcolm explains that this position “would not preclude any women, including those who work for religious institutions, from using or obtaining contraception or abortifacients. Employers who favor providing contraceptive and abortion drug coverage to their employees would retain their right to do so.”

So now let’s focus on the real issue: Under Obamacare, the government is mandating which benefits an insurer is obligated to cover, and it’s far more than just the infamous contraception and abortion drug mandate. This will have a deleterious effect on health coverage for both women and men.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: abortion drug coverage, contraception rule, Gov. Romney, HHS mandate, ObamaCare, President Obama, repeal the law

Medicare Roundup 10/19: Setting the Record Straight

In recent weeks, liberal politicians, editorialists, and policy analysts have vigorously attacked reform of Medicare based on a defined contribution financing. In fact, this approach to reforming Medicare has a long bipartisan tradition going back to the 1980s and Representatives Richard Gephardt (D–MO) and David Stockman (R–MI). In fact, much of this criticism is distorted, misleading, or just plain wrong.

Here are some articles that set the record straight:

Kaiser Study on Medicare Assumes Seniors Don’t Like Lower Prices (Drew Gonshorowski)

The Heritage Foundation, 10/16/12

“The Kaiser study assumes that an entire class of Americans—senior citizens—is insensitive to price. In reality, seniors are price sensitive when they are presented with options. Already, 90 percent of retirees can and do choose the private health plans they like, ranging from supplemental insurance to Medicare Advantage and Medicare drug plans.”

Presidential Debate Prep: Understanding Obamacare’s $716 Billion in Cuts to Medicare (Bob Moffit and Alyene Senger)

The Heritage Foundation, 10/16/12

“As the Medicare debate intensifies, there still seems to be popular confusion regarding the $716 billion in ‘savings’ from Obamacare’s Medicare payment cuts. Let us end the confusion.”

The Problem with Kaiser’s Premium Support Study? Seniors Are Smarter Than That—and So Are Health Plans (Joe Antos)

AmericanEnterpriseInstitute, 10/15/12

“The Kaiser report emphasizes a worst-case scenario. To reach their conclusion, the authors assume that no beneficiary would change health plans even if a less expensive option would save them hundreds of dollars a month.”

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Medicare, myths, ObamaCare, premium support, repeal the law, Seniors

VIDEO: Pre-Presidential Debate Highlights Policy Differences

DENVER — Conservatives and progressives duked it out over policy Wednesday morning ahead of the first presidential debate of 2012 at the University of Denver.

The Heritage Foundation and The Independence Institute hosted a wide-ranging pre-presidential policy debate in Denver, featuring policy experts and commentators from both sides of the political aisle.

The economy and job creation, immigration, health care, entitlement spending, and energy were among the contentious topics or “bucket” issues discussed by the speakers.

Conservative panelists included Bill Beach, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis and author of The Index of Dependence on Government. Beach was joined Mike Franc, vice president of government studies at Heritage; Amy Oliver Cooke, executive vice president and director of energy policy at The Independence Institute; and former Rep. Bob Beauprez of Colorado.

Watch the video on The Foundry…

Tags: Denver, domestic policy, government dependency, health care, Obama, ObamaCare, presidential debate, repeal the law, Romney