The BRI Blog

Sacramento already struggles to run Medi-Cal. How will it manage a $500 billion takeover of the entire health system, especially given the state’s poor financial standing and rolling debt?

Subsidizing demand does not make health insurance cost less. Rather, when providers must compete for patients’ business, the quality of the care gets better and prices go down.

The most pressing problem facing American patients is affordability. The good news is that Congress is weighing several reforms that could finally combat many of the contributing factors to sky-high health care costs.

Health insurers’ current prior authorization process is needlessly complex, leading to delays, ineffective initial treatments, and hospitalizations. The Trump administration’s recently-struck deal to streamline the process is long overdue.

How can we reduce the cost of coverage without increasing taxpayer spending on premium subsidies? Through greater access to lower-premium catastrophic coverage.

Medicare officials theorize that doctors have gotten more productive over time—and therefore do not need to be paid as much for each unit of work. That conclusion is wildly detached from reality.