JoAnn Volk of the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reform writes for Health Affairs about the consequences for people with employer coverage of the Republicans’ plan to repeal...
Diane Archer
Trump voters want lower health care costs
You might think that Trump supporters also support House Speaker Paul Ryan and the Republican leadership’s plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, gut Medicare and block grant Medicaid...
Online social networks may extend your life
We have evidence that people who are more socially engaged live longer. New research featured in PNAS reveals that people with stronger online social networks also appear to live longer than people...
Beware of out-of-network ER bills
A new study by Zack Cooper and Fiona Scott Morton in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that more than one in five emergency room visits involve out-of-network care. While most people choose...
Which health plan should you choose if you’re ill?
Which health plan should you choose if you’re ill? Given all the talk about competition in the health care marketplace, you’d think that Medicare and other health plans plans would be out...
Your Medicare costs in 2017
Most people don’t realize that Medicare only covers about half of a typical person’s total health care costs. On average, people with Medicare spend about $5,000 a year on health care...
Who’ll lose health care after ACA repeal?
Later this month, Republicans in Congress plan to repeal large portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare. The consequences for the health and financial security of tens of millions of...
Live longer after a heart attack, choose your hospital carefully
There’s no question that some hospitals are far better than others, so it’s important to choose your hospital carefully. Some hospitals have lower hospital-acquired infection...
Government still overpays commercial Medicare plans
At a recent meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC), commissioners learned that, all things being equal, Medicare Advantage plans–commercial health plans offering Medicare...
Older people’s annual drug costs average $26,000
A new AARP Public Policy Institute report reveals that drug prices have been increasing significantly over the last 10 years, way higher than overall inflation. Indeed, double-digit retail price...