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What’s Driving the GOP Health Plan
This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on May 30, 2014. Conservative House Republicans are pushing for a vote on a GOP health-care plan, presumably to appeal to their base, to give GOP candidates health reform ideas to talk about on the campaign trail and to show that…
Column Read PostAvoiding the Wrong Lessons From the VA and HealthCare.gov Problems
This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on May 27, 2014. Problems with the launch of HealthCare.gov and with veterans hospitals allegedly concealing long waits for care feed a narrative that government doesn’t work. But many government programs, including Medicare and Social Security, work well. And there are…
Column Read PostIn Health Care, Sometimes It’s Provider Choice vs. Price
Drew Altman, in The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, examines the tradeoff between choice of doctors and hospitals and price when choosing a narrow network.
Column Read PostThe Next Big Health-Care Issue
Drew Altman, in The Wall Street Journal‘s Think Tank, writes that the next big concern for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be how much premiums increase in exchanges for 2015. He discusses the factors to focus on to put this issue in perspective when states report premium increases.
Column Read PostThe Twin Goals of Health Insurance
Drew Altman, in The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, examines a study finding Massachusetts’ health reform saved lives in the context of health insurance’s twin goal: better access to improve health and economic security.
Column Read PostThe Health-Cost Problem Is Coming Back
Drew Altman, in The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, discusses how the conversation will soon shift back to health-care costs from health coverage, because they are rising more sharply again. And as the discussion turns back, he says that because there is no national agreement on a strategy to address increasing costs, current efforts in the public and private sector, however fragmented and uncoordinated, will need to step up their game.
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