Why Data on Health-Care Price Variation Doesn’t Itself Solve the Problem January 27, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses a new Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report on “extreme price variation” in health care services and the limits of consumer information as a solution to the problem.
Harvard and Growth in Health Care Cost Sharing January 15, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why recent discussion of Harvard University’s introduction of new health insurance cost sharing measures amounted to “making a mountain out of a mole hill”.
High Health-Care Prices: More Talk Than Action January 12, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how price is the major factor that distinguishes the cost of our health care system from those in other developed nations, yet most efforts in the U.S. to address health-care costs don’t focus on price much at all.
Which Path for Health-Care Politics in 2015? January 6, 2015 Perspective This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on January 6, 2015. Yogi Berra said that when you come to a fork in the road, take it. It will be that kind of year for health-care politics. The status quo is not an option. The key to which path…
Medicaid Expansion in Red States December 18, 2014 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s decision on Medicaid expansion via the Affordable Care Act is the latest sign of pragmatism slowly winning over ideology in red states.
For All the ‘Grubergate’ Talk, Few Americans May Have Listened December 9, 2014 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the disconnect between Washington insiders and the public when it comes to attention paid to news stories like “Grubergate”.
Our Fragmented Approach to Health-Care Costs December 4, 2014 Perspective In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses this week’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report on health spending and assesses the current effort to control health-care costs.
JAMA Forum: Why Health Insurance Literacy Matters November 26, 2014 Perspective Larry Levitt’s November 2014 post looks at the challenges with people not understanding basic health insurance concepts as millions of them evaluate and choose health plans during open enrollment season for insurance in 2015.
Poll: Ebola Was a Bigger Story Than the Midterms November 24, 2014 Perspective For The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses what the public was more concerned about in November: Ebola or the results of the midterm elections.
How 13 Million Americans Could Lose Insurance Subsidies November 19, 2014 Perspective This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on November 19, 2014. The Supreme Court is expected to rule next year on King v. Burwell, the lawsuit in which the federal government’s authority to provide financial assistance to people who buy insurance in federally operated insurance exchanges is being challenged…
