The Health Care Blog

Unions May Get a Pass on Health Care Benefits Tax

By ROBERT LAWSZEWSKI There is a major bipartisan effort going on in the Senate Finance Committee to reform the health care system. Reportedly, one of the elements of that effort may be a tax on "gold plated" health insurance benefits...
June 29, 2009 in Economics, Robert Laszewski, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Dumbest Thing I Have Ever Seen An Insurance Company Do

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI And, I’ve been in the business for 37 years. First, let me stipulate we really need a system of universal care where everyone gets to have insurance. But we don’t yet so certain rules are unavoidable until...
June 20, 2009 in Health Plans, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (27)

The Public Plan--Mutual Assured Destruction?

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI I typically don’t talk about my travels on this blog but something happened this week that bears reporting. Whether the federal government should or should not offer a public health plan alternative to compete with private insurers...
April 20, 2009 in Health Plans, Obama administration, Policy, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

The Biggest Health Care Controversy on the Hill

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI Since when was a two-tiered health insurance system a Democratic policy goal? Among Democrats in the Congress and at the White House there is a great deal of interest in creating a government-run health plan in the...
April 16, 2009 in Health Plans, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (29)

Sustainable Healthcare Reform

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI Last week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted as raising the possibility we could take the $600 billion in new revenue projected from a "cap-and-trade" plan to cut green house-gas emissions and use some or all...
March 30, 2009 in Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (24)

The Stimulus Pregame

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI "Drug Makers Fight Stimulus Provision" "Lobbying War Ensues Over Digital Data" The first was a recent and the second headline comes from the Washington Post. Both refer to what were supposed to be two already agreed on...
February 13, 2009 in Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (17)

The Importance of Being Charles Grassley

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI The extension and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program SCHIP has now passed the full House and the Senate Finance Committee and is on its way to the full Senate. After minor differences between the...
January 20, 2009 in Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (8)

The Downfall of AIG

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI Those of you outside of Washington, DC likely missed the Washington Post's three-part investigation of the events leading to the downfall of AIG. It makes for good holiday reading. I highly recommend the series to you. Knowing...
January 2, 2009 in Economics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (0)

Naive policy makers need not apply

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released two comprehensive papers detailing the policy and financial options for health care reform: Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals and Budget Options, Volume I: Health Care. I can't...
December 24, 2008 in Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

Slicing the health reform pie

By Robert Laszewski I doubt anyone would disagree with the statement that America’s health care costs are too high, continue to grow at an unsustainable rate, and reform is critical to control costs, get everyone covered, and improve quality. In...
December 12, 2008 in Economics, Medicare Advantage, Obama administration, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (15)

There's waste in the medical system--Duh!

By Robert Laszewski As we begin the health care reform discussion in earnest, many are pointing out all of the waste in the system and the need to research what works best, provide the incentives to do it, manage the...
December 3, 2008 in Economics, Policy/Politics, Quality, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (6)

Fostering an adult conversation about health reform

By Robert Laszewski Zeke Emanuel and Shannon Brownlee have an op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post that should be required reading for anyone interested in health care reform. The title is, “5 Myths About Our Ailing Health Care System.” They suggest...
November 24, 2008 in Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (7)

McCain's health plan likely going down with him

By Robert Laszewski John McCain would reform the American health care system by providing big tax incentives for it to transition from being employer-based to one built on a system of individual responsibility. He would do this by eliminating the...
October 29, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (7)

Let's get real about the economy and health care

By Robert Laszewski I just got a call from a reporter at one of the major news organizations to talk about the chances for health care reform. We both commented on the almost surreal environment we are all in. I'm...
October 13, 2008 in Economics, Election 08, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (15)

Forcing the candidates to get real on health care change

By Robert Laszewski Let's pretend that either Senator Obama or Senator McCain will be able to implement their respective health care reform plans if elected. This exercise should be easy. We've been doing it for months now. Or, we can...
September 16, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (9)

Remember pensions? The big differences between Obama & McCain's health care plans

By Robert Laszewski This election is different than any other on the issue of health care because both candidates are giving us serious blueprints to reorganize America's health care system and those blueprints are very very different. As voters, you...
September 11, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Obama, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (8)

Private Medicare plans face uphill battle to prove efficiency

By Robert Laszewski I have been struck by the optimism regarding private Medicare presented by health plan executives during the recent earnings season and the analysts failure to press them on just how their numbers will add-up to sustain the...
September 9, 2008 in Health Plans, medicare, Medicare Advantage, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sarah Palin's limited health care record staunchly free market

By Robert Laszewski Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has very little on her health care policy resume from her short time in office as Alaska's Governor but what she does have fits right in with Senator McCain's strategy to use...
September 5, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (30)

Voters shielded from high health costs don't see the residual impact

By Robert Laszewski The health care issue has a history of being named by voters as one of the biggest problems we face -- until the problem de jour comes along and pushes it off the list. In 2008, that...
August 13, 2008 in Economics, Policy, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

The problems with high-risk pools

By Robert Laszewski What do we do with people who are uninsurable because they have a pre-existing medical condition? That is a particularly important question as both McCain and Obama propose reforming American health care by building on the private...
August 1, 2008 in Election 08, Mandates, Marketplace, McCain, Obama, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

Cost containment is the missing link in Obama's health plan

By Robert Laszewski Barack Obama’s health care plan follows the Democratic template—an emphasis on dramatically and quickly increasing the number of people who have health insurance by spending significant money upfront. The Obama campaign estimates his health care reform plan...
July 23, 2008 in Election 08, Policy, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (1)

Doubtful McCain's health plan would accomplish any real cost savings

By Robert Laszewski John McCain is now the presumptive Republican nominee for president. As a result, what he thinks about health care policy will be out front in the presidential campaign this fall. McCain’s thinking couldn’t be more different from...
July 23, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (3)

Already counting down to the next physician fee cut

By Robert Laszewski Robert Laszweski has been a fixture in Washington health policy circles for the better part of three decades. He currently serves as the president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates of Alexandria, Virginia. You can read more...
July 14, 2008 in Economics, medicare, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (3)

Senate votes to reign in private Medicare

By Robert Laszewski Robert Laszweski has been a fixture in Washington health policy circles for the better part of three decades. He currently serves as the president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates of Alexandria, Virginia. You can read more...
July 9, 2008 in medicare, Medicare Advantage, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

If California can't protect consumers, who can?

By Robert Laszewski Crazy as it sounds an Associated Press story from Thursday reported that the California Department of Managed Care "didn't even try to enforce a million-dollar fine against health insurer Anthem Blue Cross because they feared they would...
July 7, 2008 in Consumers, Health Plans, Policy, Robert Laszewski, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (1)

Run for the hills: the doctors are coming

By Robert Laszewski What is the one thing no human being should want to be next week? A Republican Senator at a Fourth of July Picnic. In the most amazing turn of events I have seen in 20 years of...
June 30, 2008 in Medicare Advantage, Physicians, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

MA plans won this round but future looks bleak

By Robert Laszweski Congressional Democrats tried to take a big bite out of private Medicare last week in an attempt to pay for an 18-month fix to the upcoming July 1 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare physician payments. The effort,...
June 20, 2008 in Health Plans, Medicare Advantage, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (1)

What do Johnny Cash and employer-based health care have in common?

By Robert Laszewski OK, maybe it's a stretch but bear with me. I heard a senior exec from a big health plan say the other day that it's hard to believe we will ever see the end of health insurance...
June 16, 2008 in Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Massachusetts Question

By Robert Laszewski Two years ago lawmakers in Massachusetts made the state the first in the nation to mandate that residents purchase health insurance. The proposal quickly caught on, inspiring similar efforts on the state level and eventually becoming the...
June 12, 2008 in Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (6)

Healthy Americans Act could be the place of compromise for health reform in 2008

By Robert Laszewski Health care reform will be hard to do after the November election. I've even called it a long-shot. Polls clearly show the voters split evenly between the Democratic and Republican approach to health care reform. I can't...
May 8, 2008 in Policy, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (7)

An Analysis of Senator John McCain's Health Care Reform Plan By Robert Laszewski

Robert Laszweski has been a fixture in Washington health policy circles for the better part of three decades. He currently serves as the president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates of Alexandria, Virginia. Before forming HPSA in 1992, Robert served...
February 5, 2008 in Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (16)