Romney vs. Obama: The Romney-Ryan Medicare Plan Compared to the Obama Medicare Plan—Who’s Telling the Truth on Medicare?

They both are and they both aren’t.

I’ve never seen a week in health care policy like last week. The media reports have to be in the thousands, all trying to make sense of the furious debate between Obama and Romney over Medicare.

As someone who has studied this issue for more than 20 years, it has also been more than exasperating for me to watch each side trade claims and for the press to try

Read more »

Wyden and Ryan—One is Up and the Other is Down—and They Are Both Telling the Truth

Republican Vice Presidential pick Paul Ryan isn’t the only one Democrats are piling on this week. The knives have come out for Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat.

I guess that isn’t a surprise. If Ron Wyden is right on Medicare then so are Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney.

The fundamental problem here is that the Democrats have decided that their best path to victory in the November elections is

Read more »

The Game’s Not Over, and It May Not Even Be The Real Game

by Brian Klepper

Like most health law watchers, I was surprised by the recent Supreme Court decision. I'm sure that on this issue, as with everything else, zealous responses rationalize the result and split the country down the middle.

I expected the Court to be purely partisan, but apparently Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledging the gravity of his role, saw his way clear to support the

Read more »

Do You Have Any Idea How Close the Affordable Care Act Came to Being Toast?

I expected Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to vote to toss the individual mandate. I had no doubt the other three conservative justices would want the whole of the Affordable Care Act thrown out.

I also expected the four liberal justices to support both the individual mandate as well as the entire law.

About everyone expected Roberts and Kennedy to vote alike.

If Roberts had gone with

Read more »

The Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care, Its Impact on Medicaid, and 29 Republican Governors--Be Careful You Might Get What You Wish For

Conservatives wanted the Supreme Court to do the work of killing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for them. They didn’t get their wish but the Court may have put conservatives into a political corner they will find very uncomfortable.

Under the new health law, the Medicaid program will be substantially expanded. Those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level (about $30,000 in annual income

Read more »

The Supreme Court's Decision on the Affordable Care Act

In the immortal words of Rosane Rosana Dana, "Never mind."From the SCOTUS blog live in the court room: "Chief Justice Roberts' vote saved the ACA."On to the elections.

Read more »

What Would Health Insurance Cost if the Supreme Court Overturns the Individual Mandate But Leaves the Insurance Reforms in Place?

That will be the big question on Thursday if the Court throws out the mandate and the parallel insurance reforms that would require health plans to take all comers without regard to their health status and require insurers to cover pre-existing conditions.

But before we get to that scenario, let’s look at another possibility.

The Court Overturns Both the Individual Mandate and the Insurance

Read more »