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At least this won’t get a Lie of the Year award, although the rest of Kamala Harris’ argument might not be as immune. The Democratic contender held a townhall forum on CNN last night, where moderator Jake Tapper asked about Harris’ support and sponsorship for a Medicare for All bill. Some people like their private insurance plan, Tapper noted. What about them?We’re going to “eliminate all of that,” Harris promised: TAPPER: Just to follow up on that, correct me if I’m wrong. To reiterate: You support the Medicare for All bill, I think initially co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders, you’re...

California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, speaking during a town hall Monday night, vowed to eliminate all private health care insurance for approximately 150 million Americans if she is elected president. Asked by CNN host Jake Tapper if people who like their current health care insurance could keep it under Harris' "Medicare for All" plan, Harris indicated they could not -- but that, in turn, they would experience health care without any delays. Her statements appeared to be a full-throated call for single-payer health insurance, as opposed to merely expanding Medicare, and a dramatic embrace of the kind of proposals advocated...

Almost one in three New Yorkers would face higher costs under a proposed single-payer health plan, and half of the worse-off group would be low- or middle-income, according to a new report from the Empire Center. The report highlights little-noticed data from the RAND Corporation’s analysis of the New York Health Act, which estimated 31 percent of New Yorkers would pay more for health care under single-payer. Among those paying more would be almost half of the working poor....who already qualify for free or near-free coverage through Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan. Many beneficiaries of those programs...

The wife of a retired periodontist suffering from Alzheimer’s, Dr. Gerald Greenberg, has filed a lawsuit against a New York hospital claiming that doctors violated his last wishes. As the New York Post reports, Mrs. Elaine Greenberg’s husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in his fifties and by the age of 63 was completely disconnected from the real world. But shortly after finding out about his condition and while still in a sound state of mind he had drawn up a living will which effectively established a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. When Dr. Greenberg fell seriously ill and...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to shift billions of dollars from government-run veterans’ hospitals to private health care providers, setting the stage for the biggest transformation of the veterans’ medical system in a generation. Under proposed guidelines, it would be easier for veterans to receive care in privately run hospitals and have the government pay for it. Veterans would also be allowed access to a system of proposed walk-in clinics, which would serve as a bridge between V.A. emergency rooms and private providers, and would require co-pays for treatment. Veterans’ hospitals, which treat seven million patients annually, have...

Lawmakers rushed into the drug pricing arena this week as they revived a bundle of legislation and oversight talks, signaling they want to put manufacturers in the hot seat when it comes to addressing healthcare costs. Medicare negotiation was at the forefront of Democratic messaging with an unexpected Republican boost. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) joined Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to re-introduce legislation to allow the HHS secretary to directly barter with manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D. Rooney is the sole Republican to co-sponsor the bill so far. On Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) revived the upper chamber's companion...

PITTSBURGH - Babies will no longer be delivered at UPMC Mercy Hospital, with inpatient women’s health, obstetrics and neonatal intensive care transitioning to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. The transition will happen in early March, according to a news release from UPMC. “With the construction of the new UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Hospital set to break ground in coming months -- in addition to many high-quality specialized patient care services including rehabilitation services, a new digestive health center and enhanced treatment for addiction -- UPMC Mercy is poised to significantly grow clinical services,” the news release said. Nearly 9,000 babies are delivered...

New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed a $100 million plan he says will provide affordable “health care for all,” that will serve about 600,000 people, including undocumented immigrants, low-income residents who aren’t already enrolled in Medicaid and young workers whose current plants cost too much.The plan, called “NYC Care,” will offer public health insurance on a sliding scale based on income, and will begin later this year in the Bronx before being available to all New Yorkers by 2021. The plan will cost about $100 million once it reaches full enrollment, the mayor’s office said.Each participant...

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that all residents, regardless of citizenship status or ability to pay, will be guaranteed comprehensive health care. The recently re-elected Democratic mayor of the country's largest city announced on MSNBC Tuesday the government will pay for any and all resident's comprehensive care, including those who aren't eligible to receive comprehensive Medicaid coverage. The city's more than 600,000 uninsured residents, including its more than 300,000 undocumented residents, are included in this de Blasio guarantee.

Fee for service, especially when it involves your health care, has acquired a bad name. "Why should somebody make money off of you being sick?" is the refrain from leftists when espousing their single-payer, government-controlled takeover of the United States health care economy. They complain that we should be spending money on wellness, not giving money to those who act like parasites, feeding off the misfortune of others. But "fee for service" may instead be one of the best ways to slow down our accelerating health care costs. "If the financial incentives are removed from the equation, maybe those greedy...

December brought the U.S. healthcare industry's largest monthly spike in the number of new hires since at least February 1990. Healthcare added 50,200 jobs last month, the largest numeric increase in new hires in Modern Healthcare's monthly jobs data, which stretches back to February 1990. Hiring in the industry jumped 56% from November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' December jobs report released Friday. While more than 50,000 new jobs was "an unexpectedly high number," Total nonfarm employment rose by 312,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9%. Overall in 2018,...

Three of the lawmakers who will lead the House next year as Congress focuses on skyrocketing drug costs are among the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, a new KHN analysis shows. On Wednesday, House Democrats selected Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland to serve as the next majority leader and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina as majority whip, making them the No. 2 and No. 3 most powerful Democrats as their party regains control of the House in January. Both lawmakers have received more than $1 million from pharmaceutical company political action committees in the past...

Well, well, well, it turns out that Planned Parenthood might not be the immaculate champion of women’s rights they insist to be. Well we all knew that, but it sure is nice to see it as an official story written by The New York Times. In a Thursday report, The New York Times exposed the abortion giant’s “discrimination” against its own pregnant employees. The Times cited the firsthand accounts from several Planned Parenthood employees, including assistant Ta’Lisa Hairston, who complained the “reproductive rights” provider ignored her doctor’s requests that she be allowed to take breaks for the sake of her...

Thanks to President Donald Trump’s slashes to the federal government’s Obamacare advertising budget and his administration’s “sabotage” of Obamacare, hundreds of thousands of clueless people have been left in the dark and aren’t enrolling in Obamacare—at least, that’s what countless reporters and pundits would have you believe. However, the truth is this issue is far more complex that what many on the Left suggest.There’s no doubt that 2019 Obamacare enrollment has dropped compared to enrollment figures from one year ago. The Associated Press reports enrollment in the federal Obamacare exchange—the health insurance exchange used by 39 states—has fallen by nearly 20...

(Bloomberg) -- Obamacare was struck down by a Texas federal judge in a ruling that casts uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of U.S. residents. The decision Friday finding the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional comes just before the end of a six-week open enrollment period for the program in 2019 and underscores a divide between Republicans who have long sought to invalidate the law and Democrats who fought to keep it in place. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth agreed with a coalition of Republican states led by Texas that he had to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act,...

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor agreed with 19 States to declare the Affordable Care Act, (aka Obamacare) Unconstitutional because Congress revoked the tax penalty last year.

Section 1401(b) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shall be replaced with: ‘‘(b) PREMIUM ASSISTANCE CREDIT AMOUNT.—For purposes of this section— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘premium assistance credit amount’ means, with respect to any taxable year, the sum of the premium assistance amounts determined under paragraph (2) with respect to all coverage months of the taxpayer occurring during the taxable year. ‘‘(2) PREMIUM ASSISTANCE AMOUNT.—The premium assistance amount determined under this subsection with respect to any coverage month is the amount equal to the lesser of— ‘‘(A) the monthly premiums for such month for 1 or more qualified...

Its fundamental principle is giving insurers negotiating power. Imagine if Aunt Sue's insurer had to buy exactly A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I and J. The price on each would be high and the total price via premiums would be impoverishing for Aunt Sue. Imagine instead if Aunt Sue's insurer only had to buy at least eight of the ten for Aunt Sue to get a federal tax credit. Each seller would realize that their yearly revenue from Aunt Sue might be zero. Deals would be offered and good deals made. Aunt Sue would probably wind up with all ten and at a much lower...

...sign-ups through HealthCare.gov, the federal Affordable Care Act exchange, are down 11 percent through the first five weeks compared with the same time last year -- and experts say final numbers are on track to be lower overall at the end of enrollment. ... ...Get America Covered, published an analysis predicting total enrollment on the federal exchange would fall by 800,000. There are also fewer people enrolling for the first-time in the marketplaces. ew consumers were down about 18 percent compared with last year, and the number of people visiting Healthcare.gov down almost 21 percent. “You look for explanations, is...