Dr. Government

The Little Known Law That Lets Hospitals Shut Down Competition

"Iowa makes it a crime for doctors to open up a new location and offer services without obtaining special permission known as a 'certificate of need.' Permission is not easy to come by: Dr. Birchansky must persuade state officials that his outpatient surgery center is 'needed' in the proposed location through a cumbersome process that resembles full-blown litigation and that allows existing businesses (his competitors) to oppose his application. This process amounts to nothing more than certificates of monopoly." Continue reading →

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State-Run Single-Payer Health Care: Prohibitively Expensive—and Illegal?

"State lawmakers in California and New York voted this year to pass state-run single payer health care plans, despite the fact that both states would need to double their existing tax revenue to pay for the new entitlement. But even if those political hurdles are overcome, and even if the two states figure out how they are going to come up with the necessary tax revenue—about $400 billion in California's case, and somewhere between $91 billion and $225 billion in New York's—to make those systems functional, both may run into another problem: The whole thing could be against the law." Continue reading →

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Aetna to Obamacare: We’re outta here

"Aetna is saying goodbye to Obamacare. The insurance giant announced Wednesday that it would not offer policies in Nebraska or Delaware next year, completing its exit from the exchanges. Earlier this year, Aetna said it would pull out of Iowa and Virginia in 2018. The company said it expects to lose more than $200 million in its individual business line this year, on top of nearly $700 million in losses between 2014 and 2016. Aetna withdrew from 11 of its 15 markets for 2017. It has 255,000 Obamacare policyholders this year, down from 964,000 at the end of last year." Continue reading →

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Obamacare for some: 49% price hike since 2014, premiums of $14,300

"Millions of Obamacare customers who do not qualify for financial aid to lower the cost of their health insurance — or who opt not to apply for such assistance — pay the full cost of coverage for their plans. While the Republican Obamacare replacement bill pending in Congress would increase the number of people who would qualify for subsidies, the bill is also expected to increase average premiums over the next two years higher than they would be under Obamacare." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare for some: 49% price hike since 2014, premiums of $14,300

California’s Single-Payer Health Plan Costs More Than the State’s Whole Budget

"The list of states that have tried to go single-payer is still a small sample size, but a fairly wide ranging one. It includes states with large populations and small ones. States with a variety of economies and tax systems. States that are growing quickly and those that aren't. Despite that range of variables, one thing remains constant: state-level single-payer health plans would require massive increases in tax revenue, equal or larger than the amount of revenue consumed by every other state-level program in a single year." Continue reading →

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UK hospital meltdown after ransomware worm uses NSA vuln to raid IT

"UK hospitals have effectively shut down and are turning away non-emergency patients after ransomware ransacked its networks. Doctors have been reduced to using pen and paper, and closing A&E to non-critical patients, amid the tech blackout. The security hole has been patched for modern Windows versions, but not WindowsXP – and the NHS is a massive user of the legacy operating system." Continue reading →

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Smoking Pot Kicks You Off Transplant Lists — Even In States Where It’s Legal

"More than half the states in the country have legalized medical marijuana, but some hospitals still bar users from life-saving organ transplants. The policy delayed the late Riley Hancey's lung transplant for months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSmoking Pot Kicks You Off Transplant Lists — Even In States Where It’s Legal