Our Health Policy Matters

Let’s open 2014 with four health policy predictions.  Here are the first three: Obamacare enrollments will top 5 million. Uninsured rates will come down. Health inflation will tick up. Here’s why you can count on these.   First, 1.1 million people have already enrolled in Obamacare.  The Administration hopes for 7 million by March.  That may be optimistic, but there will be another burst of enrollments in a couple of months.  And there will be another open enrollment period toward the end of the year.  So at least 5 million enrollments seems reasonable.  And here is a bonus prediction.  If that many sign up, the politics of Obamacare in the half of the states that have embraced it will probably shift during the 2014 election cycle.  Their people will, too. Second, the number of people who are uninsured will go down.  A 1 or 2 percent decline will be attributable to Obamacare.  The improving economy will...

Let’s open 2014 with four health policy predictions.  Here are the first three: Obamacare enrollments will top 5 million. Uninsured rates will come down. Health inflation will tick up. Here’s why you can count on these.   First, 1.1 million people have already enrolled in Obamacare.  The Administration hopes for 7 million by March.  That may be optimistic, but there will be another burst of enrollments in a couple of months.  And there will be another open enrollment period toward the end of the year.  So at least 5 million enrollments seems reasonable.  And here is a bonus prediction.  If that many sign up, the politics of Obamacare in the half of the states that have embraced it will probably shift during the 2014 election cycle.  Their people will, too. Second, the number of people who are uninsured will go down.  A 1 or 2 percent decline will be attributable to Obamacare.  The improving economy will...

It has been a busy health policy year.  Here are my choices for the top health policy stories.  They all may not have made big headlines, but all will reverberate for some time.  The Slowing of Healthcare Inflation This was on my watch list coming into this year , and I’ll lead with it today because it was the best health policy news of the year.  When healthcare inflation came in low this year, it did all sorts of good things.  It helped balance state budgets, extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund, and dropped the price tag of the Affordable Care Act.  Inflation is supposed to jump up this year as millions more become insured, but we can at least hope that a more modest trendline continues. Mental Health Parity And for some more good news… It took five years and incessant lobbying from heroes like Patrick Kennedy, but the final rule implementing the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 was finally released this year , coinciding roug...

It has been a busy health policy year.  Here are my choices for the top health policy stories.  They all may not have made big headlines, but all will reverberate for some time.  The Slowing of Healthcare Inflation This was on my watch list coming into this year , and I’ll lead with it today because it was the best health policy news of the year.  When healthcare inflation came in low this year, it did all sorts of good things.  It helped balance state budgets, extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund, and dropped the price tag of the Affordable Care Act.  Inflation is supposed to jump up this year as millions more become insured, but we can at least hope that a more modest trendline continues. Mental Health Parity And for some more good news… It took five years and incessant lobbying from heroes like Patrick Kennedy, but the final rule implementing the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 was finally released this year , coinciding roug...