GAO Confirms Obamacare Insurance Rating Rules Increase Premiums for Young People

In a recently published (but under-reported) brief, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed that states which prevent actuarially accurate pricing of health-insurance premiums impose higher premiums on young people.

The GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial Obamacare is for young people.

Read the entire article at John Goodman's Health Care Blog.

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

Executive Nullification: Why Obama Won't Allow Congress to Legalize His Changes to PPACA

Another day, another executive nullification of a painful piece of Obamacare.
This time, it has to do with health benefits for staffers on Capitol Hill. This is the second incident in as many weeks.

The President has a reason for preventing Congress from legalizing his changes to PPACA. Read the entire column at Forbes.com's The Apothecary here.

Obamacare's Employer-Mandate Delay is A Headache, Not A Relief

On July 2, 2013, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would delay collecting taxes due to Obamacare’s employer-mandate by one year. Although greeted as a relief by many, the move actually raises two significant problems for businesses and taxpayers during Obamacare’s roll-out.

First, the delay implies that Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores of government health spending will become even less realistic than they currently are. Second, employers who take advantage of the delay will be on very shaky legal grounds.

Read the entire column at Forbes, here.

Prospects for Repealing PPACA's Taxes on Medical Devices and Health Insurance

On July 2, the Treasury Department unilaterally decided not to enforce PPACA’s employer mandate. Failure to enforce the employer mandate effectively nullifies the individual mandate, too. This toughens the challenge of repealing the medical-device excise tax and the health-insurance premium tax, both of which are priorities for those industries.

Read my entire column at Forbes' The Apothecary here.

Research Update: Thanks For Your Patience!

Colleagues & Supporters,

As you know, I stepped away from research last summer, and took a position at a Washington, DC trade association.

In less than a year, much has changed: Although PPACA remains the law of the land, its consequences remain extremely uncertain. Investors, businesses, and the people at large are anxious for the future of U.S. health care.

Because my skills lie in defining, designing, directing, researching, writing, editing, and communicating the results of health-policy research, as well as financial analysis, I have decided to return to a role where I can bring these skills to bear.

I have the privilege of resuming two Senior Fellowships in health-policy research, one at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, TX, and the other at The Fraser Institute in Canada. I will also return to writing for The Apothecary blog at Forbes.com, in the company of scholars including Professor Chris Conover of Duke University. I will continue to live and work in Arlington, VA, for the time being.

These research skills would also be usefully employed in a corporate, consulting, or investment environment, and I will be seeking opportunities in these fields while executing my research functions at NCPA and The Fraser Institute.

The blog has been renamed, in order to reflect an greater emphasis on financial and economic analysis. Also, there is a new Facebook page, which I invite you to like.

Thank you for your patience during my absence from the public view. Stay tuned for new research soon!

Research Archive Update

As previously noted, it is very difficult to find my archived articles at the PRI website. I have updated the links to some of the articles at my LinkedIn profile.

Update on Research Archive

I have learned that the Pacific Research Institute, which was my previous employer, has changed its website. The new one is at this link here. As a result, many of the links to which I have pointed readers (especially Health Policy Prescriptions) are obsolete. Well, nothing lasts forever!

If you want to find those articles, I recommend going to either the search function of at the top right of the new website and typing "Health Policy Prescriptions" in the search bar, or going to the horizontal tab named "Health Care" and browse "John R. Graham" using the drop-down list of authors (also on the right side).