Healthcare

America spends $3.2 trillion on healthcare in a year, or about $10,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. That also amounts to about 18% of our total gross domestic product. Of that, spending on federal government Medicare is $648 billion, and spending on state and federal Medicaid is $574 billion. Slowly but surely, America is going broke paying for healthcare.

Do we have a free market for healthcare in America? The answer is no, we do not. We didn’t have a free market for healthcare BEFORE the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA] was passed and we don’t have a free market for healthcare WITH the ACA. Furthermore, we won’t have a free market for healthcare AFTER –  if Congress only repeals the ACA. We will need to take further steps to get government out of the healthcare business.

These are the key areas where CASE believes consumers can, for the first time since World War II, be put at the center restoring free market principles to the healthcare and health insurance industries in America:

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Reform. Here is the comprehensive overview of how we can put consumers at the center of restoring free market principles to America’s healthcare and health insurance system. The CASE for Healthcare Reform for Consumers.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers [PBMs] and the cost of pharmaceuticals. There is mounting evidence that the role of PBMs distorts drug prices and is a driver of higher drug costs. As spikes in prescription drug prices occur without justification, we believe we need more transparency to protect patients from drug price gouging and manipulation. There is a need for greater transparency among pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers and health plans will shed light on the rationale for drug price increases and why patients pay what they do for their medications. CASE opposes provisions in pharmacies’ contracts with PBMs that prohibit pharmacists from disclosing that a patient’s co-pay is higher than the drug’s cash price.

CASE Media on Healthcare. Here are the articles and op-eds CASE has written on healthcare.

• CASE Statement on Obamacare Incentives Create Hospital Monopolies Putting Profits Ahead of Patients, 11/22/2017
• CASE Statement on CHIP Reauthorization, 11/2/2017
• CASE Op-ED, PBM Reform Could Save Consumers Millions on Prescription Drugs, 10/19/2017
• CASE Op-Ed, Hospital Consolidation Demands Closer Scrutiny, 9/11/2017