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A report released last week by the Washington State Hospital Association indicates that virtually every hospital in the state is in financial trouble. (here) A recent survey revealed that hospital revenues were up five percent from 2021 to 2022, yet expenses rose 11 percent over the same time period. This is unsustainable. Several, if not many, hospitals are at risk of closing if these losses continue for another year. This includes both rural and urban facilities. Executives give a number of reasons for the financial...
Liberals in Congress are actively campaigning to force price controls on drug manufacturers. The House has already passed bills that would limit the amount of money pharmaceutical companies can charge for drugs. The fate of this proposed legislation is uncertain in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, the Biden Administration and others on the political left are attacking the companies that have made the COVID-19 vaccines. They seek a waiver to the 1994 TRIPS Act, which was accepted by all countries in the World Trade...
A friend of mine, let’s call her Mary, began college at the University of Washington in 1967 and graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1971. According to the university’s records, she paid $3,160 (in 2020 dollars) for her final year of in-state tuition. Mary’s granddaughter, Emma, graduated after four years from the University of Washington in 2020 and paid $10,630 for her final year of in-state tuition. Essentially, school administrators more than tripled tuition at the state’s premier public university during that 50-ye...
Medicaid began in 1965 as a safety-net health insurance entitlement for low-income families with children, the disabled, and some long-term care. The program is financed by both federal and state governments in sort of a 50/50 arrangement. In reality, poorer states receive a higher percent of federal money than richer states. Congress established the financial match program with the idea that state legislators would not increase the tax burden on their constituents. The entitlement would therefore stay small and be used for t...