Author Archives

• JAMA Forum: Outcome of 2012 Election Will Likely Affect Medicaid Far More Than Medicare

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on September 12, 2012

  

  The last month or so, the Presidential campaign has often felt like a war over Medicare. Republicans have claimed that the Democrats have robbed the trust fund to pay for an entitlement for other people. They claim that the Affordable… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum: A Tale of 2 Plans

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on August 23, 2012

  

  Let’s consider 2 plans for health coverage. In plan No. 1, the approach is to help everyone under the age of 65 years who doesn’t have insurance coverage. Everyone who is really poor is offered Medicaid. Everyone else will be… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum: Bill Would Gut Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on July 26, 2012

  

  Last week, the House Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and education approved a spending bill, which moves along this week to the full committee for consideration and possible amendments. Then, it’s on to a vote in the… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum — Supreme Court Ruling on the Medicaid Expansion: Carrots Are Okay, Sticks Are Not

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on June 28, 2012

  

  Most of the country will be focused on the fact that the US Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate, albeit as a tax, not a penalty. The Court made another significant ruling, however, concerning the Medicaid expansion. As a reminder,… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum: Prohibition Won’t Work for Soft Drinks Any More Than It Did for Alcohol

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on June 13, 2012

  

  While much of the nation’s attention is focused on the US Supreme Court’s impending ruling on the Affordable Care Act, other health-centered policy efforts emerge (albeit on a smaller scale). One of the latest is the decision by New York… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum: Innovation Isn’t Easy When it Comes to Medicaid

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on April 20, 2012

  

  It’s almost impossible to find a politician these days who isn’t very concerned about the deficit. And it has become clear that the deficit problem is largely a health care spending problem. Given the political difficulty of reducing Medicare spending… Read More ›

• JAMA Forum: The Other Important Issue Before the Supreme Court—Medicaid Expansion

  By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on March 27, 2012

  

  So much attention has been paid to the individual mandate that relatively few have bothered to focus on the other questions that will be debated tomorrow in front of the Supreme Court. One involves the expansion of Medicaid, and it… Read More ›