Market Structure of the Health Insurance Industry
Why do Americans have to pay far more for health care than do citizens of other countries who receive comparable or even superior service? A new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service does not answer that question, but it does provide some insight into the role of the health insurance industry in generating those high costs.
“Health costs appear to have increased over time in large part because of complex interactions among health insurance, health care providers, employers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, tax policy, and the medical technology industry. Reducing the growth trajectory of health care costs may require policies that affect these interactions,” the CRS delicately said.
See “The Market Structure of the Health Insurance Industry,” Congressional Research Service, November 17, 2009.
Just as sports fanatics had plenty to celebrate this year, so does the heat policy team at FAS. In response to recent heat events, leaders across the country have taken steps to build heat resilience.
Congress should establish a Modeling, Analysis, and Technical Talent for Energy Regulation Hub (MATTER Hub) within the Department of Energy (DOE).
Western states functionally manage trillions in global climate risk (permafrost, forest carbon, etc.) and can do so in ways that drive state economic development.
Implementation will not be easy. Several of the plan’s critical strategies challenge established utility business models.