The USDA recently began an initiative to battle food stamp fraud and abuse. Existing loopholes in federal regulations require no asset test to qualify. Thus, recipients can live in large houses and drive luxury cars but still qualify for the SNAP program if their income appears low enough on paper. According to the Secretary of Agriculture, 14,000 individuals from just one red state drive luxury cars, including three Bentleys, three Ferraris, three Lamborghinis, 59 Maseratis and 141 Porsches.
Category: Medicare
High-Deductible Plans are Increasing but Need Important Reforms
I’m a fan of high-deductible health plans, but the premiums under Obamacare are too high compared to the benefits. Plans should be able to offer annual and lifetime caps on benefits to reduce premiums further. Obamacare’s ban on annual and lifetime benefits is what allowed drug prices and the price of some medical procedures to reach the stratosphere. In addition, with hospitals acquiring physician practices many consumers are being steered to hospital owned facilities which have higher prices.
Wednesday Links – 29 April 2026
- How families are getting health care without health insurance.
- What determines the price of health care?
- The US is one of the most dangerous places in the developed world for walking down the street.
- Two thirds of hospital spending is on items other than patient care.
- More than half of hospitals make money on Medicare.
- One-third make money on Medicaid.
Friday Links – 24 April 2026
- Henderson: what driving on roads and highways can tell us about the proper role for government.
- Did Trump inadvertently create the optimal global carbon tax?
- Dual classification: hospitals can maximize their Medicare revenue by becoming “rural” for some purposes and “urban” for others.
- The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act would give employers transparency into where their premium dollars are going.
- What difference does price transparency in health care make?