Back in January, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance started the Coalition Against Rate-Setting (CARS) ([link removed]) . The goal was to bring together as many national and state free-market groups as possible to stop rate-setting (price controls) as a “solution” to surprise medical billing. We now have 34 groups and the message is as strong as ever: price controls hurt doctors, nurses, and patients. Our friends at the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) released an Issue Brief ([link removed]) earlier this week, “The Menace of Medical Rate Setting: The Case of California’s AB 72,” detailing what happened in California after price controls were instituted. Please give it a read.

Summer Reading – Healthcare Price Controls

The Democratic convention is over, and quite frankly, I didn’t learn anything new about the Democrats. One of the things I already knew was that they want to establish price controls for Medicare. That’s a problem for many reasons, but it’s especially problematic when coronavirus patients find themselves in the emergency room for a sudden bout with the deadly disease. These patients have no assurance that their insurance network will cover all the attending doctors. Even after they think the ordeal is over, 1 in 7 patients will receive an unwanted, unexpected “surprise bill” in the mail. Lawmakers are hard at work figuring out how to “solve” this pressing issue, but not all solutions are created equally. Some proposals would lean heavily on onerous price controls and have bureaucrats dictating prices to doctors and patients. Members of Congress need to do their homework on the myriad unintended consequences of rate-setting (price controls) before prescribing this wrongheaded solution
because millions of lives depend on finding a solution. Surprise billing is a very real issue impacting tens of millions of Americans. And the spread of the novel coronavirus has made matters worse for those people infected. But some proposed solutions – such as rate-setting (aka price controls) – are worse than the disease and would cripple the healthcare system at the worst possible time. Since the start of the pandemic, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) have repeatedly attempted to get rate-setting inserted into “relief” legislation. Their proposal would benchmark provider compensation at the median in-network insurance reimbursement rate. Mandating these artificially low rates would spell disaster for millions of healthcare workers and their patients, triggering a slew of closures and consolidations of doctor’s offices and hospitals.

This scenario unfolded when California implemented a similar “solution” in 2017. The new, aforementioned study by PRI explains why price controls didn’t work in California. According to PRI ([link removed]) , “Having been in effect for three years, AB 72 has created unintended consequences that simultaneously increase the costs of healthcare and reduce its quality. Worse, it is likely that the current adjustments are just the beginning, and AB 72’s adverse impact on the quality and cost of care will increase further over time.” Exporting this failed model nationwide at the height of a pandemic would compromise care for tens of millions of patients. And now, more lawmakers (such as Virginia Democrat Sen. Mark Warner) are entering the fray with their own, misguided healthcare price-fixing “solutions.”

The problems with price controls aren’t limited to the surprise billing issue. The Democratic candidates have effusively embraced Medicare for All throughout their convention this week. But this disastrous proposal would impose price controls across the healthcare system. Under Joe Biden’s “Affordable Care Act 2.0,” the HHS secretary would have the authority to impose price controls on countless popular medications. Medicare for All would cut reimbursement rates for medical providers leading to fewer resources to treat patients and worse outcomes. Members of Congress should be going to bat for patients by rejecting price-controls and insisting on market solutions to surprise billing. But first, they need to do their homework.

Pelosi’s Postal Reality Check

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is calling the House of Representatives back in session to vote on a postal reform bill that would give the agency $25 billion. The vote is expected to be on Saturday (we’ll see how tan they are). Unfortunately, there has been an insane amount of misinformation about the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Let’s take a look at three of the issues.

Funding

Pelosi claims the USPS is on the verge of running out of money and wants another $25 billion for the struggling agency. Yes, the USPS is in bad financial shape, but they have enough in cash reserves to last them until August of next year according ([link removed]) to the agency’s own financials.

Mailbox Removal

The agency started removing collection boxes in June, according to postal workers. Surely, all of these removals are evidence that DeJoy is trying to seriously undermine the USPS. Except…“reductions” and removals are nothing new. In 2016, the Inspector General (IG) found ([link removed]) , “Nationally the number of collection boxes declined by more than 12,000 in the past 5 years…Our analysis indicated an additional 1,808 collection boxes could have been removed and another 637 relocated.” In 2016, the IG estimated ([link removed]) , “removing unnecessary collection boxes throughout the Eastern Area would eliminate 73,043 workhours over the next 5 years.” Those are work hours that could be put to more productive uses, such as getting election mail from voters to the ballot box.

Processing Machines Being Removed

While there’s less documentation of sorting machine removals, federal watchdogs have repeatedly urged the USPS to cut down on excess mail processing equipment. In 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified 3,000 unnecessary pieces of machine processing equipment and urged the USPS to adjust its network to reflect declining mail volumes. Eight years later, DeJoy is following the GAO’s advice. Again, hardly a recipe for dismantling America’s mail carrier. The IG found in 2015, “While mail volumes decline, plants routinely staff and operate…machines unnecessarily using traditional standard approaches.” These workers could be helping to hand-sort ballots, but instead are stuck at a machine well past its prime. Long story short, recent equipment removals serve a valuable purpose in freeing up workers for election mail delivery and processing.

Instead of passing unneeded legislation that will hamstring the Postal Service and cost taxpayers billions of dollars, Pelosi should be looking for ways to cut spending and provide long-term tax relief.

Blogs:

Monday: TPA Delivers Answers to Pressing Postal Questions ([link removed])

Monday: Speaker Pelosi Grandstanding on Postal Reform ([link removed])

Wednesday: Time to admit it: The Postal Service has a union problem ([link removed])

Friday: SUMMER READING: Healthcare Price Controls ([link removed])

Media:

August 16, 2020: The News Gazette ran TPA’s op-ed, “Congress can — and must — curtail executive actions.”

August 17, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the USPS.

August 17, 2020: The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa) ran TPA Senior Fellow Chip Baltimore’s op-ed, “Google Fiber project in West Des Moines reads like a lousy deal for taxpayers.”

August 17, 2020: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “Tax group touts measures to promote private broadband investment.”

August 17, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Politicians, Pundits Deliver Postal Misinformation.”

August 17, 2020: The Highland County Press (Gilead, Ohio) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Tax group touts measures to promote private broadband investment.”

August 17, 2020: TPA Vice President of Policy Ross Marchand appeared on “Stu Does America” (BlazeTV) to talk about postal reform.

August 18, 2020: I appeared on WLS 890 AM (Chicago, Ill.) to talk about Kamala Harris’ embrace of socialized medicine.

August 18, 2020: I appeared on “The Bill Meyer Show” (KMED 1440 AM; Medford, Ore.) to talk about Kamala Harris’ embrace of socialized medicine.

August 18, 2020: TPA Director of External Affairs Grace Morgan appeared on “The Jimmy Barrett Show” (KPRC 950 AM, KTRH 740 AM, Houston, TX.) to talk about postal reform.

August 18, 2020: The American Conservative ran TPA’s op-ed, “Bizarro Robin Hood: Taking From The Middle Class To Give To The Rich.”

August 18, 2020: I appeared on WYDE 1260 AM (Birmingham, Ala.) to talk about Kamala Harris’ embrace of socialized medicine and the USPS.

August 18, 2020: I appeared on “Battle Line with Alan Nathan” (nationally syndicated) to talk about TPA’s new solar subsidies report.

August 18, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their story, “As Teachers Strike, GOP Strategists Call For Supporting School Choice.”

August 18, 2020: The Galion Inquirer (Gilead, Ohio) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Tax group promotes private broadband investment.”

August 18, 2020: The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Time to admit it: The Postal Service has a union problem.”

August 19, 2020: TPA Director of External Affairs Grace Morgan appeared on “The Liz Callaway Show” (WTKN 94.5 FM, Myrtle Beach, SC.) to talk about postal reform.

August 19, 2020: I appeared on WGSO 990 AM (New Orleans, La.) to talk about Kamala Harris’ embrace of socialized medicine.

August 19, 2020: I appeared on “The Jesse Kelly Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about postal reform.

August 19, 2020: Ross appeared on “Your Turn” (WEBY Radio 1330 AM; Milton, Fla.) to talk about postal reform.

August 19, 2020: Ross appeared on “The Andy Caldwell Show” (KHUL 1440 AM and KSMA 1410 AM; Central, Calif.) to talk about postal reform.

August 19, 2020: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “Taiwan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Would Set Stage for Post-Coronavirus Economy.”

August 19, 2020: The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.) quoted TPA in their article, “Unemployed on the hook to pay taxes on enhanced benefits, IRS warns.”

August 20, 2020: Ross appeared on “Hudson Valley Focus” (WKIP 1450 AM; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to talk about postal reform.

August 20, 2020: Ross appeared on “The Jimmy Lakey Show” (KCOL; Denver, Colo.) to talk about postal reform.

August 20, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about Medicare for All.

August 20, 2020: I appeared on WBOB radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about the Democratic National Convention and the USPS.

August 20, 2020: I appeared on “The Monica Jaye Show” (KKFT 99.1 FM and 92.3 FM; Reno, Nev.) to talk about postal reform.

August 20, 2020: I appeared on “The Lars Larson Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about Medicare for All.

August 20, 2020: Ross appeared on “Consumer Choice Radio” (WFBT 106.7 FM; Wilmington, N.C.) to talk about postal reform.

August 21, 2020: The Washington Examiner ran TPA’s op-ed, “Postal reform needs to happen before the election.”

August 21, 2020: The Orange County Register (Orange County, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The San Bernardino Sun (San Bernardino, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Daily Bulletin(Rancho Cucamonga, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Daily Breeze(Torrance, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Press-Telegram(Long Beach, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The San Gabriel Valley Tribune (San Gabriel, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Los Angeles Daily News (Woodland Hills, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

August 21, 2020: The Whittier Daily News (Whittier, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “California’s proposed income tax hike is anything but golden.”

Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.

Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org ([link removed])

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