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It is uniformly accepted dogma that our health cost crisis is caused by skyrocketing insurance premiums. This idea is completely false. It aids the most powerful lobbying group, health care, in continuing to protect hospitals, drug companies, labs and physicians from price competition. (Steven I. Weissman, 1/31)

At the forefront of the agenda is repealing Obamacare and rebuilding our health care system in order to provide quality health care, at an affordable price, to the citizens of our country. ... What the American people wanted is starkly different from what they received. They were told “reform” would help everyone, but now only 4 percent of Americans are currently receiving coverage through an Obamacare exchange, while millions have been harmed. Americans never wanted a complete government takeover or to lose the doctor they trusted. ... And most importantly, they did not want false promises about access and costs. (Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, 1/31)

U.S. Rep. Tom Price, nominated as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, belongs to a doctors’ group that considers Medicare “evil” and physicians who accept it “immoral.” That is one of many controversial positions taken by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. ... The association has promoted an array of discredited theories: childhood vaccines cause autism, illegal immigrants spread disease and abortion causes breast cancer, among others. ... Price’s membership raises questions about his commitment to preserving Medicare, the primary health insurance for elderly Americans for the past five decades. (Alan Judd, 1/30)

The government currently bars people from admission to the U.S., or from getting a green card, if they are deemed likely to need cash benefits like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. But of course, there are also substantial non-cash benefits available to people legally living in the U.S., especially health-care services like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program or Obamacare subsidies. Barring individuals who might benefit from those programs would significantly reduce the number of lower-skilled immigrants who are eligible to stay in the U.S. legally. One obvious result of that is that we could expect to spend less on Medicaid. But a less obvious impact is that Obamacare’s insurance pools might end up less stable, with fewer people. (Megan McArdle, 1/30)

The GOP has been screaming about federal budget deficits and the national debt for years and cutting social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Democrats and progressives, in contrast, would like to expand those social insurance programs in light of millions of Americans coming up short on retirement funding and healthcare expenses. The operating word is both battles is "budget." The way to either gut or expand social insurance is through Congressional action. This war is heating up again. In Senate testimony on Tuesday, budget director nominee Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), said he would cut Social Security and Medicare spending. (John Wasik, 1/30)

If you’re on Medicare and think you don’t have to worry about the growing threat to the Affordable Care Act, you might want to check your confidence at the door. And if you’re not quite at the magical age of 65, when Americans become eligible for the federal health insurance program, you might want to start fretting, too. Some ACA provisions that have helped the 65-and-over set might go bye-bye if it’s repealed, as Republicans have threatened for years. (Ana Veciana-Suarez, 1/30)

Today, a Republican president and Congress face a similarly daunting task: Replace Obamacare. Millions of Americans rely on it for health-care coverage, including lower-income people covered under the law's Medicaid expansion. (1/31)

Public understanding about how our health system operates is woefully low: surveys show only one in five adults has functional knowledge about how to choose a physician, hospital or insurance plan, or compare treatment options. The lexicon we use in our industry lends to this confusion: powerful words and phrases that convey something different depending on the user’s intent. (Paul Keckley, 1/31)

If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, coverage of birth control with no co-payment is one of many benefits that Americans could lose. Now legislators in Oregon have introduced a bill intended to protect access to birth control in the state, along with a broad range of other reproductive health care services, including abortion. (1/31)

At 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, President Trump is set to unveil his pick to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant for almost year since the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia. When he does so, we are going to learn a lot about either Trump's commitment to keeping his promises, or the conservative movement's commitment to principle. Make no mistake, Trump’s promise to appoint pro-life justices is perhaps the most important promise for him to keep. President Clinton's voters once chose to overlook his problematic peccadilloes because, "It's the economy, stupid." Trump's conservative base did the same last year, also because of a pre-eminent concern. (Steve Deace, 1/30)