Podcast: Why Both Parties Suck on Healthcare

Last month I joined Dan Horowitz’s show to provide a plan and a vision on the most important economic and fiscal issue. I explain how Republicans continue to push a luke warm, ineffective plan by accepting the premise of Obamacare while assuming responsibility for it. Dan and I converse on what would develop the ideal … Read more

Site Neutral Payments Kick-0ff!

As of January 1, 2026, the scope of Medicare’s site-neutral payment policy expands to include drug administration services—such as chemotherapy and other infused therapies—furnished in excepted (grandfathered) off-campus provider-based departments (PBDs) of hospitals. Under the CY 2026 OPPS final rule published by CMS: CY 2026 OPPS and Ambulatory Surgical Center Final Rule – Hospital Price … Read more

Rural Healthcare Still Struggling

Seven hundred fifty-six rural hospitals in the United States are at risk of closure due to financial instability, with over 40% classified as being at immediate risk. These figures are derived from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform’s latest analysis, which utilizes current cost reports submitted to CMS and verified through December 2025. … Read more

Real Estate Market and Sr. Living Update

Over the years that I have authored this blog, a frequent theme or issue I am often asked to opine on is the connection between the residential real estate market and senior living sales. In June of this year, I did a post on this topic focusing on Life Plan sales and the residential real … Read more

The ACA Subsidies: Where we Are, What’s Next

On December 11,2025, the Senate rejected competing bills addressing Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, resulting in the expiration of tax credits and the prospect of higher health insurance premiums for many Americans in 2026. Both a Democratic bill intended to extend these subsidies and a Republican proposal involving Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) failed to pass, … Read more

Hospital-at-Home Waiver Ended – What Next?

Last week, I wrote a couple of posts regarding Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act/insurance premium subsidies and the government shutdown. The second of the two posts contained a quick summary of the shutdown impact on Hospital-at-Home programs. https://rhislop3.com/shutdown-is-over-the-pieces/ This post elaborates further on the Hospital-at-Home program, the end of the waiver, the end of the … Read more

Shutdown is Over: The Pieces

The longest government shutdown in United States history concluded on November 12. Yesterday, I wrote a post summarizing the process until resolution – https://rhislop3.com/congress-medicaid-subsidies-whats-next/ Despite the cessation of the shutdown, pivotal issues—most notably the future of enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which remain a point of contention for Democratic policymakers—are … Read more

CPI and Healthcare Inflation

This past week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released May’s CPI (inflation) report.  Overall, the trend is improving with inflation now, month over month, increasing .1% vs. .2% in April.  On a 12 month basis, inflation has risen 2.4% (not seasonally adjusted). See below. Of the items that continue to run “hotter” than overall … Read more

Tough Housing Market = Life Plan Challenges

Over the years, I have written and spoken on the direct connection that Life Plan/CCRC organizations have with the residential real estate market. This is particularly true for entry fee Life Plan communities (CCRCs). https://rhislop3.com/real-estate-sales-report-news-worsens-for-ccrcs-life-plan-communities/ Today and across the recent six to nine months, the residential real estate market has been as illiquid (reduced sales) … Read more

Republican House Medicaid Reform Package

Overview On May 11, House Republicans introduced a 160-page (Subtitle D Health Ae3638d840 | PDF | Medicaid | Federal Government Of The United States)  bill aiming to implement nationwide Medicaid work requirements and stricter eligibility standards. The legislation, part of a broader budget reconciliation package, seeks to cut federal spending by hundreds of billions of … Read more