Fiscal Tax Blog
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Transparency Should Apply To All Forms Of Medicare Insurance
In various committee hearings and markups, Congress continues exploring actions to expand transparency for health care consumers. Such measures hold the potential to give patients the information they need to select their health care options wisely, generating competition that can bring down costs. However, the success of transparency efforts depends upon those measures getting applied evenly and broadly. When it comes to Medicare, that means Congress should ensure seniors have information on all types of…
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Germany figured out how to cut healthcare costs: Make Americans pay the bill
Germany has found a convenient way to cut healthcare costs: send the bill for medical innovation to the United States. Under a new policy, Germany will tighten its already aggressive controls on what drugmakers can charge for innovative medicines. The result is predictable: Germany will contribute even less toward the cost of developing new treatments while American patients shoulder more of the burden.
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Congress is finally taking on the middlemen driving up your drug costs
Every day, people walk into their local pharmacy and face a price they can’t afford for a drug they can’t live without. Families are being forced to choose between paying for lifesaving prescriptions and covering basic necessities. At the same time, the community pharmacists who provide these critical medications are struggling to keep their doors open. You deserve to know why this is happening and who is benefiting from it. The answer: We are paying the price for PBM greed.
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Opinion: This Is Not the Answer to Soaring Health Care Costs
With health insurance premiums surging again, a growing chorus of economists and policymakers has settled on a cure for American health care: Cap what hospitals, drug makers and insurers can charge. The idea shows up in many forms, including Medicare drug price negotiation, proposals to limit private hospital prices to multiples of Medicare rates, and calls for public plans that pay providers at government-set rates. Their diagnosis is half right. Prices are high, opaque and frequently baffling, and they often do not…
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AARP doesn’t represent seniors. It overcharges them
With families still struggling after years of high inflation, “affordability” remains top of mind for policymakers in Washington. But one organization has little credibility on this front: AARP. Formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, a more accurate moniker might be Against Affordability for Retired Persons because AARP makes most of its money by overcharging its members. As I outline in a new report for American Commitment, its most recently available financial statement shows…
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UnitedHealth Owns AARP
Well, figuratively speaking. Here are the latest findings from ace researcher Chris Jacobs on AARP’s financials: AARP has received an estimated $10.8 billion in tax-free revenue from UnitedHealth since 2007. [That’s BILLION, not million.]; In 2024, AARP received an additional $9.1 billion from UnitedHealth as an advance on future royalty fees tied to AARP-endorsed insurance plans, which AARP expects to recognize over 12 years – equivalent to roughly $755 million in annual royalty revenue; In…
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New Report Raises Concerns About Multi-Billion-Dollar “Unholy Alliance” Between AARP and Big Insurer-PBM UnitedHealth
Washington, D.C. – July 14, 2026 – Today, as part of its “Commitment to Seniors” initiative, American Commitment released a comprehensive report conducted by Juniper Research Group analyzing the scope and implications of AARP’s multi-billion-dollar financial relationship with UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurance company. Key findings include: AARP has received an estimated $10.8 billion in tax-free revenue from UnitedHealth since 2007. In 2024, AARP received an additional $9.1 billion from UnitedHealth as an…