Thank you, @POTUS for sharing our work!!

This makes no sense. Insurers benefit from phantom enrollees.

It's also irresponsible. @CMSGov carefully isolated accounts that were almost certainly phantom accounts. 99.99% of those disenrolled appear to be phantoms. The other 0.01%, who may be legitimate, can re-enroll.

🔥 This morning at 11am EDT.

No Surprises Act discussion. We will discuss:
1) What Congress envisioned?
2) What has happened so far?
3) Why have awards been way above expectations?
4) What should Congress do?

Register below.

Medicare for All isn’t a moral imperative—it’s a dangerous expansion of government control with massive costs.

Paragon Board Member, Dave Steffy, explains why ⬇️
realclearhealth.com/articles/2026/…

In 2025, more than 90% of scheduled state-directed payment spending in both Texas and Arizona went to non-rural hospitals.

The findings challenge claims that OBBB reforms to SDPs would disproportionately harm rural providers.

ow.ly/MK2W51017nP

We disagree about politics. But we see the same problems in health care.

NEW from Brian Blase (@brian_blase) & Zeke Emanuel (@ZekeEmanuel) in @washingtonpost ⬇️

HAPPENING TOMORROW:

'Fixing the No Surprises Act: Scaling Back and Reforming the Federal Arbitration System'

📅Tuesday, October 27th
🕔11am-12:15pm ET
📍Virtual

REGISTER ⬇️
paragoninstitute.org/event/fixing-t…

FEATURING:

-Brian Blase (@brian_blase)
-Jackson Hammond (@HammondOnHealth)
-Ryan Long (@rclong1997)
-Loren Adler (@LorenAdler) of @BrookingsInst
-Ben Ippolito (@ben_ippolito) of @AEI
-James Gelfand (@JamesGelfand) of @ERISAIndCmte
-Randy Pilgrim of SCP Health

Join Paragon tomorrow at 11 am ET for a virtual discussion on how the No Surprises Act's federal arbitration system is reshaping out-of-network payment disputes, why volume and awards have grown far beyond expectations, and how to reform it.

Register here: paragoninstitute.org/event/fixing-t…

Remarks by Dr. @brian_blase of @Paragon_Inst at the @HHS_ASPE Health Economics and Policy Forum:
Hospital Provider Tax Reforms—Evidence and Implications

Join us on Tuesday, Oct 27 at 11 am EDT for a @Paragon_Inst virtual event on the No Surprises Act. I'll be moderating a panel with @LorenAdler, @ben_ippolito, and @HammondOnHealth.

Register here: paragoninstitute.org/event/fixing-t….

🔥BREAKING: I just learned how commonsense @CMSGov actions were today to remove phantom enrollees in federal exchange states. Here is what they did.

This should not be controversial in any way, unless you support fraud, sending billions of dollars to insurers on behalf of phantoms, and large taxpayer-financed commissions for unscrupulous brokers who made things up on applications, including creating fake applicants.

First, enrollees had to meet 4 criteria: 1) have an application submitted by an agent or broker that lacks a Social Security number or immigration number; 2) have no record of actual contact with the insurer; 3) pay $0 in premiums themselves (meaning taxpayers paid 100% of the premium); and 4) have NO medical claims.

Of note, the combination of these factors is a red flag for a potential phantom enrollee.

Second, assuming those 4 criteria were met, the insurer sent the enrollee two forms of notice and gave them 30 days to respond.

Third, if there was no response, CMS determined the enrollment to be unauthorized, and it was canceled. (Of note, insurers have large incentives to get in touch with the enrollee to keep that subsidy payment flowing.)

IMPORTANT DETAIL THAT SAFEGUARDS LEGITIMATE ENROLLEES: CMS has a safeguard in place. If a legitimate enrollee was affected, they can contact the call center, provide a verified Social Security number, and be reinstated.

HAPPENING NOW:

Paragon’s @HammondOnHealth & @katherinehall_ present their findings at ‘Fixing the No Surprises Act
Scaling Back and Reforming the Federal Arbitration System’ hill briefing!

Thank you all for supporting yesterday's @HHS_ASPE Health Economics and Policy Forum!

New study: Financing Medicaid Through Provider Taxes on Hospitals: Spillover Effects on Employment-Based Coverage Premiums: aspe.hhs.gov/reports/financ…

Recording on X @HHSGov: x.com/HHSGov/status/…

Recording on YouTube @HHS: youtube.com/live/2BmvPP1aS…

Event page: aspe.hhs.gov/events/aspe-he…

h/t Sam Watters, Eden Volkov, Caprice Knapp, PhD, @brian_blase, @caseybmulligan

@HHSGov @CMSGov @Paragon_Inst

💡NEW BRIEF: The 2025 Working Families Tax Cut legislation may reduce ESI premiums by up to 2.2-2.5 percent by 2032.

At @Paragon_Inst, we have a Public Health and American Well-Being initiative.

It is increasingly clear that many Americans are less well than they could be b/c they are less engaged with their communities, socialize less, and spend too much time in their houses and on screens.

Thanks for asking me to participate.

Important new @HHS_ASPE paper showing another benefit of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Limiting provider taxes will likely significantly decrease families' health insurance premiums and reduce the burden on federal taxpayers.

I'll be on Capitol Hill next Tuesday for a panel discussion on how tax-exempt hospitals are "hedge funds with hospital beds." All are welcome. (@ChickfilA sandwiches for lunch.) RSVP below or at tinyurl.com/sh56npsz.

NEXT WEEK: Paragon's @johnrgraham joins @CFEconomy's "Tax-Exempt Hospitals: Hedge Funds with Hospital Beds?

📅Tuesday, October 27th
🕔 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
📍2020 Rayburn House Office Building

RSVP: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…