John R. Graham
Commentary
Federal Medicaid Funds Addictive Like Hard Drugs
Medicaid has grown out-of-control in the last four and a half decades, because there is nothing preventing states from competing against each other in a “race to the bottom” for federal funds. Last February, Congress and President Obama made it worse, through the so-called “stimulus” bill (ARRA), which bailed out ...
Commentary
Collective Neurosis in Maine: Big Government Bad, We Need Gargantuan Government
Unfortunately, Mr. Gardiner gives more than equal time for those who blame Maine’s failures not on government control, but a sick and poor population. Talk about blaming the victim! These folks also blame the fact that Maine has a single, dominant, health insurer – without recognizing the government policies that ...
Commentary
On the Grinding Pace of the Health-Care Take-Over: A Historical Perspective
The 1965 amendments actually proved very easy to legislate, with over 70 percent majorities in both chambers. President Johnson signed the bill on July 30. No disruptive town-hall meetings or tea parties that August! Although I’m pleased that the 2009 bill is taking a lot longer, I must confess surprise. ...
Commentary
On the ‘Sacredness’ of Government Health Care
There is no doubt that the political class believes the “system” to be sacred. This is not surprising: Any ruling faction needs an established religion to control the people, and health care is the most likely candidate in this secular age. After all, Henry VIII claimed to believe that the ...
Health Care
The AMA Is More a Monopoly in Crisis Than a Professional Association
As for the AMA, even the Wall Street Journal labels the AMA the “doctors lobby” (sic), while noting that 20 other physicians’ organizations are highly critical of the proposed legislation. Actually, state, county, and specialized medical societies are the real voices of the profession. The AMA is a business that ...
California
Why California’s “Two-Plan” Does Not Support the “Public Option”
Last month, Christina Romer, professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, made a presentation at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. In response to a question about whether a so-called “public option” for health insurance would increase competition and reduce costs, ...
Commentary
ObamaCare Has Already Driven Up Private Health Insurance Premiums
The Obama Administration has been attacking perfectly credible studies commissioned by AHIP, BCBSA, and WellPoint explaining why the proposed “reform” will drive up premiums for privately insured Americans. Yet, let’s not lose track of the fact that the Administration and the Congress have already taken steps to drive up the ...
Commentary
An Incredibly Out of Control Health Bill
H.R. 3200, the bill that drove us crazy all summer, clocked in at 2,454 pages as reported out of committee. However, it was introduced at 1,017 pages. The ratio, 2.41, suggests that the bill to be voted on by Veterans’ Day will be at least 4,801 pages. And remember: H.R. ...
Commentary
NY Settlement on Out-of-Network Charges & Government Price Fixing
Folks who follow that previous thread will note that I am not a fan of the way insurers calculated UCRs, but that’s not because I think there’s a conflict of interest in their doing so. Rather, it’s because I think the whole network model is absurd, and an artefact of ...
Commentary
Group, Not Individual, Health Insurance Is Failing
Ana Wilde Mathews of the Wall Street Journal has suggested an answer. Ms. Mathews notes that employers are asking workers to cover more of the costs of covering their entire families. As a result, more working parents with employer-based health benefits are finding that individual coverage is better for their ...
Federal Medicaid Funds Addictive Like Hard Drugs
Medicaid has grown out-of-control in the last four and a half decades, because there is nothing preventing states from competing against each other in a “race to the bottom” for federal funds. Last February, Congress and President Obama made it worse, through the so-called “stimulus” bill (ARRA), which bailed out ...
Collective Neurosis in Maine: Big Government Bad, We Need Gargantuan Government
Unfortunately, Mr. Gardiner gives more than equal time for those who blame Maine’s failures not on government control, but a sick and poor population. Talk about blaming the victim! These folks also blame the fact that Maine has a single, dominant, health insurer – without recognizing the government policies that ...
On the Grinding Pace of the Health-Care Take-Over: A Historical Perspective
The 1965 amendments actually proved very easy to legislate, with over 70 percent majorities in both chambers. President Johnson signed the bill on July 30. No disruptive town-hall meetings or tea parties that August! Although I’m pleased that the 2009 bill is taking a lot longer, I must confess surprise. ...
On the ‘Sacredness’ of Government Health Care
There is no doubt that the political class believes the “system” to be sacred. This is not surprising: Any ruling faction needs an established religion to control the people, and health care is the most likely candidate in this secular age. After all, Henry VIII claimed to believe that the ...
The AMA Is More a Monopoly in Crisis Than a Professional Association
As for the AMA, even the Wall Street Journal labels the AMA the “doctors lobby” (sic), while noting that 20 other physicians’ organizations are highly critical of the proposed legislation. Actually, state, county, and specialized medical societies are the real voices of the profession. The AMA is a business that ...
Why California’s “Two-Plan” Does Not Support the “Public Option”
Last month, Christina Romer, professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, made a presentation at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. In response to a question about whether a so-called “public option” for health insurance would increase competition and reduce costs, ...
ObamaCare Has Already Driven Up Private Health Insurance Premiums
The Obama Administration has been attacking perfectly credible studies commissioned by AHIP, BCBSA, and WellPoint explaining why the proposed “reform” will drive up premiums for privately insured Americans. Yet, let’s not lose track of the fact that the Administration and the Congress have already taken steps to drive up the ...
An Incredibly Out of Control Health Bill
H.R. 3200, the bill that drove us crazy all summer, clocked in at 2,454 pages as reported out of committee. However, it was introduced at 1,017 pages. The ratio, 2.41, suggests that the bill to be voted on by Veterans’ Day will be at least 4,801 pages. And remember: H.R. ...
NY Settlement on Out-of-Network Charges & Government Price Fixing
Folks who follow that previous thread will note that I am not a fan of the way insurers calculated UCRs, but that’s not because I think there’s a conflict of interest in their doing so. Rather, it’s because I think the whole network model is absurd, and an artefact of ...
Group, Not Individual, Health Insurance Is Failing
Ana Wilde Mathews of the Wall Street Journal has suggested an answer. Ms. Mathews notes that employers are asking workers to cover more of the costs of covering their entire families. As a result, more working parents with employer-based health benefits are finding that individual coverage is better for their ...
