Health Care
Commentary
How Obamacare undermines the doctor-patient relationship
America recently marked the first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare. It wasn’t a happy birthday for American patients. Obamacare is already exacerbating some of the current trends in American medicine that work against the interests of patients. Paramount among them is an erosion in the quality of the nation’s ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 12, 2011
Commentary
BOOK REVIEW: How to dismantle Obamacare
WHY OBAMACARE IS WRONG FOR AMERICA: HOW THE NEW HEALTH CARE LAW DRIVES UP COSTS, PUTS GOVERNMENT IN CHARGE OF YOUR DECISIONS, AND THREATENS YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS By Grace-Marie Turner, James P. Capretta, Thomas P. Miller and Robert E. Moffit Broadside Books, $14.99, 272 pages “ObamaCare is wrong for families, ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 12, 2011
California
Whatever Happened to California’s Obamacare Exchange?
The most disappointing news on the Obamacare front these days is that at least two Republican governors cannot wait to implement Obamacare in their states. Apparently, one Republican state senator in Oklahoma has finally decided to prevent an Obamacare exchange bill from reaching Gov. Mary Fallin for signature. Fair enough, ...
John R. Graham
April 8, 2011
Commentary
Romneycare’s Popularity Plummets
A recent poll from Suffolk University and WHDH-TV reports that 49 percent of respondents do not believe Romneycare has helped, while only 38 percent believe that it is working. Fifty-four percent said that Romney’s signing the law likely hurt his presidential chances, while only 22 percent believed that it helped. ...
John R. Graham
April 7, 2011
Commentary
Clarifying Ryan’s Medicare Reform
(Not that Ryan’s retreating from the term will prevent “voucher” being used to describe his reform. Grace-Marie Turner has explained how “premium support” differs from a voucher, but even Ryan supporter Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute insists on describing it as a voucher.) Of course, a good night’s sleep ...
Pacific Research Institute
April 7, 2011
Commentary
Good News for All States and All Taxpayers: Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Survives Scrutiny
Rhode Island, the smallest state, is wielding big influence against federal control of health care. Other states would do well to take notice. Federal taxpayers pay about 53 percent of Rhode Islands Medicaid costs. This has created a perverse incentive for state politicians to increase dependency on Medicaid in order ...
John R. Graham
April 6, 2011
Commentary
Ryan Flinched on Medicare
Path to Prosperity, however, eliminates the “payment” in favor of the woolier “premium support.” Nor does it even report how it would calculate this premium support, beyond asserting that “wealthier beneficiaries would receive a lower subsidy” (p. 46). It never ceases to amaze me that conservative policy analysts cheer such ...
John R. Graham
April 6, 2011
Commentary
Rick Perry: No Obamacare Exchange for Texas
This is very good news. States that establish Obamacare exchanges are making a one-way, lose-lose bet on Obamacare, as I’ve written before. Governor Jindal in Louisiana and Governor Deal in Georgia have also recently learned this. Our friends at the Heritage Foundation, who are most closely associated with exchanges, have ...
John R. Graham
March 31, 2011
Commentary
Repeal Obamacare’s 1099 Reporting Provision? No Way!
The 1099 provision refers to the justly reviled clause in Obamacare (section 9006) that compels any business spending at least $600 on a supplier to issue a 1099 to that supplier. So, if my consulting business buys $600 worth of office supplies from Staples, I’m supposed to issue Staples a ...
John R. Graham
March 31, 2011
Commentary
How Many Melanoma Patients Did the FDA Kill?
After an “expedited” analysis that lasted a year and a half, the FDA has finally approved Bristol-Myers Squibbs’ Yervoy (ipilimunab) for metastatic melanoma. The deadliest type of skin cancer, melanoma killed 8,700 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute. BMS submitted its application to the FDA on August ...
John R. Graham
March 30, 2011
How Obamacare undermines the doctor-patient relationship
America recently marked the first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare. It wasn’t a happy birthday for American patients. Obamacare is already exacerbating some of the current trends in American medicine that work against the interests of patients. Paramount among them is an erosion in the quality of the nation’s ...
BOOK REVIEW: How to dismantle Obamacare
WHY OBAMACARE IS WRONG FOR AMERICA: HOW THE NEW HEALTH CARE LAW DRIVES UP COSTS, PUTS GOVERNMENT IN CHARGE OF YOUR DECISIONS, AND THREATENS YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS By Grace-Marie Turner, James P. Capretta, Thomas P. Miller and Robert E. Moffit Broadside Books, $14.99, 272 pages “ObamaCare is wrong for families, ...
Whatever Happened to California’s Obamacare Exchange?
The most disappointing news on the Obamacare front these days is that at least two Republican governors cannot wait to implement Obamacare in their states. Apparently, one Republican state senator in Oklahoma has finally decided to prevent an Obamacare exchange bill from reaching Gov. Mary Fallin for signature. Fair enough, ...
Romneycare’s Popularity Plummets
A recent poll from Suffolk University and WHDH-TV reports that 49 percent of respondents do not believe Romneycare has helped, while only 38 percent believe that it is working. Fifty-four percent said that Romney’s signing the law likely hurt his presidential chances, while only 22 percent believed that it helped. ...
Clarifying Ryan’s Medicare Reform
(Not that Ryan’s retreating from the term will prevent “voucher” being used to describe his reform. Grace-Marie Turner has explained how “premium support” differs from a voucher, but even Ryan supporter Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute insists on describing it as a voucher.) Of course, a good night’s sleep ...
Good News for All States and All Taxpayers: Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Survives Scrutiny
Rhode Island, the smallest state, is wielding big influence against federal control of health care. Other states would do well to take notice. Federal taxpayers pay about 53 percent of Rhode Islands Medicaid costs. This has created a perverse incentive for state politicians to increase dependency on Medicaid in order ...
Ryan Flinched on Medicare
Path to Prosperity, however, eliminates the “payment” in favor of the woolier “premium support.” Nor does it even report how it would calculate this premium support, beyond asserting that “wealthier beneficiaries would receive a lower subsidy” (p. 46). It never ceases to amaze me that conservative policy analysts cheer such ...
Rick Perry: No Obamacare Exchange for Texas
This is very good news. States that establish Obamacare exchanges are making a one-way, lose-lose bet on Obamacare, as I’ve written before. Governor Jindal in Louisiana and Governor Deal in Georgia have also recently learned this. Our friends at the Heritage Foundation, who are most closely associated with exchanges, have ...
Repeal Obamacare’s 1099 Reporting Provision? No Way!
The 1099 provision refers to the justly reviled clause in Obamacare (section 9006) that compels any business spending at least $600 on a supplier to issue a 1099 to that supplier. So, if my consulting business buys $600 worth of office supplies from Staples, I’m supposed to issue Staples a ...
How Many Melanoma Patients Did the FDA Kill?
After an “expedited” analysis that lasted a year and a half, the FDA has finally approved Bristol-Myers Squibbs’ Yervoy (ipilimunab) for metastatic melanoma. The deadliest type of skin cancer, melanoma killed 8,700 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute. BMS submitted its application to the FDA on August ...