Health Care
Commentary
Government is not your nanny—reject the federal soda tax.
In order to cover the exorbitant cost of President Obama’s universal health care program, the Senate Finance Committee has proposed, among other things, that the government levy additional taxes on alcohol, soda, and other sugar-sweetened beverage. The committee members and their supporters in the health community like the idea because ...
Commentary
Soda tax proposal should fizzle out
President Obama has promised the American people that full-scale healthcare reform will be enacted by the end of this year. The decidedly less-inspiring task of determining how to pay for his $1.2-trillion reform package has fallen to congressional lawmakers. The Senate Finance Committee is considering dozens of options for generating ...
Business & Economics
Curing the Healthcare Maladies in the Stimulus Package
As a psychiatrist, I’ve observed that people generally make bad decisions when they’re rushed and in crisis. Politicians, unfortunately, often fail to recognize this aspect of human nature. Clearly, we are in an economic crisis, which makes me immediately fearful of politicians’ proposed cures. In rushing to stimulate the economy—a ...
Commentary
Canadian patients face long waits for low-tech healthcare
Washington Examiner (Washington, DC), June 5, 2009 San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA), June 5, 2009 KEY DATA: The average patient waiting period between referral and actual treatment for the 12 most frequently needed specialties was nearly 4½ months in 2008, double the average from 15 years ago. KEY DATA: ...
Business & Economics
Why No Health Tax Reform? A Conservative’s Inside View
Mr. Wulsin has done a great job of explaining the pernicious effects of the current exclusion of employer-sponsored benefits from taxable income (which I also addressed in an earlier contribution). Mr. Wulsin and I are hardly the only ones who have noted this. Last June, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber told ...
Commentary
Canadians seeking health care have a ‘wait problem’
Washington Examiner (Washington, DC), June 3, 2009 First of a two-part series It’s the start of what promises to be a beautiful spring day. But not for you. As the first rays of sunshine filter through your bedroom window, a searing pain settles into your head. You pop an aspirin ...
Health Care
Will the Health Care System Ever Work
WTIC News Talk 1080 (Hartford, Connecticut), June 3, 2009 Sally Pipes discusses President Obama’s health care proposals with Jim Vicevich on “Sound Off Connecticut” at WTIC News Talk 1080.
Commentary
How Health Care Stole Your Pay Raise
This amazing graph bouncing around the web is the most striking example of why health care reform isn’t just about reforming care. It’s about reforming the economy. New bumper sticker: “Reform Health Care; Get a Raise!” In layman’s terms, the hard blue line is the expected growth in average wages. ...
Business & Economics
Does California Need a Commission on the Status of Women?
The California Commission on the Status of Women bills itself as an “independent, non-partisan agency working to advance the causes of women.” That claim invites scrutiny of the Commission’s 2009-2010 priorities. Look at what we find at the very top of their list. “Establish a universal health care system to ...
Commentary
Popular Ranking Unfairly Misrepresents the U.S. Health Care System
The media and political community have made a big deal out of the fact that the U.S. ranks 37 out of 191 countries on the World Health Organization’s Health Care Ranking System. Is this tool a credible way to compare quality health care delivered in the U.S. vs the rest ...
Government is not your nanny—reject the federal soda tax.
In order to cover the exorbitant cost of President Obama’s universal health care program, the Senate Finance Committee has proposed, among other things, that the government levy additional taxes on alcohol, soda, and other sugar-sweetened beverage. The committee members and their supporters in the health community like the idea because ...
Soda tax proposal should fizzle out
President Obama has promised the American people that full-scale healthcare reform will be enacted by the end of this year. The decidedly less-inspiring task of determining how to pay for his $1.2-trillion reform package has fallen to congressional lawmakers. The Senate Finance Committee is considering dozens of options for generating ...
Curing the Healthcare Maladies in the Stimulus Package
As a psychiatrist, I’ve observed that people generally make bad decisions when they’re rushed and in crisis. Politicians, unfortunately, often fail to recognize this aspect of human nature. Clearly, we are in an economic crisis, which makes me immediately fearful of politicians’ proposed cures. In rushing to stimulate the economy—a ...
Canadian patients face long waits for low-tech healthcare
Washington Examiner (Washington, DC), June 5, 2009 San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA), June 5, 2009 KEY DATA: The average patient waiting period between referral and actual treatment for the 12 most frequently needed specialties was nearly 4½ months in 2008, double the average from 15 years ago. KEY DATA: ...
Why No Health Tax Reform? A Conservative’s Inside View
Mr. Wulsin has done a great job of explaining the pernicious effects of the current exclusion of employer-sponsored benefits from taxable income (which I also addressed in an earlier contribution). Mr. Wulsin and I are hardly the only ones who have noted this. Last June, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber told ...
Canadians seeking health care have a ‘wait problem’
Washington Examiner (Washington, DC), June 3, 2009 First of a two-part series It’s the start of what promises to be a beautiful spring day. But not for you. As the first rays of sunshine filter through your bedroom window, a searing pain settles into your head. You pop an aspirin ...
Will the Health Care System Ever Work
WTIC News Talk 1080 (Hartford, Connecticut), June 3, 2009 Sally Pipes discusses President Obama’s health care proposals with Jim Vicevich on “Sound Off Connecticut” at WTIC News Talk 1080.
How Health Care Stole Your Pay Raise
This amazing graph bouncing around the web is the most striking example of why health care reform isn’t just about reforming care. It’s about reforming the economy. New bumper sticker: “Reform Health Care; Get a Raise!” In layman’s terms, the hard blue line is the expected growth in average wages. ...
Does California Need a Commission on the Status of Women?
The California Commission on the Status of Women bills itself as an “independent, non-partisan agency working to advance the causes of women.” That claim invites scrutiny of the Commission’s 2009-2010 priorities. Look at what we find at the very top of their list. “Establish a universal health care system to ...
Popular Ranking Unfairly Misrepresents the U.S. Health Care System
The media and political community have made a big deal out of the fact that the U.S. ranks 37 out of 191 countries on the World Health Organization’s Health Care Ranking System. Is this tool a credible way to compare quality health care delivered in the U.S. vs the rest ...
