Health Care
Commentary
Albany must cut back on health care mandates
Gov. David A. Paterson just headed off a budget crisis by persuading legislators to cut spending by a billion dollars. But with the three-year deficit projected at $26.2 billion, this compromise won’t improve the state’s fiscal outlook. This is largely because of health care expenditures. Health care is the second-largest ...
Commentary
Cost containment could hurt consumers
In a recent debate, state representative candidate Kate Jackson endorsed the recently passed “Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency, and Efficiency in the Delivery of Health Care,” promising that she will work to see that legislation succeed. (“Democratic hopefuls spar in Attleboro debate,” Sept. 11). This is unfortunate. The cost-containment ...
Commentary
Audience Votes Health Coverage Should Be Government’s Responsibility in First Intelligence Squared U.S. Debate of the Season
NEW YORK, NY, Sep 17, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — Intelligence Squared U.S., the Oxford style debate series sponsored by The Rosenkranz Foundation, announced the results of the first debate of its Fall 2008 season on the motion, “Universal health coverage should be the federal government’s responsibility.” A sold ...
Agriculture
Brokeback Mountain: Are Health Costs Killing Ranchers, Farmers?
One of America’s health care zombies that refuses to die is the notion (created by the Commonwealth Fund) that millions of people who have health insurance are “underinsured”, largely due to policies with high co-payments and high deductibles. This results in “medical bankruptcy”, another exaggeration. The Commonwealth Fund’s conclusions have ...
Commentary
Massachusetts’ Underwhelming Health “Reform”
Massachusetts’ health care leaders continue to believe that they can solve problems by just ordering them to go away. The first step in this was the April 2006 Commonwealth Connector reform signed by Governor Romney, which simply commanded people to buy health insurance, and fined them if they did not. ...
Commentary
Questions on healthcare reform
Healthcare reform will be front-and-center in the presidential debates. It’s a topic that’s full of complicated issues, so it can be hard to cut through all the rhetoric and figure out exactly what each candidate is proposing. So here’s the skinny on five questions that you’ll likely hear many times ...
Health Care
Intelligence Squared Debate: Is The Government Responsible For Health Care?
Below are video clips of the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate “Is The Government Responsible For Health Care?” on September 16, 2008 at Rockefeller University in New York City. Universal Healthcare Debate 1: Introduction (1/12) Universal Healthcare Debate 5: Sally C. Pipes (5/12)
Business & Economics
The Canadianization of America
Here comes ‘no-vote’ unionism In Canada, worrying about being Americanized is a national pastime, particularly in political and media circles. It seldom occurred to me the United States could become Canadianized until I moved here, in an election year, no less, and found Americans obsessed with many Canadian ideas at ...
Commentary
Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Promises Positive Reform
Last month, I made encouraging remarks to the Heartland Institute’s outstanding monthly Health Care News about Rhode Island governor Carcieri’s evolving proposal to reform Medicaid. Well, the proposal is fully formed, and the state has just submitted its application for a waiver to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Business & Economics
California Health Insurance Rescissions: Trial Lawyers Lose Out?
I’ve written a lot about the political gyrations around California health plans “rescinding” policies of individual policyholders. (Most recent post in the thread here.) A refresher: regulators, legislators, and the media piled onto the plans for “post-claims underwriting”. That is, plans asked overly complicated questions on the applications, wrote the ...
Albany must cut back on health care mandates
Gov. David A. Paterson just headed off a budget crisis by persuading legislators to cut spending by a billion dollars. But with the three-year deficit projected at $26.2 billion, this compromise won’t improve the state’s fiscal outlook. This is largely because of health care expenditures. Health care is the second-largest ...
Cost containment could hurt consumers
In a recent debate, state representative candidate Kate Jackson endorsed the recently passed “Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency, and Efficiency in the Delivery of Health Care,” promising that she will work to see that legislation succeed. (“Democratic hopefuls spar in Attleboro debate,” Sept. 11). This is unfortunate. The cost-containment ...
Audience Votes Health Coverage Should Be Government’s Responsibility in First Intelligence Squared U.S. Debate of the Season
NEW YORK, NY, Sep 17, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — Intelligence Squared U.S., the Oxford style debate series sponsored by The Rosenkranz Foundation, announced the results of the first debate of its Fall 2008 season on the motion, “Universal health coverage should be the federal government’s responsibility.” A sold ...
Brokeback Mountain: Are Health Costs Killing Ranchers, Farmers?
One of America’s health care zombies that refuses to die is the notion (created by the Commonwealth Fund) that millions of people who have health insurance are “underinsured”, largely due to policies with high co-payments and high deductibles. This results in “medical bankruptcy”, another exaggeration. The Commonwealth Fund’s conclusions have ...
Massachusetts’ Underwhelming Health “Reform”
Massachusetts’ health care leaders continue to believe that they can solve problems by just ordering them to go away. The first step in this was the April 2006 Commonwealth Connector reform signed by Governor Romney, which simply commanded people to buy health insurance, and fined them if they did not. ...
Questions on healthcare reform
Healthcare reform will be front-and-center in the presidential debates. It’s a topic that’s full of complicated issues, so it can be hard to cut through all the rhetoric and figure out exactly what each candidate is proposing. So here’s the skinny on five questions that you’ll likely hear many times ...
Intelligence Squared Debate: Is The Government Responsible For Health Care?
Below are video clips of the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate “Is The Government Responsible For Health Care?” on September 16, 2008 at Rockefeller University in New York City. Universal Healthcare Debate 1: Introduction (1/12) Universal Healthcare Debate 5: Sally C. Pipes (5/12)
The Canadianization of America
Here comes ‘no-vote’ unionism In Canada, worrying about being Americanized is a national pastime, particularly in political and media circles. It seldom occurred to me the United States could become Canadianized until I moved here, in an election year, no less, and found Americans obsessed with many Canadian ideas at ...
Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Promises Positive Reform
Last month, I made encouraging remarks to the Heartland Institute’s outstanding monthly Health Care News about Rhode Island governor Carcieri’s evolving proposal to reform Medicaid. Well, the proposal is fully formed, and the state has just submitted its application for a waiver to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
California Health Insurance Rescissions: Trial Lawyers Lose Out?
I’ve written a lot about the political gyrations around California health plans “rescinding” policies of individual policyholders. (Most recent post in the thread here.) A refresher: regulators, legislators, and the media piled onto the plans for “post-claims underwriting”. That is, plans asked overly complicated questions on the applications, wrote the ...
