Health Care
Commentary
Judge: San Francisco ‘Play or Pay’ Measure Violates Federal LawFunding Shortfalls
A U.S. district judge has ruled a controversial expansion of a city health care plan violates a federal law addressing government regulation of employee benefit plans. Judge Jeffrey White’s ruling halted the city of San Francisco’s attempt to expand its government health care program through a mandate requiring employers to ...
Commentary
Colorado Commission Proposes More Government Intervention
The Colorado Legislature’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform has approved a package of recommendations for comprehensive reform of the state’s health care system. Health policy analysts criticized the commission’s recommendations, saying they would damage the market and decrease consumer choice. Calling for Government Action The Blue Ribbon Commission ...
Business & Economics
Impact – February 2008
PRI Ideas in Action – February 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions.
California
“Thinking Small” on California Health Reform? Not Small Enough!
Using a very appropriate headline, the features editor of the California Healthline points out that California’s “health reformers try again on a smaller scale”. Unfortunately, they are not trying small enough. Although the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez Health Care Deforminator Model ABX1_1 failed in the Senate health committe last month, after a year ...
California
Healthy San Francisco: Wouldja Like An Employee Voluntary Waiver with Those Fries?
I’ve not only criticized the Healthy San Francisco employer “pay or play” mandate that has dropped a payroll tax of $1.17 to $1.76 per hour on the city’s struggling businesses; I’ve actually proposed an alternative. But…..they went ahead and did it anyway. Pending the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s legal appeal ...
Commentary
Health Net’s Arbitration Verdict: A $9 Million Reward for Carelessness
Time, once again, to defend the indefensible….. Health Net is reeling from a one-two punch. Last Wednesday, Rocky Delgadillo, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed civil suit against the for-profit health insurer, alleging unfair business practices and false advertising. Then, last Thursday, an arbitrator gave over $9 million to a ...
Commentary
What if the doctors went out on strike?
WASHINGTON – With the writers’ strike at an end, couch potatoes can sigh with relief. But imagine if labor strife had befallen a far more critical group of individuals — like doctors. The notion of white coats on the picket lines is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Some ...
California
Senator Kuehl’s Health Care Agenda
Democratic Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who chairs the Senate health committee, made sure that a recent attempt at health care overhaul in California went down in flames last month. Her committee rejected ABX1 1, the Schwarzenegger-Nunez health care reform legislation. That measure aimed for “universal” health care through compulsory purchase of ...
Commentary
Do Our Candidates Need Their Vision Corrected?
The campaign trail is awash with promises to make universal health care a reality in the next presidential term. Candidates from both parties claim they can lower costs — and insure everyone — through legislative mandates and increased government intervention in the healthcare market. But they’re wrong. Only with a ...
Commentary
Massachusetts Hospital Association’s New Recipe for Fudge
An amazing story in the usually reliable Boston Globe by Steve LeBlanc made me gulp: might I have to recant my position on the ineffective and expensive Massachusetts health reform? Luckily, no: a report by the Massachusetts Hospital Association on the reform’s “success” manages to fudge the numbers just enough ...
Judge: San Francisco ‘Play or Pay’ Measure Violates Federal LawFunding Shortfalls
A U.S. district judge has ruled a controversial expansion of a city health care plan violates a federal law addressing government regulation of employee benefit plans. Judge Jeffrey White’s ruling halted the city of San Francisco’s attempt to expand its government health care program through a mandate requiring employers to ...
Colorado Commission Proposes More Government Intervention
The Colorado Legislature’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform has approved a package of recommendations for comprehensive reform of the state’s health care system. Health policy analysts criticized the commission’s recommendations, saying they would damage the market and decrease consumer choice. Calling for Government Action The Blue Ribbon Commission ...
Impact – February 2008
PRI Ideas in Action – February 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions.
“Thinking Small” on California Health Reform? Not Small Enough!
Using a very appropriate headline, the features editor of the California Healthline points out that California’s “health reformers try again on a smaller scale”. Unfortunately, they are not trying small enough. Although the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez Health Care Deforminator Model ABX1_1 failed in the Senate health committe last month, after a year ...
Healthy San Francisco: Wouldja Like An Employee Voluntary Waiver with Those Fries?
I’ve not only criticized the Healthy San Francisco employer “pay or play” mandate that has dropped a payroll tax of $1.17 to $1.76 per hour on the city’s struggling businesses; I’ve actually proposed an alternative. But…..they went ahead and did it anyway. Pending the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s legal appeal ...
Health Net’s Arbitration Verdict: A $9 Million Reward for Carelessness
Time, once again, to defend the indefensible….. Health Net is reeling from a one-two punch. Last Wednesday, Rocky Delgadillo, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed civil suit against the for-profit health insurer, alleging unfair business practices and false advertising. Then, last Thursday, an arbitrator gave over $9 million to a ...
What if the doctors went out on strike?
WASHINGTON – With the writers’ strike at an end, couch potatoes can sigh with relief. But imagine if labor strife had befallen a far more critical group of individuals — like doctors. The notion of white coats on the picket lines is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Some ...
Senator Kuehl’s Health Care Agenda
Democratic Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who chairs the Senate health committee, made sure that a recent attempt at health care overhaul in California went down in flames last month. Her committee rejected ABX1 1, the Schwarzenegger-Nunez health care reform legislation. That measure aimed for “universal” health care through compulsory purchase of ...
Do Our Candidates Need Their Vision Corrected?
The campaign trail is awash with promises to make universal health care a reality in the next presidential term. Candidates from both parties claim they can lower costs — and insure everyone — through legislative mandates and increased government intervention in the healthcare market. But they’re wrong. Only with a ...
Massachusetts Hospital Association’s New Recipe for Fudge
An amazing story in the usually reliable Boston Globe by Steve LeBlanc made me gulp: might I have to recant my position on the ineffective and expensive Massachusetts health reform? Luckily, no: a report by the Massachusetts Hospital Association on the reform’s “success” manages to fudge the numbers just enough ...
