Commentary
Commentary
Federal Regulatory Burden on Health Care Increased By Over Half in Ten Years
So, I thought that I would find a decrease, or no change, in the relevant regulatory pages. I focused only on Medicare and Medicaid, regulation of private health insurance, and regulation of providers. However, I did not address the regulation of drugs or medical devices for safety and efficacy. The ...
Business & Economics
Pension tapeworm gnaws at budgets
A Register investigation reported Sunday that lucrative public employee pension benefits approved during the past decade have been “a toxin spreading through the budget books of cities and counties across California.” These escalating costs ultimately threaten many local governments’ solvency. Though many states experience similar fiscal threats, “California is the ...
Commentary
Electronic Health Records: Blah, Blah, Blah
An example of this just crossed my path. Back in September 2000, the Canadian and provincial governments committed to a nationally consistent EHR-system. The province of Ontario, which runs a government-monopoly, single-payer, health system for its 12 million residents, got to work developing a province-wide EHR system, eHealth. Under state ...
Commentary
Reduced Medicare Benefits Will Increase Cost of Private Insurance
However, the government will undoubtedly be successful in driving private insurers out of the Medicare Advantage program, threatening about 11 million seniors’ access to this valuable alternative. The key difference between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare is that the latter operates according to a Soviet-style, centrally determined schedule of fees, ...
Commentary
Even a ‘scaled-down’ health bill is dangerous
Last week, Democratic leaders in the Senate caved to Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s demands and stripped away some major provisions from their health reform legislation, including the public option and a plan that would have allowed middle-age Americans to “buy in” to Medicare. With Connecticut independent Lieberman’s support seemingly secured — ...
Commentary
The Senator Who Stole Christmas
One can understand their desire to wrap Obamacare up with a nice little Senate bow by Christmas Day. After all, the Senate bill would start (in any meaningful way) by around Christmas Christmas future, that is. The Congressional Budget Office says that less than 2 percent of the bill’s ...
Business & Economics
2010 initiatives: good, bad and silly
Any reform that will actually help fix the ongoing California government’s fiscal mess (serious spending limits, pension reform, limits on union power, cutbacks in the size of state government, educational privatization, etc.) cannot possibly pass, given political realities. Anything that can actually pass will not fix anything or might ...
Commentary
Health care reform taking stubborn path to huge debt
Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI), December 19, 2009 Wisconsin Democratic Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold are almost never in the headlines on health care reform. Hands over eyes and ears, they are marching forward in lockstep with President Barack Obama toward some kind of a muddled conclusion. They remain committed ...
Business & Economics
RT a drain on the county’s taxpayers
Despite its current financial woes and questionable ridership, Regional Transit is plunging ahead with an expensive plan to extend light rail north. As other agencies rein in their budgets, RT is preparing to spend even more taxpayer money and expand a system that is already grossly overfunded, subsidized, underutilized and ...
Commentary
The Advantage of Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage is an important alternative to traditional Medicare, which operates as a government monopoly. Seniors can choose among various plans provided by private health plans and select one that best suits their needs. In order to participate in the program, insurers submit bids to the government for the right ...
Federal Regulatory Burden on Health Care Increased By Over Half in Ten Years
So, I thought that I would find a decrease, or no change, in the relevant regulatory pages. I focused only on Medicare and Medicaid, regulation of private health insurance, and regulation of providers. However, I did not address the regulation of drugs or medical devices for safety and efficacy. The ...
Pension tapeworm gnaws at budgets
A Register investigation reported Sunday that lucrative public employee pension benefits approved during the past decade have been “a toxin spreading through the budget books of cities and counties across California.” These escalating costs ultimately threaten many local governments’ solvency. Though many states experience similar fiscal threats, “California is the ...
Electronic Health Records: Blah, Blah, Blah
An example of this just crossed my path. Back in September 2000, the Canadian and provincial governments committed to a nationally consistent EHR-system. The province of Ontario, which runs a government-monopoly, single-payer, health system for its 12 million residents, got to work developing a province-wide EHR system, eHealth. Under state ...
Reduced Medicare Benefits Will Increase Cost of Private Insurance
However, the government will undoubtedly be successful in driving private insurers out of the Medicare Advantage program, threatening about 11 million seniors’ access to this valuable alternative. The key difference between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare is that the latter operates according to a Soviet-style, centrally determined schedule of fees, ...
Even a ‘scaled-down’ health bill is dangerous
Last week, Democratic leaders in the Senate caved to Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s demands and stripped away some major provisions from their health reform legislation, including the public option and a plan that would have allowed middle-age Americans to “buy in” to Medicare. With Connecticut independent Lieberman’s support seemingly secured — ...
The Senator Who Stole Christmas
One can understand their desire to wrap Obamacare up with a nice little Senate bow by Christmas Day. After all, the Senate bill would start (in any meaningful way) by around Christmas Christmas future, that is. The Congressional Budget Office says that less than 2 percent of the bill’s ...
2010 initiatives: good, bad and silly
Any reform that will actually help fix the ongoing California government’s fiscal mess (serious spending limits, pension reform, limits on union power, cutbacks in the size of state government, educational privatization, etc.) cannot possibly pass, given political realities. Anything that can actually pass will not fix anything or might ...
Health care reform taking stubborn path to huge debt
Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI), December 19, 2009 Wisconsin Democratic Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold are almost never in the headlines on health care reform. Hands over eyes and ears, they are marching forward in lockstep with President Barack Obama toward some kind of a muddled conclusion. They remain committed ...
RT a drain on the county’s taxpayers
Despite its current financial woes and questionable ridership, Regional Transit is plunging ahead with an expensive plan to extend light rail north. As other agencies rein in their budgets, RT is preparing to spend even more taxpayer money and expand a system that is already grossly overfunded, subsidized, underutilized and ...
The Advantage of Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage is an important alternative to traditional Medicare, which operates as a government monopoly. Seniors can choose among various plans provided by private health plans and select one that best suits their needs. In order to participate in the program, insurers submit bids to the government for the right ...
