Inflation
Commentary
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Commentary
Buried In The Numbers: Obamacare’s Costs Are Climbing, Not Receding
Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the provisions within Obamacare expanding access to insurance coverage would cost 20% less than the agency estimated in 2010, when the law passed. The White House was ecstatic. “The estimates released today by CBO once again confirm the progress we’ve made,” ...
Commentary
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Commentary
Obamacare has failed to increase competition among insurers
Obamacare has done everything short of cure sickness altogether, according to its supporters. “Ten million Americans have gained health insurance just this past year,” said the president. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that patients “will pay less than they pay for their cable or their cellphone ...
Commentary
Health Cost Holiday Will Soon Be Over
Federal officials recently reported that health spending inched up 3.6 percent in 2013. Thats the lowest annual rate of growth in decades and the fourth time in the past five years that health inflation has been under 4 percent. The Obama administration was quick to take credit. The recent ...
Commentary
A Cadillac (Tax) For Everyone
While campaigning for the White House, President Obama promised to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. As he put it, In an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class. And then, the president went ahead and raised taxes on the ...
Business & Economics
The seven lean years
California’s Proposition 30, officially titled “Temporary Taxes to Fund Education,” is celebrating its second anniversary this November. The greatest anniversary gift would be to repeal it. California needs sustainable and robust economic growth. Strong economic growth creates jobs, raises families’ incomes and improves our standard of living. And, while economic ...
Commentary
Obamacare is hardly pro-choice
Thousands of Americans will soon receive cancellation notices for their health insurance plans compliments of Obamacare. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia are ordering insurers to discontinue plans previously exempt from Obamacare’s onerous and expensive coverage mandates. This rash of cancelled policies is only the latest example of ...
Business & Economics
Plan Bay Area: The Mayor’s Transportation Task Force Report
Pacific Research Institute Brief Reveals Flaws with San Franciscos Transportation Task Force Report Today PRI released a brief reviewing San Francisco Mayor Ed Lees Transportation Task Force Report: 2030. The brief is a supplement to PRIs earlier study Plan Bay Area Evaluation (June 2013), which critiqued the plan developed by ...
Commentary
No, Really — Employer Health Insurance Is Better Than Government Care
Who knew the cost disparities between employer and government health insurance could be so exciting? Last week, Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinhardt took issue with my July 28 column Employer Health Insurance: A Bargain Compared to Government-Sponsored Coverage. In my piece, I unpacked the numbers from a new American ...
Here’s Why States Must Resist The Temptation To Expand Medicaid
Last week, Alaska became the 30th state to expand Medicaid with federal funding from the Affordable Care Act. “Alaska and Alaskans cannot wait any longer,” said Gov. Bill Walker. “We‘re not going to step away from this opportunity to help fellow Alaskans, period.” Some “help.” Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is saddling ...
Buried In The Numbers: Obamacare’s Costs Are Climbing, Not Receding
Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the provisions within Obamacare expanding access to insurance coverage would cost 20% less than the agency estimated in 2010, when the law passed. The White House was ecstatic. “The estimates released today by CBO once again confirm the progress we’ve made,” ...
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Obamacare has failed to increase competition among insurers
Obamacare has done everything short of cure sickness altogether, according to its supporters. “Ten million Americans have gained health insurance just this past year,” said the president. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that patients “will pay less than they pay for their cable or their cellphone ...
Health Cost Holiday Will Soon Be Over
Federal officials recently reported that health spending inched up 3.6 percent in 2013. Thats the lowest annual rate of growth in decades and the fourth time in the past five years that health inflation has been under 4 percent. The Obama administration was quick to take credit. The recent ...
A Cadillac (Tax) For Everyone
While campaigning for the White House, President Obama promised to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. As he put it, In an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class. And then, the president went ahead and raised taxes on the ...
The seven lean years
California’s Proposition 30, officially titled “Temporary Taxes to Fund Education,” is celebrating its second anniversary this November. The greatest anniversary gift would be to repeal it. California needs sustainable and robust economic growth. Strong economic growth creates jobs, raises families’ incomes and improves our standard of living. And, while economic ...
Obamacare is hardly pro-choice
Thousands of Americans will soon receive cancellation notices for their health insurance plans compliments of Obamacare. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia are ordering insurers to discontinue plans previously exempt from Obamacare’s onerous and expensive coverage mandates. This rash of cancelled policies is only the latest example of ...
Plan Bay Area: The Mayor’s Transportation Task Force Report
Pacific Research Institute Brief Reveals Flaws with San Franciscos Transportation Task Force Report Today PRI released a brief reviewing San Francisco Mayor Ed Lees Transportation Task Force Report: 2030. The brief is a supplement to PRIs earlier study Plan Bay Area Evaluation (June 2013), which critiqued the plan developed by ...
No, Really — Employer Health Insurance Is Better Than Government Care
Who knew the cost disparities between employer and government health insurance could be so exciting? Last week, Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinhardt took issue with my July 28 column Employer Health Insurance: A Bargain Compared to Government-Sponsored Coverage. In my piece, I unpacked the numbers from a new American ...
