Medicaid
Commentary
W. Va. May Hike Cigarette Tax to Expand Medicaid
West Virginia legislators are considering a bill to fund an expansion of the state Medicaid program through an increase in the cigarette tax. The proposal would hike the tax 118 percent, from 55 cents to $1.20 per pack. The proposal comes on the heels of the recently passed increase in ...
Commentary
Rhode Island Governor Seeks Medicaid Reform
With his state among those facing growing budget crises due in part to unfunded health care liabilities, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) is asking the federal government for the freedom to reform the state’s Medicaid program. Carcieri’s proposal, which was blocked for much of 2008 by the Democrat-led state ...
Commentary
Mandatory Health Insurance is Not Universal Choice
“Covering the uninsured” through more government power is a misplaced priority. It gives politicians, instead of patients, control of health-care dollars. Nevertheless, many Americans understandably view the fact that the U.S. is the only developed country that does not have so-called “universal” coverage as a national disgrace. Furthermore, many believe ...
Commentary
Seven Ways to Make Health Care in America Better
The Deep Insight, July 21, 2009 My most recent column highlighted the massive ignorance about the U.S. health care system. Too many people want to fix the leaks in our health care roof by blowing up the building. Here’s a novel idea, let’s just fix the leaks in the roof, ...
Commentary
A Backdoor Plan for Rationing
Imagine you’re sick. You find out there’s only one drug that can cure you, but your insurance company won’t pay for it because it’s too expensive. Remarkably, such a scenario may soon become a reality in this country. The stimulus bill that President Obama just signed contains $1.1 billion for ...
Commentary
The “Congressional” Health Care Plan
With the highly publicized White House Forum on Health Reform now in the rearview mirror, President Obama has taken his show on the road. The administration is in the midst of holding five other such forums across the country. These gatherings are intended to set the stage for congressional action ...
Commentary
The Myth of the 46 Million
“Even for folks who are weathering this economic storm, and have health care right now,” President Obama said at this month’s White House health care summit, “all it takes is one stroke of bad luck — an accident or an illness, a divorce, a lost job — to become one ...
California
Los Angeles’ Martin Luther King, Jr. – Harbor Hospital Shows the Cost of Government Monopoly Health Care
Earlier this month, state and local officials announced an agreement to re-open the Martin Luther King, Jr.-Harbor Hospital in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2012. For four decades, Los Angeles’ most vulnerable, low-income patients suffered terribly because of the county’s management of this failed hospital, which finally closed ...
Business & Economics
Union Bosses, Corporate Lobbyists, and Maybe Even A Secretary of Health
Within three weeks of his inauguration, President Obama made a “down payment” on health reform that would put any used-car buyer to shame. Last month, we noted that President Obama had increased the fragmentation, bureaucracy, and cost of health care in at least three ways. Mr. Obama’s kids’ health program ...
Commentary
Bipartisan Ground Hard to Glimpse on Health Overhaul Legislation
Democrats and Republicans at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on Tuesday didn’t disagree with each other on everything. Several agreed on support for community health centers and the need to provide the public with more information about medical prices. But on most other issues raised at ...
W. Va. May Hike Cigarette Tax to Expand Medicaid
West Virginia legislators are considering a bill to fund an expansion of the state Medicaid program through an increase in the cigarette tax. The proposal would hike the tax 118 percent, from 55 cents to $1.20 per pack. The proposal comes on the heels of the recently passed increase in ...
Rhode Island Governor Seeks Medicaid Reform
With his state among those facing growing budget crises due in part to unfunded health care liabilities, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) is asking the federal government for the freedom to reform the state’s Medicaid program. Carcieri’s proposal, which was blocked for much of 2008 by the Democrat-led state ...
Mandatory Health Insurance is Not Universal Choice
“Covering the uninsured” through more government power is a misplaced priority. It gives politicians, instead of patients, control of health-care dollars. Nevertheless, many Americans understandably view the fact that the U.S. is the only developed country that does not have so-called “universal” coverage as a national disgrace. Furthermore, many believe ...
Seven Ways to Make Health Care in America Better
The Deep Insight, July 21, 2009 My most recent column highlighted the massive ignorance about the U.S. health care system. Too many people want to fix the leaks in our health care roof by blowing up the building. Here’s a novel idea, let’s just fix the leaks in the roof, ...
A Backdoor Plan for Rationing
Imagine you’re sick. You find out there’s only one drug that can cure you, but your insurance company won’t pay for it because it’s too expensive. Remarkably, such a scenario may soon become a reality in this country. The stimulus bill that President Obama just signed contains $1.1 billion for ...
The “Congressional” Health Care Plan
With the highly publicized White House Forum on Health Reform now in the rearview mirror, President Obama has taken his show on the road. The administration is in the midst of holding five other such forums across the country. These gatherings are intended to set the stage for congressional action ...
The Myth of the 46 Million
“Even for folks who are weathering this economic storm, and have health care right now,” President Obama said at this month’s White House health care summit, “all it takes is one stroke of bad luck — an accident or an illness, a divorce, a lost job — to become one ...
Los Angeles’ Martin Luther King, Jr. – Harbor Hospital Shows the Cost of Government Monopoly Health Care
Earlier this month, state and local officials announced an agreement to re-open the Martin Luther King, Jr.-Harbor Hospital in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2012. For four decades, Los Angeles’ most vulnerable, low-income patients suffered terribly because of the county’s management of this failed hospital, which finally closed ...
Union Bosses, Corporate Lobbyists, and Maybe Even A Secretary of Health
Within three weeks of his inauguration, President Obama made a “down payment” on health reform that would put any used-car buyer to shame. Last month, we noted that President Obama had increased the fragmentation, bureaucracy, and cost of health care in at least three ways. Mr. Obama’s kids’ health program ...
Bipartisan Ground Hard to Glimpse on Health Overhaul Legislation
Democrats and Republicans at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on Tuesday didn’t disagree with each other on everything. Several agreed on support for community health centers and the need to provide the public with more information about medical prices. But on most other issues raised at ...
