http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/rss/health.xmlHealth CareMon, 17 May 2010 18:00:00 ESTwww.eResources.com (Generator)eResourcessupport@eresources.com60http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.725/blog_detail.asp& quot;This is one of those videos that can be called & ldquo;epic.& rdquo; It shows a North Carolina mother confronting Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan about ObamaCare, telling her bluntly, & ldquo;My children will suffer& rdquo; because of ObamaCare.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.725/blog_detail.asp#8-23-2010Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.726/blog_detail.asp& quot;This is one of those videos that can be called & ldquo;epic.& rdquo; It shows a North Carolina mother confronting Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan about ObamaCare, telling her bluntly, & ldquo;My children will suffer& rdquo; because of ObamaCare.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.726/blog_detail.asp#8-23-2010Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5652/pub_detail.aspSince its creation four and a half decades ago, Medicaid spending has accelerated out of control, largely because of the formula: The federal government must pay at least 50 percent of a state& rsquo;s Medicaid costs, which creates an extraordinarily perverse incentive.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5652/pub_detail.asp#8-10-2010Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5630/pub_detail.aspNormal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} This study concludes that allowing American patients to access medicines that have already been approved in Europe would increase regulatory competition, enable more patient choice, and potentially save the lives of those suffering life-threatening illnesses and who currently have no treatment options.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5630/pub_detail.asp#7-27-2010Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5616/pub_detail.aspEight variables contribute to a medical-tort index that measures all 50 states& rsquo; success at reforming medical-tort laws to mitigate these problems, and provides a partial update to the 2009 U.S. Index of Health Ownership.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5616/pub_detail.asp#7-13-2010Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5605/pub_detail.aspUnder ObamaCare, those who believe the government should decide how much medical care you deserve, and how it should be delivered, are eager to impose their preferences nationwide. Nurses& rsquo; unions lead the charge, armed with a recent study that could use more examination than it is getting from politicians and the media.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5605/pub_detail.asp#6-30-2010Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.99/detail.aspA Marin Town Hall to discuss what the new Healthcare will do and not do for all Americans. John Graham of the Pacific Research Institute will provide factual insight as to what we can expect.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.99/detail.asp#6-10-2010Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5577/pub_detail.aspThe U.S. government has promised physicians that it will & ldquo;fix& rdquo; the fees for the long term, but has proven incompetent to do anything more than patch a series of panicky, short-term, & ldquo;fixes& rdquo; on the system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5577/pub_detail.asp#6-8-2010Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5568/pub_detail.aspAs part of a crusade against childhood obesity, three politicians in a county of 180,000 people have decided that parents are not allowed to decide whether they can take their children to a restaurant where they might receive a toy alongside their meal.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5568/pub_detail.asp#5-26-2010Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.96/detail.aspThe Benjamin Rush Society debate to be held at Stanford University School of MedicineEventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.96/detail.asp#5-14-2010Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5542/pub_detail.aspAs a libertarian-conservative policy analyst, I& rsquo;m often invited to speak at conferences where the other speakers are more traditional advocates of government control of Americans& rsquo; access to medical care. No matter how technical and nuanced the discussion, it usually drifts to the & ldquo;right to health care,& rdquo; and how & ldquo;every other country guarantees universal health care.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5542/pub_detail.asp#5-11-2010Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.721/blog_detail.aspWhile everyone else in the country is trying to figure out how to avoid Obamacare& rsquo;s avalanche of mandates, taxes, and general red tape, one group is actually accelerating implementation.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.721/blog_detail.asp#5-2-2010Sun, 2 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5535/pub_detail.aspLast month, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released its California Health Insurance Survey, and the media promptly sounded the alarm. According to the March 16 Los Angeles Times, & ldquo;nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance last year.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5535/pub_detail.asp#4-28-2010Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.720/blog_detail.aspRamesh Ponnuru advises that the action to repeal Obamacare has to move outside Washington. The good news: It& #39;s happening.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.720/blog_detail.asp#4-20-2010Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.719/blog_detail.aspTommy Thompson announced yesterday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate against the ineffable Russ Feingold. For all the applause that Thompson receives from our side of the political spectrum, let us not forget his actual performance while HHS Secretary & mdash; to pick one example in particular, his machinations in the wake of the anthrax panic on Capitol Hill in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.719/blog_detail.asp#4-16-2010Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.718/blog_detail.aspAs Americans gird themselves for the struggle to repeal Obamacare, it& rsquo;s interesting to see how the government-media complex is shoring up its defenses. Before passage, the media & mdash; large and small & mdash; performed sterling stenographic duty, parroting the government& rsquo;s talking points, deficit reduction and increased coverage, to a resistant public.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.718/blog_detail.asp#4-15-2010Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5510/pub_detail.aspUnfortunately, most Republican politicians appear not to have learned that health insurers cannot pool risk effectively as long as the government forces employees to accept health & ldquo;benefits& rdquo; chosen by their employers& rsquo; HR managers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5510/pub_detail.asp#4-12-2010Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.717/blog_detail.aspInteresting news to report from my lunch with Nancy Pelosi at San Francisco& #39;s Mark Hopkins Hotel. A few hundred of her closest friends convened to hear the speaker field a handful of soft-ball questions from the Commonwealth Club& #39;s president and CEO.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.717/blog_detail.asp#4-8-2010Thu, 8 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.716/blog_detail.aspNew York Times reports: President Obama continued on Thursday what might be called his Go-for-It Tour, traveling to this Northeastern state [Maine] & mdash; represented by two moderate Republican senators who balked at his health care overhaul & mdash; to dare the opposition party to run against it this fall.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.716/blog_detail.asp#4-5-2010Mon, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.715/blog_detail.aspThe insurance industry announced today that it would not dispute the Obama administration interpretation of the requirement for insurance & quot;coverage& quot; (subsidies) of children with pre-existing medical conditions. And why should they? The new law transforms the insurers into public utilities, and premiums will have to cover costs plus a fair and reasonable return.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.715/blog_detail.asp#3-31-2010Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5486/pub_detail.aspThe health & ldquo;reform& rdquo; recently signed by President Obama may be expensive and over-regulated but its consumer protection parts are popular. They also turn out to be redundant, even though it& rsquo;s hard to criticize a law that prevents a health insurer from dropping a beneficiary after someone falls ill.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5486/pub_detail.asp#3-31-2010Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.714/blog_detail.aspLess than three days after the passage of Obamacare, many Republicans are already losing their stomach for the fight.As Ezra Klein gleefully & mdash; but aptly & mdash; observes over at the Washington Post, & ldquo;In about 12 hours, the GOP& #39;s position has gone from & lsquo;repeal this socialist monstrosity that will destroy our final freedoms& rsquo; to & lsquo;there are some things we don& #39;t like about this legislation and would like to repeal, and there are some things we support and would like to keep.& rsquo; . . . At this rate, they& #39;ll be running on expanding the bill come November.& rdquo;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.714/blog_detail.asp#3-24-2010Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5471/pub_detail.aspAccording the CBO& rsquo;s score of H.R. 3590, the bill would insure 31 million more people.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5471/pub_detail.asp#3-23-2010Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.709/blog_detail.aspPresident Obama won a major victory last night in his determined effort to impose his will on the American people. But far from striking a fatal blow to the cause of limited government and fiscal responsibility, Obama has awakened a sleeping giant.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.709/blog_detail.asp#3-22-2010Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.710/blog_detail.aspNow that Congress has reached the & quot;end of the beginning& quot; of the federal take-over of people& #39;s access to medical services, please allow me to point out a cost that Congress has ignored.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.710/blog_detail.asp#3-22-2010Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.708/blog_detail.aspThe most likely explanation for the breakdown of talks between Rep. Bart Stupak and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not that Pelosi decided she didn& rsquo;t need Stupak and his crew in order to have enough votes to pass Obamacare. Rather, it is that Stupak & mdash; who is increasingly emerging as this drama& rsquo;s Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart& rsquo;s heroic character in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) & mdash; held firm in insisting on language that would truly prevent taxpayer-funded abortions, and in insisting that such language be passed by the Senate before the bill could become law.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.708/blog_detail.asp#3-20-2010Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5458/pub_detail.aspThis publication presents a first-of-its-kind report on the potential cost of increased federal control of health insurance. This report, written by John R. Graham, PRI director of Health Care Studies, provides state-by-state estimates of revenues from premium taxes on health-insurance policies.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5458/pub_detail.asp#3-17-2010Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.707/blog_detail.aspI agree with Professor Chaufan that the & ldquo;reforms& rdquo; many states embraced to expand coverage with private insurance have failed, but disagree that it is because of a lack of government power. In fact, such reforms massively increase government power. For example, Massachusetts& rsquo; latest reform (passed by Governor Romney in 2006) made health insurance mandatory, and heavily subsidized those who could not afford it.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.707/blog_detail.asp#3-5-2010Fri, 5 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.689/blog_detail.aspAt the intermission, the president may be wondering why he decided to host this summit. Sitting around a table, almost as an equal (albeit a particularly chatty one) with members of Congress, does not afford him the same advantages he enjoyed when giving the State of the Union address or even when standing behind the podium at the House Republican conference.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.689/blog_detail.asp#2-25-2010Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.690/blog_detail.aspA year into the health-care debate, President Obama will be hosting a health-care summit today at the Blair House — something it is humanly impossible to imagine a president with a keener sense of the stature of his office doing. When you watch, imagine the Blair House as President Obama will likely see it in his mind's eye, with a large “Health-Care Reform: Grand Reopening” banner draped across its entrance, bands playing, and children laughing.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.690/blog_detail.asp#2-25-2010Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.688/blog_detail.aspPresident Obama’s much-anticipated summit on Thursday is drawing near. The president will kick off the six-hour event at Blair House that will be televised on C-SPAN. Following him will be opening remarks by Republican and Democratic members of Congress who have been chosen by their associates.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.688/blog_detail.asp#2-24-2010Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.687/blog_detail.aspRamesh Ponnuru's defense of allowing individuals to buy health insurance across state lines has been getting sensible push-back from readers (here and here). As he points out, all the "fixes" that Republicans have put forward are supported by conservatives because they are meant to move us in the direction of individual ownership of health insurance.So, does Congressional preemption of states' powers to regulate health insurance within their boundaries move us in the right direction? I'm afraid not, certainly not as the Republicans are proposing. Unfortunately, the GOP's Better Solutions platform continues the policy of discriminating against people who are employed, by forcing them to get health benefits of their employers' choice, and not letting them use their own pre-tax dollars to buy individual, portable, guaranteed renewable, health insurance.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.687/blog_detail.asp#2-23-2010Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.686/blog_detail.aspOne interesting contradiction about the majority faction's position on health-insurance "reform" is that, while they don't want a national market for health insurance (in the sense that they don't want each American to have health insurance that is portable from job to job and state to state), they do want Congress to regulate health insurance federally.With the "reform" in limbo, the majority has found one thing that they think will fly: Subjecting health insurers to federal antitrust laws. This would be pointless, and likely counter-productive.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.686/blog_detail.asp#2-16-2010Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.683/blog_detail.aspThe hits just keep on comin'. The AP reported last Friday that "Vermont, already a leader in the effort to cut health care costs by reining in drug companies' marketing, could become the first state to require the firms to report how much they spend providing free samples of their wares to physicians."Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.683/blog_detail.asp#2-9-2010Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.684/blog_detail.aspBut that's not the way they put it. The headline reads: "Bills Stalled, Hospitals Fear Rising Unpaid Care." It's the typical sort of story describing an emergency room that deals with uninsured patients who will never pay their bills. These stories are so common, you'd expect hospitals to be shuttering across the country.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.684/blog_detail.asp#2-9-2010Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.685/blog_detail.aspI recently suggested that Anthem Blue Cross California’s astonishing rate hikes in the individual maket are caused by an adverse-selection spiral, and pointed my finger at recent changes in rules governing rescissions of individual policies.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.685/blog_detail.asp#2-9-2010Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5382/pub_detail.aspWith the federal government’s takeover of Americans’ access to medical care on life-support, the majority faction appears eager to pull something digestible from the obese, 2,000-page-plus bills passed late last year by the House and Senate.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5382/pub_detail.asp#2-9-2010Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.682/blog_detail.aspCalifornians with individually purchased health insurance were rocked last week by news that Anthem Blue Cross was planning to raise rates for some individual policies by 39 percent. U.S. Secretary of Health & amp; Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has got into the act, demanding an explanation (even though she has no authority over rates in California’s individual market).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.682/blog_detail.asp#2-8-2010Mon, 8 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.691/blog_detail.aspPerhaps the greatest absurdity of California state senator Mark Leno getting his single-payer bill passed in the state senate is that it happened the same month the Department of Managed Health Care announced its new regulations limiting waiting times for HMOs. The new regulations will require that telephone calls be returned within 30 minutes; that health professionals be available 24/7; that appointments with general practitioners take place within ten days, or 15 days for specialists.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.691/blog_detail.asp#2-5-2010Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5375/pub_detail.aspCalifornia has the unique distinction of being the only state that deploys two regulators of health plans: the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) as well as the Department of Insurance.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5375/pub_detail.asp#2-3-2010_4:00:00_AMWed, 3 Feb 2010 04:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.681/blog_detail.aspDiscord within the Democrats’ ranks offers Americans a renewed opportunity to learn about the sweeping changes augured by the congressional reform package. What they’ll discover is a bill that hikes taxes to pay for “reform,” making health care more expensive and less responsive to patients’ needs.New insurance regulations form the core of the reform plan. Paramount among these new rules is an individual mandate, which would require all Americans to maintain coverage. Proponents of the idea claim that it will bring healthy, previously uninsured young people into the insurance pool. Premiums from these folks would help lower the premiums of older, sicker Americans — or so the thinking goes.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.681/blog_detail.asp#1-26-2010Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.680/blog_detail.aspOn January 20, New York Times quoted President Obama, trying to rescue his health bill, stressing the need for “some kind of cost containment because if we don’t, then our budgets are going to blow up…” Ironically, if the President had read an adjourning article in the same newspaper he would have found the answer to his quest under the heading: “Should surgeons meet patients Online?”Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.680/blog_detail.asp#1-22-2010Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5358/pub_detail.aspThe Medicaid expansion in the Senate health bill leverages an already flawed formula to determine federal payments to state Medicaid programs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5358/pub_detail.asp#1-21-2010_2:10:00_PMThu, 21 Jan 2010 14:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.678/blog_detail.aspIn the aftermath of the Democrats’ stunning defeat in Massachusetts, Democratic leaders are brainstorming how to get around Scott Brown’s election as the 41st Republican senator. But President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Reid haven’t yet embraced the one course they need to take: Scrap the current bills and start over, with a bipartisan process that proceeds in broad daylight.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.678/blog_detail.asp#1-21-2010Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.679/blog_detail.aspPeople were rightly upset when they learned about the "Cornhusker Kickback," the deal whereby Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska sold his vote in favor of the Senate's health bill in exchange for his state never having to pay for any of the Medicaid expansion in the bill.However, the biggest problem with the Medicaid expansion in the Senate health bill is not the “Cornhusker Kickback,” but that it leverages an already flawed formula to determine federal payments to state Medicaid programs. The Senate bill would motivate states to invest more resources in recruiting higher income residents into Medicaid, rather than traditionally eligible beneficiaries, including the blind and disabled. The Senate bill also gives richer states a bigger Medicaid bailout than lower income ones. New Hampshire, Maryland, and Connecticut get the biggest handouts, while Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas are short-changed, according to my just-published analysis.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.679/blog_detail.asp#1-21-2010Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5354/pub_detail.aspThis study examines the prospective implications of a national public policy allowing individuals, families, and smaller groups to purchase an “entrepreneurs” coverage policy free of the benefit mandates imposed by state laws.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5354/pub_detail.asp#1-20-2010Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.677/blog_detail.aspThe behind-closed-doors squabble over the so-called "Cadillac" tax on high-cost health benefits is that it's really about bailing out public-sector-retiree health benefits, especially at the state and local level. Today's New York Times reports that the tax won't hit these folks until 2018. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that that date will be pushed out even farther before this deal sees the light of day.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.677/blog_detail.asp#1-15-2010Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.673/blog_detail.aspYet more news, from the Columbus Dispatch, that Medicare patients are increasingly having difficulty gettting access to care. This blog has had a number of entries (latest one here) discussing the Mayo Clinic's decision to drop patients in traditional Medicare from some of its primary-care practices.At risk of patting myself on the back, this is what I anticipated in my recently published study of choices in Medicare. Basically, Medicare has three problems: A huge unfunded liability; ineffective reimbursements to providers (which are a result of centralized price-fixing by the government, which cause providers to shift costs to private payers); and lack of access.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.673/blog_detail.asp#1-13-2010Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5282/pub_detail.aspThis report examines the costs and benefits of Medicare Advantage, which allows consumers to get their benefits through private insurance plans. Under the Senate Health Care bill, the Medicare Advantage program, would be cut by about $118 billion.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5282/pub_detail.asp#1-13-2010Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.669/blog_detail.aspThe Congressional Budget Office has just announced that “the federal budget deficit was about $390 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010,” which is “$56 billion more than the shortfall in the same period in fiscal year 2009.”In other words, we are running up an even higher deficit than we did last year, when we racked up the highest current-dollar deficit in U.S. history, the highest inflation-adjusted deficit in U.S. history, and the highest deficit as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) except for during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II (higher even than during the Great Depression).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.669/blog_detail.asp#1-11-2010Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.670/blog_detail.aspHow much control would Americans have over their own health care and their health-care system if Obamacare is passed? About as much as they have over the process that threatens to yield it. Polls show double-digit margins opposing Obamacare, far greater opposition among those who feel strongly, two-to-one opposition among seniors, and two-to-one opposition among independents. Yet the administration and its congressional allies couldn't seen to care less. And now they are trying to leave Americans as blind to the process as they are deaf to Americans' concerns.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.670/blog_detail.asp#1-7-2010Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.665/blog_detail.aspThe ability to achieve victory largely comes down to one’s determination to win, versus another’s willingness to accept defeat. United States history is replete with examples of Americans overcoming far greater odds than those currently faced by the opponents of Obamacare. In fact, it’s not clear that Obamacare opponents face long odds at all, or even that they face odds longer than those faced by Obamacare supporters, despite the latter’s grossly premature declarations of victory.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.665/blog_detail.asp#1-6-2010Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.671/blog_detail.aspObamacare may well lose in the House. A host of members maintain personal objections to the legislation and face unhappy constituents. Motivated by a blend of principle and self-preservation — and realizing the folly of marching to their political deaths at the command of a president whose approval rating is hovering below 50 percent — many members may well vote against it. This is especially true of those who voted for the Stupak amendment to prevent public funding for health plans covering abortions. Despite the overwhelming popularity of such a provision, the compromise bill will surely not contain it.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.671/blog_detail.asp#1-6-2010Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.666/blog_detail.aspAnd so it begins to unravel. The Mayo Clinic — "praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care" — stopped accepting Medicare patients as of January 1, "saying the U.S. government pays too little."Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.666/blog_detail.asp#1-5-2010Tue, 5 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.667/blog_detail.aspAs 2009 disappeared into the history books, the Mayo Clinic in Glendale, Ariz., (a suburb of Phoenix) stopped seeing Medicare patients for primary care. To be more precise, the Mayo Clinic stopped submitting claims to the federal government's Medicare contractors. Medicare beneficiaries can still attend the clinic: They just have to pay cash.This will be tough for the patients: Medicare won't reimburse them one penny. Indeed, the law requires the physicians to explain this (in writing) to the patients.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.667/blog_detail.asp#1-4-2010Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.668/blog_detail.aspCalifornia’s recent budget deficits will look bush league relative to the fiscal hurricane that federal health reform will unleash on California and many other states. The problem stems from the expansion of Medicaid, the program for low-income residents, jointly funded by the federal and state governments.Most observers anticipate that if President Obama does sign a bill this year, it will look more like the Senate bill (an amendment to H.R. 3590), which would pull millions of Americans into government dependency for their access to medical services via an expansion of Medicaid.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.668/blog_detail.asp#1-4-2010Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.660/blog_detail.aspCount me in as one who anticipates that a January "conference" (of whatever formality) mashing up the House and Senate health bills will be a lot tougher than the Beltway pros believe. A growing number of people, whom the President should take for granted, have been finding things in the bills that displease them greatly.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.660/blog_detail.asp#12-30-2009Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.661/blog_detail.aspIt is almost impossible to describe how bloated both the House and Senate bills have become. Compare the 2,074 pages of the Senate bill to the 1965 Medicare and Medicaid law. The bill President Johnson signed was a mere 137 pages long!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.661/blog_detail.asp#12-30-2009Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.662/blog_detail.aspThe Miami Herald breathlessly asserts that U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has “preserved” Florida’s Medicare benefits. (Hat tip to John Goodman.) This is because the “Florida Flim Flam” that he swapped to give Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid his vote in favor of the federal take-over of Americans’ access to medical services will allow Florida’s seniors to keep access to Medicare Advantage plans.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.662/blog_detail.asp#12-30-2009Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5317/pub_detail.aspCalifornia’s recent budget deficits will look bush league relative to the fiscal hurricane that federal health reform will unleash on California and many other states. I made that prediction in this space on December 2, but as we approach 2010 Californians should know that things are actually worse than I anticipated.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5317/pub_detail.asp#12-30-2009Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.663/blog_detail.aspA number of state legislatures are considering resolutions affirming their constitutionally-based resistance to the federal government taking over every American’s access to medical services.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.663/blog_detail.asp#12-29-2009Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.664/blog_detail.aspOK, I’ll admit that this study only came into my purview because the author has the same name as myself. Nevertheless, it clearly explains (from the physician’s experience) what happens when the federal government takes over the financing of hospitals.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.664/blog_detail.asp#12-28-2009Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.655/blog_detail.aspHarry Reid had the Senate meet for 25 consecutive days for the first time since the United States was deciding whether to enter World War I, and he held the Senate's first vote on Christmas Eve since the 19th century. Such is the zealotry of those who champion the cause of government-run health care. Gaining control over what will soon be one-fifth of our economy is apparently so important that it requires a Christmas Eve vote — for a bill that would essentially start about four Christmases from now.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.655/blog_detail.asp#12-24-2009Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.652/blog_detail.aspRemember back in June, in President Obama’s major address to the AMA, when he said the following? “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise. . . . If you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.” In the six months since, there seems to have been a change.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.652/blog_detail.asp#12-23-2009Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.656/blog_detail.aspIt is almost impossible to describe how bloated both the House and Senate bills have become. Compare them to the legislation passed in 1965 that created entirely new programs, Medicare and Medicaid: President Johnson signed Public Law 89-97 in July of his first elected term — and it was a mere 137 pages long!This dramatic different in length motivated me to attempt a similar measurement of the federal regulatory burden on U.S. health care — by counting the pages dedicated to regulating health care in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) over the past decade. During most of this period, the federal government preached regulatory restraint. Indeed, the major bill, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, was designed to reduce federal control over access to medical care via a privately run Medicare drug benefit and the introduction of Health Savings Accounts.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.656/blog_detail.asp#12-22-2009Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5297/pub_detail.aspPoliticians who want to increase the federal government’s control of Americans’ access to medical services under the banner of “reform” describe the status quo as some kind of Wild West, where nobody has protection against greedy insurers, incompetent doctors, or dangerous hospitals. The facts show otherwise.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5297/pub_detail.asp#12-22-2009Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.650/blog_detail.aspAs noted elsewhere, much of the "savings" in the so-called reform legislation are fictional, because the government has never succeeded in rolling back physicians' Medicare Part B fees. Medicare Part B fees already run about 20 percent lower than the fees that private insurers pay, and any further cut-backs would sentence seniors to a catastrophic lack of access to physicians.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.650/blog_detail.asp#12-21-2009Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.659/blog_detail.aspOne of the ways that the government is going to make the delivery of health care more “efficient”, the saying goes, is to subsidize the acquisition of electronic health records (EHRs) that adhere to federal standards.There are a couple of problems with this. Many are rightly concerned that the federal government will end up having way too much information about our health status. Another big problem, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, is that the record of adoption of EHR by both private and government buyers does not suggest success.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.659/blog_detail.asp#12-21-2009Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.657/blog_detail.aspWhile senators' families undertake their Christmas preparations without them, Sen. Harry Reid and President Obama continue to celebrate this festive season by pushing the Senate to give the American people the "gift" of Obamacare for Christmas. Fruitcakes and lumps of coal have never sounded so good.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.657/blog_detail.asp#12-20-2009Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.649/blog_detail.aspAs Linda Gorman has previously discussed, if the real point of a so-called “public option” was simply to supply fair competition against private insurers, the government would allow patients dependent on VA, Medicaid, and Medicare to take their entitlements as vouchers and get private insurance. In fact, the opposite is happening: All the reform proposals before Congress would significantly reduce seniors’ choice of benefits in Medicare. Cutting back payments to Medicare Advantage by as much as $172 billion over the next decade will cause millions of seniors to lose their coverage.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.649/blog_detail.asp#12-19-2009Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.643/blog_detail.aspDemocratic senators, giving into Sen. Joe Lieberman’s demands, agreed on Monday evening that their 2,074-page health-care bill will contain neither a Medicare “buy-in” option for people aged 55 to 64 nor a broader public option. If the House and Senate reach agreement next week on final wording and a bill does pass near Christmas or soon after, President Obama has stated that he wants the bill on his desk for signature before his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 12. This is extremely important for his presidency because he wants to be able to tout a significant first-year success to the electorate before moving further into an election year where jobs and the deficit are going to be major issues.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.643/blog_detail.asp#12-16-2009Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.647/blog_detail.aspWith the death of two even worse ideas — a government-run "public option" and a proposed Medicare expansion — President Obama was right yesterday when he said that "we are on the precipice" of something that would "touch the lives of nearly every American." We are indeed on the precipice. For after nearly a year's worth of debate, Obamacare has now been boiled down to its essence: a mandate that Americans pay trillions of dollars, funneled through Washington, to private insurers. 12/16 11:03 AMBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.647/blog_detail.asp#12-16-2009Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.644/blog_detail.aspAdrift amongst hostile forces, including the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare & amp; Medicaid Services (CMS), the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) continues to desperately insist that the so-called health reform will reduce the rate of growth of health spending.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.644/blog_detail.asp#12-15-2009Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.645/blog_detail.aspThere's been a lot of extremely relevant talk of late about why the Democrats lost so badly in 1994. Was it because they failed to pass Hillarycare, or because they tried? Over at The Weekly Standard, Andy Wickersham and I thoroughly analyze the numbers and conclude that the reason is the latter: It's because they tried.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.645/blog_detail.asp#12-15-2009Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.648/blog_detail.aspAs Jim Capretta writes over at NRO, now that the government-run "public option" has been stripped out of the Senate's proposed health-care legislation, Obamacare is left as this: a mandate that Americans funnel huge sums in new taxes, through the federal government, to private insurers. Were you wondering why the health insurance lobby supports the Democrats' version of "health insurance reform"?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.648/blog_detail.asp#12-15-2009Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.641/blog_detail.aspWhat can I say? I'm just a glass-half-full kind of guy. Rainbows. Puppies and kittens. The laughter of children. Latkes and Santa in December. An advertisement for some consulting firm at the airport showing a huge photo of Tiger Woods walking in the rough, along with the words "Sometimes performance is found off the paved road." Life is wonderful.And I am starting to think that the ineffable Harry Reid, Grand Poobah of the Senate Democrats, will not get his 60 votes to move health-care socialism back to Nancy Pelosi and then to the White House. For months, Reid and Baucus and Dodd and all the others have been searching for a way to thread the 60-vote needle. Something. Anything. Incoherent, destructive, bankrupting, another shotgun blast at the young: It matters not a whit. If it increases dependence upon the federal government, it's a winner.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.641/blog_detail.asp#12-14-2009Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.638/blog_detail.aspLate Tuesday evening it was announced that the group of ten moderate and liberal Democratic senators had reached broad tentative agreement to remove the public option from the Senate health-care bill. But it is important to look at what compromises have been made and what they mean for the health care of all Americans.The two main compromises are the & ldquo;Medicare Buy-In& rdquo; for people between 55 and 64 and the federal government& rsquo;s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) overseeing a national health-care plan run by non-profit entities where the federal government will negotiate the rates insurance companies can charge. OPM is the agency responsible for the health-care plan for federal employees and members of Congress.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.638/blog_detail.asp#12-9-2009Wed, 9 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.637/blog_detail.aspHere& #39;s a quick stat to help illustrate just how bloated, intrusive, and bureaucratic the Democrats& #39; intended health-care overhaul would be: The bill that the Senate is currently debating is more than half again as long as the bill that was proposed by President Clinton in 1993. The Clinton bill was 1,342 pages long. The current Senate bill is 2,074 pages long & mdash; 55 percent longer.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.637/blog_detail.asp#12-7-2009Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.84/detail.aspThe Benjamin Rush Society presents this debate on proposed policy changes in American health care.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.84/detail.asp#12-3-2009Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.636/blog_detail.aspNearly everyone agrees on the major goals of legitimate health-care reform: reducing costs and reducing the number of uninsured & mdash; without reducing the quality of care. Polls show that Americans& #39; number-one health-care concern & mdash; by far & mdash; is the first of these: lowering costs. But the proposed Democratic health-care overhaul would instead raise health costs. It would also inject the federal government into the historically private relationship between patient and doctor. By a margin of about two to one, Americans think that their quality of care would decline rather than improve as a result. Raising costs and lowering quality would seem to be two rather major shortfalls in any effort at & quot;reform.& quot; And such figurative shortfalls would be matched by a literal one: The Congressional Budget Office says that, unless doctors& #39; pay under Medicare is cut by 25 percent and never raised back up, the proposed Senate bill would increase deficits by $286 billion in its real first decade (2014& ndash;23).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.636/blog_detail.asp#12-2-2009Wed, 2 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5245/pub_detail.aspLast June California politicians claimed to have & ldquo;fixed& rdquo; the budget but according to a November 18 report from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst& rsquo;s Office (LAO) California now faces a budget deficit of $20.7 billion from the present until 2010-2011.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5245/pub_detail.asp#12-2-2009Wed, 2 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.635/blog_detail.aspIn the last two weeks, eight national polls have been released showing what the American people think of Obamacare. The results of those eight polls & mdash; Pew, ABC/WaPo, PPP, CNN, CBS, Quinnipiac, Fox, and Rasmussen & mdash; show that by an average margin of 8.5 percent (49.0 percent to 40.5 percent), more people oppose Obamacare than support it. That& #39;s greater than the margin by which John McCain lost last November. If you drop the high and low polls, the margin is greater still, as half of the eight polls show Obamacare facing a double-digit deficit.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.635/blog_detail.asp#11-30-2009Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.653/blog_detail.aspNicholas D. Kristof has pretty much shoved Prof. Paul Krugman aside as the News York Times’ leading advocate of government-centered medicine. He seems deliberately not to see that government has created the problems of fragmented coverage, by using the tax code to give employers unfair advantage over employees in acquiring coverage. In today’s column, he parrots a discredited study, which asserts that 45,000 Americans die from lack of insurances (which is already debunked, along with the entire literature on “mortality due to insurance” here).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.653/blog_detail.asp#11-29-2009Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.654/blog_detail.aspYesterday’s Wall Street Journal ran a letter by a New Yorker, who was appalled at a contributor’s criticism of New York’s regulation of health insurance. As discussed frequently in this blog, NY imposes guaranteed issue and community rating on individually purchased health insurance. These rules allow people to wait until they become sick to buy health insurance.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.654/blog_detail.asp#11-28-2009Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.628/blog_detail.aspThe ruling faction has convinced the media that the health-care take-over will actually reduce the deficit. It& #39;s all nonsense of course: Spending will be much greater than reported by the majority& #39;s media enablers, and the people are not fooled. Almost three quarters of Americans believe that the health-care take-over will increase the deficit (question #26).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.628/blog_detail.asp#11-25-2009Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.627/blog_detail.aspSen. Harry Reid and Co. are trying mightily to mask the costs of the massive health-care overhaul they are proposing. This chart hows exactly how deceptive they& #39;re trying to be. Clearly, the period that the Democrats like to call the & quot;first ten years& quot; of the bill bears little to no resemblance to the costs that the American people would face over the long haul.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.627/blog_detail.asp#11-24-2009Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.630/blog_detail.aspIn the New York Times, David Brooks writes as if it& #39;s more or less equally problematic to reject or enact Obamacare, and the decision is largely a matter of personal taste. He writes: The bottom line is that we face a brutal choice.Reform would make us a more decent society, but also a less vibrant one. It would ease the anxiety of millions at the cost of future growth. It would heal a wound in the social fabric while piling another expensive and untouchable promise on top of the many such promises we& rsquo;ve already made. America would be a less youthful, ragged and unforgiving nation, and a more middle-aged, civilized and sedate one.We all have to decide what we want at this moment in history, vitality or security. We can debate this or that provision, but where we come down will depend on that moral preference. Don& rsquo;t get stupefied by technical details. This debate is about values.There are elements of truth in Brooks& #39;s words, and he& #39;s right that this debate is about values. But it& #39;s not about decency versus vibrancy, about easing anxiety versus promoting growth. Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.630/blog_detail.asp#11-24-2009Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.631/blog_detail.aspAs Tevi Troy mentioned mentioned, a Rasmussen poll released yesterday shows Americans opposing Obamacare by the colossal and surprising margin of 18 points: 56 percent to 38 percent. To put this 18-point gap between Obamacare& #39;s opponents and its supporters into perspective, it& #39;s the same margin by which Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale, the same margin by which FDR beat Herbert Hoover, and two and a half times the margin by which Barack Obama beat John McCain. Obamacare appears to be gaining water fast.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.631/blog_detail.asp#11-24-2009Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5225/pub_detail.aspMedicare Advantage, in which about one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries are currently enrolled, is a program that subsidizes beneficiaries& rsquo; access to private health insurance. This installment of Health Policy Prescriptions explains why the government& rsquo;s crude attack on Medicare Advantage plans harms both seniors and taxpayers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5225/pub_detail.asp#11-24-2009Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.632/blog_detail.aspHaving already determined that it& #39;s absolutely untrue that Republicans opposed the 1965 Social Security amendments that created Medicare and Medicaid, I decided to dig a little deeper into the history books and find out what happened in 1935 when Congress enacted Social Security.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.632/blog_detail.asp#11-23-2009Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.621/blog_detail.aspAs late as June 11, by margin of two-to-one and a gap of 31 percent (62 percent to 31 percent), Americans approved of the job that President Obama was doing, according to a Fox News poll released that day. Now, a new Fox News poll released just yesterday shows that this 2:1, 31-percent margin has dropped all the way into a dead heat (46 percent to 46 percent). And among independents, that gap has moved from +40 (66 percent to 26 percent) to -17 (34 percent to 51 percent).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.621/blog_detail.asp#11-20-2009Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.622/blog_detail.aspSo far, Republicans are using the numbers that the Democrats want them to use for the taxes and Medicare cuts imposed by Senator Reid& #39;s new bill.The Democrats want everyone to quote figures from 2010 to 2019, even though only 1 percent of the bill& #39;s & quot;ten year& quot; costs would hit in the first four years of that period, while 99 percent would hit in the last six.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.622/blog_detail.asp#11-20-2009Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.623/blog_detail.aspDuring the 2008 election campaign, Barack Obama& rsquo;s book The Audacity of Hope was often mentioned. A year after his election to the presidency, Obama continues to push on his number-one domestic-policy issue & mdash; affordable, accessible, high-quality health care for all Americans. Under his vision of achieving universal coverage while reducing health-care costs, he touts a plan that he says would cost about $900 billion over 10 years and be deficit-neutral. His goal & mdash; a bill on his desk by the end of this year.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.623/blog_detail.asp#11-20-2009Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.624/blog_detail.aspOregon& rsquo;s insurance regulator has approved premium hikes ranging from 9% to 23% in the individual and small-group markets. The media, of course, blame bonuses paid to plans& rsquo; senior executives for the hikes.That& rsquo;s unlikely: Top execs& rsquo; total compensation ranged from $248,000 to $765,000 last year. These are utterly trivial & ldquo;causes& rdquo; of health-insurance premiums.The Oregon Insurance Division (which approves all rate hikes), notes that plans& rsquo; surpluses have consistently been about 1% of revenues. Obviously, medical spending is driving premiums, not the other way around.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.624/blog_detail.asp#11-20-2009Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.620/blog_detail.aspAs my piece published this morning by the New York Post details, only 1 percent of the costs of Senator Reid& #39;s new bill would kick in until the fifth year of its alleged & quot;first ten years.& quot; Starting in 2014, 99 percent of the bill& #39;s costs would hit, meaning that its real first ten years are from 2014 to 2023. In that real first decade, the CBO reports that the bill would cost $1.8 trillion, raise Americans& #39; taxes by $892 billion, siphon $802 billion out of Medicare, and & mdash; if doctors& #39; pay under Medicare isn& #39;t really cut by 23 percent and never raised back up & mdash; would increase our deficits by $286 billion.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.620/blog_detail.asp#11-19-2009Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.625/blog_detail.aspA friend pointed me to the following language in the CBO analysis (page 9) of the Reid bill: & quot;CBO& #39;s assessment is that a public plan paying negotiated rates would attract a broad network of providers but would typically have premiums that were somewhat higher than the average premiums for the private plans in the exchanges& quot; (emphasis added). This presumably is because the public plan would have to be self-financing, just like any old insurance company, depending (I assume) only on some seed money from the rest of the federal government.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.625/blog_detail.asp#11-19-2009Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.626/blog_detail.aspI just got back from speaking in Columbus, OH, where I learned that the state& rsquo;s recently passed budget includes health & ldquo;insurance& rdquo; reforms that make it illegal for health insurers to price actuarial risk accurately.As of January 1, 2010, insurers in the individual market will be forced to offer open enrolment to people with any pre-existing condition, including cancer. Over time, the new law will force the insurer to charge the sickest new applicant no more than 1.5 times the premium of the healthiest beneficiary of the same age and gender.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.626/blog_detail.asp#11-19-2009Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.619/blog_detail.aspHere are some highlights from the new Washington Post/ABC News poll released today. This poll is generally among the most liberal-leaning, and yet there would still be plenty to be concerned about if one were a swing-state Democratic senator flirting with voting for Obamacare. According to the poll, not only do more people disapprove, rather than approve, of the way President Obama is handling health care and the federal deficit, but more than 40 percent strongly disapprove of his performance on these issues (41 and 43 percent, respectively, compared to only 28 and 19 percent who strongly approve).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.619/blog_detail.asp#11-17-2009Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.618/blog_detail.aspAfter months of hearing President Obama talk about the need to & quot;bend the curve& quot; on rising health costs, the Office of the Chief Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a thorough review of the House health bill. Its verdict? The bill would in fact bend the cost-curve. It would bend it upward.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.618/blog_detail.asp#11-16-2009Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.613/blog_detail.aspBy all accounts, the Congressional Budget Office is using the Census Bureau& #39;s tallies for the number of uninsured, but the CBO doesn& #39;t appear to have read the full Census report. In the very same document in which the now-famous number of 46 million uninsured appears, the Census admits that this number includes roughly 9 million people on Medicaid who were falsely recorded as uninsured. The CBO is not adjusting for this Medicaid undercount. Therefore, the CBO is inflating the number of uninsured & mdash; by about 20 percent.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.613/blog_detail.asp#11-13-2009Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.616/blog_detail.aspCongress created Medicaid in 1965, to fund states& rsquo; health-care programs for low-income residents. The original formula was a minimum 50/50 split between state and federal funding. However, states with more low-income residents were supposed to receive higher federal transfer payments. (It didn& rsquo;t quite work out that way. Actually, states that were ready, willing, and able to ratchet up state taxes and spending were able to pull down more federal dollars. See measurement no. 4, & ldquo;Medicaid Freeloading& rdquo;, in the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, 3rd ed., p. 18.)Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.616/blog_detail.asp#11-12-2009Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.614/blog_detail.aspHere& #39;s further evidence that Obamacare would contain a little something for everyone & mdash; except for the American people who would have to finance it and live under it. More exactly stated, it would contain something for every lobbyist under the sun. It turns out that when government becomes more involved in health care, lobbying becomes more, rather than less, important.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.614/blog_detail.asp#11-11-2009Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.615/blog_detail.aspGardiner Harris of the New York Times has a balanced feature on Maine& rsquo;s experience with so-called & ldquo;universal& rdquo; health care. It even cites the Maine Heritage Policy Center& rsquo;s Tarren R. Bragdon, whose research should have long convinced anybody that government attempts to impose & ldquo;universal& rdquo; health coverage are a sure-fire recipe for spiralling costs and reduced coverage.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.615/blog_detail.asp#11-11-2009Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.608/blog_detail.aspI& #39;m not a Republican, but some of my best friends are, so I though I& #39;d investigate the claim that Republicans opposed the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Well, what do you know: It& #39;s not true. A narrow majority of Republicans in the House voted in favor of the 1965 Social Security amendments, as did almost half of those in the Senate. (Whether they should have opposed it is another question for another day.)Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.608/blog_detail.asp#11-10-2009Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.609/blog_detail.aspMake that shocked, shocked. & quot;We are disappointed . . . by today& #39;s vote,& quot; PhRMA said in a statement following Saturday& #39;s House health-care vote. & quot;While well intentioned [!], the bill . . . would have the unintended consequences [sic] of killing tens of thousands of jobs in our industry . . .& quot;As I have argued before, it just doesn& #39;t get any stupider than this. Having made an unenforceable $80 billion deal with the White House, having spent upwards of $130 million on advertising in favor of health-care socialism, having been blind all this time to the reality that they are in an ideological battle in which the Left has painted a bullseye on them: PhRMA now just cannot believe that the Beltway Left would view them as both a piggy bank and an obstacle blocking their fundamental goal of centralizing health care, health-care research, and health-care lobbying in the vast monster soon to be known as GosHealth.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.609/blog_detail.asp#11-9-2009Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.610/blog_detail.aspIt& #39;s official. The Joint Tax Committee informs us that under the terms of the Pelosi health-care bill, & quot;Americans who do not maintain acceptable health insurance coverage and who choose not to pay the bill& #39;s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.610/blog_detail.asp#11-9-2009Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.611/blog_detail.aspOver on Meet the Press, both E. J. Dionne and David Brooks assert that, once the government takes over citizens& #39; access to medical services, the new status quo becomes & quot;sacred.& quot; Robert Costa believes that Americans won& #39;t fall for it.But foreigners haven& #39;t really fallen for it either, despite the claims of British Tory leader David Cameron. In the latest Commonwealth Fund survey of people in eight developed countries, well over half the respondents stated either that & quot;there are some good things in our health-care system, but fundamental changes are needed to make it work better& quot;; or that & quot;our health-care system has so much wrong with it.& quot; Furthermore, as the indispensible Greg Scandlen noted after the Commonwealth Fund& #39;s 2008 report, the trend of opinion since 1988 has been worse in other countries than the U.S.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.611/blog_detail.asp#11-9-2009Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.605/blog_detail.aspThat great American forecaster Yogi Berra would say & quot;the ball game is not over till it& #39;s over.& quot; On Saturday night, the House voted to pass HR 3962 by a vote of 220 to 215, a narrow two-vote margin. On Saturday morning, the president gave a pep talk to Democratic members of the House. He followed that with a short address from the White House garden. He reiterated how important it was to have a landmark health-care bill passed by the end of this year. The plan that he has touted and that he supports would cost $900 billion over 10 years and be deficit neutral. It is unclear how the House or the Senate bills will be able to reduce health care spending and at the same time reduce the number of uninsured.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.605/blog_detail.asp#11-8-2009Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.607/blog_detail.aspIt was always clear that the real health-care battle would be in the Senate. But what would have been shocking eight months ago is to hear that it would take until November for the Democrats to pass a bill even in the House. It would have been even more shocking to have heard that, even after a full-court-press by the White House, the bill would pass by only five votes & mdash; meaning that if just three of the 435 members had changed their minds, it would have changed the bill& #39;s fate. And it would have been shocking to have heard that 39 Democrats would jump ship.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.607/blog_detail.asp#11-8-2009Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.606/blog_detail.aspCall me simpleminded, but the GOP argument in favor of the Stupak amendment, as summarized here by Robert Costa, makes little sense to me.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.606/blog_detail.asp#11-7-2009Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.612/blog_detail.aspThe president spoke from the Rose Garden this afternoon reiterating how important it is for the House to pass this landmark health-care-reform bill, HR3962. It is expected that the vote will take place tonight or tomorrow. It is clear that no Republican will support this proposed legislation.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.612/blog_detail.asp#11-7-2009Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.603/blog_detail.aspIn the wake of endorsements of the House health bill by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the AARP, President Obama greeted the White House press corps and explained the AARP& rsquo;s motivation: & ldquo;They& #39;re endorsing this bill because they know it will strengthen Medicare, not jeopardize it. They know it will protect the benefits our seniors receive, not cut them. So I want everybody to remember that the next time you hear the same tired arguments to the contrary from the insurance companies and their lobbyists. And remember this endorsement the next time you see a bunch of misleading ads on television.& rdquo;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.603/blog_detail.asp#11-6-2009Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.604/blog_detail.aspThe government& #39;s media collaborators went hog-wild when the American Medical Association and AARP endorsed the House& #39;s health-reform bill(s). The media continue to insist that these organizations lobby for doctors and seniors, which is not the case. Grace-Marie Turner notes that AARP earns a significant fraction of its revenues by endorsing private-health insurance policies that supplement Medicare. Called Medigap policies, they will likely benefit if the government rolls back another line of business, called Medicare Advantage.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.604/blog_detail.asp#11-6-2009Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5179/pub_detail.aspLast month, Christina Romer, professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, made a presentation at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5179/pub_detail.asp#11-4-2009Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.602/blog_detail.aspAs 60 Minutes reported last week, Medicare fraud is rampant and has now replaced the cocaine (ahem) business as the major criminal activity in South Florida. Both 60 Minutes and the Washington Post report that Medicare fraud now costs American taxpayers roughly $60 billion a year. That may sound like a lot of money, but surely it pales next to the extraordinary profits of private insurance companies, right?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.602/blog_detail.asp#10-31-2009Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.599/blog_detail.aspI beg to differ with Hans Kuttner& #39;s analysis of the reading time required to chew through the latest health-reform bill: 221 pages a day if you only plan to participate when the vote is called on Veterans& #39; Day.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.599/blog_detail.asp#10-29-2009Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.598/blog_detail.aspThat great free-market supporter and Milton Friedman groupie Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the topic of a Sacramento Bee story today: & quot;Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday called on Congress to pass a health care overhaul that would require all Americans to carry insurance, but he warned that California will get stuck with a bill of more than $1 billion a year for expanding Medicaid if the federal government doesn& #39;t provide more money to the states.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.598/blog_detail.asp#10-28-2009Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.600/blog_detail.aspToday& #39;s Wall Street Journal debate between Grace-Marie Turner and Michael Widmer, as to whether Massachusetts& #39;s health-care policies have been a thriving success or a colossal failure, prompts a few thoughts. In honor of the upcoming World Series, here are seven quick points (one for each possible game): 1. If Massachusetts is in fact evidence of a very successful state-run effort at health-care reform, then why is it implicitly viewed by Widmer and others as evidence that we can& #39;t afford to rely on state-run efforts at health-care reform, but should instead do everything nationally in a one-size-fits-all manner?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.600/blog_detail.asp#10-28-2009Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.601/blog_detail.aspYesterday, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo made a big announcement pursuant to his settlement with health insurers about their use of Ingenix (a data vendor) to calculate usual & amp; customary rates (UCR) for reimbursing patients who use out-of-network providers. As I noted in January, preventing health insurers from using a private vendor to calculate UCRs, and imposing a government-chartered monopolist instead, gives the state great power to fix prices for the purpose of controlling Americans& rsquo; access to medical services.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.601/blog_detail.asp#10-28-2009Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.597/blog_detail.aspAfter leaving the & quot;public option& quot; on the back burner for a couple of months, during which time the public outcry against Obamacare has somewhat softened, the Democrats are now ready to invite more of what they got in August. The Senate Finance Committee bill was extremely politically vulnerable, particularly for having been brazen enough to propose paying for itself largely by pilfering from Medicare. But its opponents failed to gain sufficient traction against it.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.597/blog_detail.asp#10-27-2009Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.596/blog_detail.aspPolitico reports today on the latest effort to drum up support for health-care socialism by moving some of the & quot;benefits& quot; (i.e., vote-buying) forward in time, from 2013 to next year, so that the Dems can campaign on these goodies during the mid-term election season. This strikes me as shameless even by Beltway standards, as was the effort last week to move the $247 billion physician fix into a separate bill so that the CBO scoring of the health-care bill as a standalone would show slightly less fiscal irresponsiblity. That heroic effort failed to get even a simple majority; even a cynic like yours truly was shocked that Harry Reid brought the proposal to the floor.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.596/blog_detail.asp#10-26-2009Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.595/blog_detail.aspSilly me. All this time I& #39;ve been complaining about the stupidity of the businessmen convinced that they could buy off the Beltway bandits, while I have missed the stupidity of the bandits themselves.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.595/blog_detail.asp#10-23-2009Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.591/blog_detail.aspThe headlines from the Washington Post-ABC News poll say that support for a & quot;public option& quot; and an insurance mandate have increased from their low-point this summer. But the poll& #39;s actual questions and answers look a lot different than the headlines. The & quot;public option& quot; question reads as if the Democrats wrote it, phrasing it as a means to increase competition: & quot;Would you support or oppose having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans?& quot; Not surprisingly, when asked the question in that way, people have supported the & quot;public option& quot; across the months. They supported it by a 29-point margin (62-33) in June, and they support it by a much smaller margin & mdash; 17 points (57-40) & mdash; now. True, they supported it by only a 6-point margin in August (52-46). But at that point the House bill was the focus of discussion, and it contained a & quot;public option,& quot; unlike the Senate Finance Committee bill that has been the focus of late.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.591/blog_detail.asp#10-20-2009Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.81/detail.aspPRI& #39;s Sally C. Pipes is the featured guest speaker at this Public Forum event sponsored by the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.81/detail.asp#10-19-2009Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.592/blog_detail.aspLast Friday, I encouraged a & quot;new rule& quot; about health-insurance horror stories: Back them up with full documentation. I noted that Rocky Mountain Health Plans, the non-profit health insurer which refused to cover a weighty baby in Grand Junction, Colo., had not helped matters with its press release describing that it had changed its mind and would cover the baby. RMHP suggested that covering babies was a new line of business, and that parents were increasingly seeking individual coverage for their kids. The assertion seemed a little mysterious.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.592/blog_detail.asp#10-19-2009Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.587/blog_detail.aspPerceived crisis can make for very bad judgment, and nowhere is that eternal truth more prominent than inside the Beltway. With the arrival of The One and absolute Democratic control of Congress, the groups that provide actual health care and insurance services & mdash; the doctors, the hospitals, the producers of drugs and devices, the insurers & mdash; knew that the thieves would view them, Willie Sutton& ndash;style, as the places where the money is to be found. And so they began to run around in circles like a guy whose mistress was in the bathroom when his wife came home a day early from a visit to her mother.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.587/blog_detail.asp#10-14-2009Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.588/blog_detail.aspPresident Obama has been committed to health-care reform since he became a player in the 2008 presidential race. In fact, it was his top domestic-policy issue during the campaign.Now nine months into his presidency, he is still very resolute about getting a health-care-reform package passed before the end of this year. So far, he has given 29 speeches & mdash; and in each talk he keeps reiterating that his goal is universal coverage for all Americans. He wants to reduce the cost of health care (now about 16 percent of the nation& rsquo;s GDP) and to decrease the number of uninsured (about 46.3 million, according to the Census Bureau). These two goals are not compatible.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.588/blog_detail.asp#10-14-2009Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.583/blog_detail.aspThe Baucus bill is currently enjoying a fair amount of good press. The New York Times headline reads, & quot;Health Care Bill Gets Green Light in Cost Analysis.& quot; But the bill is extremely vulnerable across the political spectrum, and I offer these thoughts as to its three biggest political weaknesses:Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.583/blog_detail.asp#10-9-2009Fri, 9 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.585/blog_detail.aspYesterday, I pointed out that the & quot;excise tax& quot; for not maintaining (what we call today) continuous, creditable coverage would be much lower (maximum $1,900) than the annual premiums for a health-insurance policy. I concluded that Tower Perrins& #39; September survey of employers, which reported that less than half of employers would continue to offer health benefits if the & quot;pay or play& quot; fine was lower than the cost of health benefits, informs us that we will experience a massive shedding of employer-based health benefits.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.585/blog_detail.asp#10-9-2009Fri, 9 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.586/blog_detail.aspIn one of the more amusing dimensions of the Beltway death struggle over the massive transfers of wealth to be gained or sacrificed by various groups through health-care & quot;reform,& quot; the large health-industry players & mdash; honestly believing all this year that they could stay off the menu by buying a seat at the table & mdash; suddenly have discovered themselves in the frying pan nonetheless. And who& #39;d a thunk it? After all, no way no how would people with decades of experience in Congress, on K Street, or simply reading a newspaper recognize that & quot;deals& quot; with the White House are unenforceable in Congress. Or that & quot;deals& quot; with one Congressional Rebbe might not appear kosher to another. Or that a certain Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning president might not in the final analysis actually veto a bill promising enormous political benefits merely because it violates some deal cut months earlier with interest groups whose political popularity might not be sterling, notwithstanding the incontrovertible fact that his word is his bond.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.586/blog_detail.asp#10-9-2009Fri, 9 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.582/blog_detail.aspMike Tanner of Cato and I (separately) have looked at the CBO analysis of the Baucus markup (which is not a bill), and have reached much the same conclusions. The headlines will tell us that it will cost $829 billion (that is, less than $900 billion) over ten years, and will reduce the cumulative deficit by $81 billion.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.582/blog_detail.asp#10-8-2009Thu, 8 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.584/blog_detail.aspThere can be little doubt that employers will move quickly to socialize the costs of health & quot;reform& quot; by dropping health benefits and sacrificing their employees to the new government-run health plan. The Baucus bill proposes to levy a fine of $1,900 on individuals who do not buy qualifying insurance, and maybe even send them to jail. Nor is it clear that employees will mind being dropped, as long as employers increase their cash wages by more than the amount of the fine.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.584/blog_detail.asp#10-8-2009Thu, 8 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5125/pub_detail.aspThe California Nurses Association (CNA) is quarterbacking the drive for single-payer, government-monopoly health care. Such a system, experience shows, creates problems for nurses and patients alike.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5125/pub_detail.asp#10-7-2009Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5126/pub_detail.aspThere is a lot of talk in Washington about cutting wasteful health care spending and, more specifically, cutting costs associated with medical malpractice liability. The dollar figures used by various groups and lawmakers often diverge widely. This paper presents what we know, and don& rsquo;t know, about medical malpractice liability costs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5126/pub_detail.asp#10-7-2009Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.581/blog_detail.aspYesterday& #39;s Washington Post ran a column by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R., La.), in which he chastised & quot;so-called Republican strategists& quot; for conceding health care to the Democrats. So far, so good: But this is not a new complaint. In the 1980s, John Sununu, as chief of staff to President Reagan, is reputed to have dismissed Prof. Alain Enthoven with a curt: & quot;If the American people want health care, they& #39;ll vote Democrat.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.581/blog_detail.asp#10-6-2009Tue, 6 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.579/blog_detail.aspNational Public Radio yesterday, in collaboration with Kaiser Health News, proceeded to explain to the unwashed the nature of the & quot;underinsurance& quot; problem. And what an explanation it is. The underinsured & quot;have health benefits that don& #39;t adequately cover their medical expenses.& quot; Such coverage often is characterized by & quot;high deductibles and co-payments, as well as exemptions for specific conditions or expensive treaments, or limit[s on] annual and lifetime benefits.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.579/blog_detail.asp#9-30-2009Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.575/blog_detail.aspI would likely be the least effective politician ever to host a town hall, so I should probably keep my trap shut. Nevertheless, I am always surprised at how Republican politicians let opportunities to discuss an alternative vision of health reform fly by, without even trying to wave them down.Here& #39;s Rep. Eric Cantor at a town hall in Virginia the other day, faced with woman whose close relative has just been diagnosed with tumors. No doubt, it& #39;s awful for a politician to have to deal with someone& #39;s personal tragedy, face-to-face, during a town hall. It& #39;s easy for me to criticise Mr. Cantor after the fact. However, his answer to the questioner& #39;s challenge rests firmly on the status quo: The woman should investigate Medicaid, or charity care, or other ways to navigate the current system, now that she& #39;s lost her employer-based health benefits.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.575/blog_detail.asp#9-24-2009Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.576/blog_detail.aspTwo Los Angeles Times reporters today inform us that without price controls on health coverage, an individual mandate would yield a continuation of & quot;the skyrocketing premium increases of recent years.& quot; Implicitly, therefore, price controls would reduce costs and so make consumers better off.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.576/blog_detail.asp#9-24-2009Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.573/blog_detail.aspRemember the White House& #39;s attempt to stifle the health-policy debate by encouraging its cadres to forward & quot;fishy& quot; rumors about health reform to Linda Douglass in the health czar& #39;s office? Most of us treated it as a joke. Many of us even & quot;informed& quot; on ourselves by adding Ms. Douglass to our e-mail lists.Well, we got that wrong. We should have taken it much more seriously, as evidenced by the government censoring Humana& #39;s communications with its Medicare Advantage members about health reform. Incredibly, the Left doesn& #39;t see anything wrong with this. In fact, an activist over at Huffington Post announced that HuffPo has decided to collaborate with the White House by encouraging its fans to send examples of mailed & quot;scare tactics& quot; to a HuffPo e-mail address for compilation.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.573/blog_detail.asp#9-23-2009Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.577/blog_detail.aspBack on June 5, the left wing was very upset that Senator Baucus chaired a Senate Finance Committee hearing on health reform without inviting advocates of government-monopoly (a.k.a. single-payer) health care to the table. So, they disrupted the hearing (although I& #39;m not sure why, because most analysts understand that & quot;public option,& quot; & quot;co-op,& quot; & quot;gateway,& quot; & quot;exchange,& quot; etc., are all code-words for & quot;single-payer five to ten years down the road& quot;). The extremists noted that only lobbyists from the health-care industry had seats at the table, and inferred that Senator Baucus is unduly influenced by campaign contributions.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.577/blog_detail.asp#9-22-2009Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.572/blog_detail.aspI did not watch the president on any of the Sunday talk shows yesterday, but as I understand it he got into a bit of a wrangle with one or more of the interviewers over the question of whether a requirement that individuals obtain health coverage would be & quot;a tax.& quot; The obvious answer is yes: If someone chooses not to purchase coverage, that decision clearly must be driven by a conclusion that it is not worth what it costs. Accordingly,a mandate that such coverage be purchased anyway means that the individual would not get his money& #39;s worth (negative & quot;consumer surplus& quot; in economic jargon); and there is no distinction & mdash; none & mdash; to be drawn between that net loss and an alternative requirement that the individual simply write a check to the government for that amount. This is particularly clear given that the central purpose of the individual mandate is to finance coverage for those & mdash; people with pre-existing conditions, older individuals, etc. & mdash; for whom government-mandated coverage at government-determined prices is a great deal. In short: The mandate is a device designed to transfer wealth, and thus differs from a straightforward tax/transfer fiscal program in absolutely no dimension that is relevant for analytic purposes.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.572/blog_detail.asp#9-21-2009Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.567/blog_detail.aspIf President Obama really wanted to get a bipartisan agreement on health reform that increases Americans& #39; choices, instead of a federal take-over of our access to medical services, he didn& #39;t have to let every House and Senate committee squabble pointlessly over competing thousand-page bills.All he had to do was look at the one bipartisan bill that has existed since 2007, the Healthy Americans Act (S.391 in the current Congress), a.k.a. Wyden-Bennett, which is sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Sen. Bob Bennett (R., Utah). It& #39;s got 14 co-sponsors, ranging from Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.567/blog_detail.asp#9-18-2009Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.568/blog_detail.aspWith all the polls of Americans on health reform, one group& rsquo;s members are rarely surveyed about their preferences: physicians. Although medical societies are lobbying for special privileges, the views of actual physicians have remained largely unexamined. Two physicians recently sought to remedy this by surveying a random sample of 6,000 physicians (of which 43% responded) and publishing the results in the New England Journal of Medicine.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.568/blog_detail.asp#9-18-2009Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.569/blog_detail.aspIn his speech last week, President Obama said that 30 million Americans now lack health insurance. We are a nation of 300 million people. Thus, according to the president, 270 million people & mdash; 90% of Americans & mdash; already have health insurance.According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Senate& #39;s newly released Baucus bill would spend nearly $1 trillion over the next ten years while failing to cut that number of 30 million uninsured even in half.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.569/blog_detail.asp#9-18-2009Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.571/blog_detail.aspI see that President Obama is going to be featured on four or five (!) of the Sunday talk shows this weekend. It is simply unbelievable to me that none of the political experts in the White House has told or convinced the president that more yakking on his part on health care or anything else would be counterproductive, and that this is the time for him to sit back and be presidential, while the crass politicians in Congress fight things out.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.571/blog_detail.asp#9-18-2009Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.78/detail.aspThe Benjamin Rush Society presents this debate on health care in America at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.78/detail.asp#9-17-2009Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.79/detail.aspThe Benjamin Rush Society presents this debate on health care in America at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.79/detail.asp#9-17-2009Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.565/blog_detail.aspFor those who have been straddling the fence, weighing the arguments for and against the president& #39;s health-care agenda: You can put your minds to rest. The noted health economist, Jesse Jackson, has declared that the & quot;reform& quot; will be unequivocally beneficial.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.565/blog_detail.asp#9-16-2009Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.570/blog_detail.aspIt is absolutely essential that no health-care legislation pass Congress this year, in that any & quot;compromise& quot; that actually could get enough Democratic votes would lead inexorably toward socialized medicine. (If someone else has made this rather obvious point, I apologize.) An individual mandate is deemed necessary because of the perverse incentives inherent in guaranteed issue/community rating & quot;reforms.& quot; I am a bit surprised that the Left does not recognize & mdash; yet & mdash; that the individual mandate moves legislation away from their ultimate goal, the destruction of private insurance and the massive movement of the citizenry (and noncitizenry) into dependence upon the federal government.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.570/blog_detail.asp#9-15-2009Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.566/blog_detail.aspIn any competition, there& #39;s nothing worse than having your own allies make unforced errors (or & quot;own goals& quot;, in soccer-speak). So, President Obama& #39;s faction must be getting pretty frustrated with some recent New York Times articles.Today, readers learned how ineffective Medicare is at covering patients needing kidney dialysis or transplant (over which it has exercised a monopoly since 1972.) Medicare stops paying for drugs that prevent the body& #39;s immune system from rejecting the transplant after three years. The article suggests that employer-based group-health insurance pays for the drug as long as the patient needs them. Unfortunately, for very sick patients who can& #39;t hold down a job, loss of employment results in an automatic sentence to Medicare& #39;s limited benefits.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.566/blog_detail.asp#9-14-2009Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.560/blog_detail.aspThere is much to be said & mdash; and much has already been said & mdash; about the president& #39;s health-care speech to the joint-session of Congress.It was interesting that he began by reminding people of the economic downturn that his & ldquo;stimulus& rdquo; was supposed to reverse. His claim that things have already improved likely didn& #39;t ring true to those who actually live in this economy and don& #39;t merely have to rely on the president& #39;s rhetorical accounting. And it likely didn& #39;t inspire confidence to trust other elements of his big-government, & ldquo;trust-me& rdquo; agenda. So, it was a curious choice of beginnings.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.560/blog_detail.asp#9-11-2009Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.561/blog_detail.aspI recently wrote a column describing one of the major (unstated) goals of the federal take-over of Americans& #39; access to medical services: giving union bosses control of hospitals and other health-care providers.The media will not figure this out, but a couple of stories the last few days suggest that this is already happening, and describe a negative relationship between union power in medical services and access to care.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.561/blog_detail.asp#9-11-2009Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.556/blog_detail.aspThe only new thing in the president& #39;s speech was his death-bed conversion to medical-malpractice reform, an opportunity which he neglected in his speech to the American Medical Association on June 15. Whether this is merely an attempt to pull either Senator Snowe or Senator Collins onside, or a good-faith effort to rope a significant number of Republicans into a & quot;bipartisan& quot; federal take-over of Americans& #39; access to medical services, history will tell. Certainly, otherwise grumpy Republican legislators thrust themselves up onto their hind legs to applaud the president& #39;s statement.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.556/blog_detail.asp#9-10-2009Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.558/blog_detail.asp& quot;If you misrepresent what& #39;s in the plan, we will call you out.& quot; Let us take President Obama at his word. Indeed, let us expand the principle of non-misrepresentation to include not only & quot;what& #39;s in the plan,& quot; but also the arguments and premises used in support of it. Accordingly:1. There is no & quot;plan.& quot; There is only a group of incomplete bills in Congress, and a set of principles set forth by President Obama for greatly expanded federal meddling in the health-care sector, some of which clearly are firmer than others.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.558/blog_detail.asp#9-10-2009Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.559/blog_detail.aspTevi Troy, who served on the White House Domestic Policy Council, discusses Obama& #39;s tort reform pledge:Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.559/blog_detail.asp#9-10-2009Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.562/blog_detail.aspLike Jay Nordlinger, I & quot;read& quot; the president& #39;s speech on a muted TV (at a bar in Sausalito, where the bartender wasn& #39;t too happy about switching over from the US Open on ESPN2). And I only did that because I got a last minute call from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation inviting me to join a panel discussion on their national radio broadcast about 45 minutes after the speech finished. I had hoped to be able to watch the tennis and read the speech later, on my computer at home.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.562/blog_detail.asp#9-10-2009Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.563/blog_detail.aspWill he make a public option a necessary condition, or won& #39;t he? Will Harry and Louise, oops, Nancy deliver the votes or not? Will the blue dogs roll over to get their tummies scratched, and if so, by whom precisely? Can the Washington Post editorial board find enough flowery prose in its thesaurus to entice the fair Olympia to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of government knowledge? When this 58th effort by The One fails to move the public, how many hours will it be before we are confronted with the sob stories, with the screaming rhetoric about the evil profiteers, about the moral equivalent of war, and the usual slobbering by the press?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.563/blog_detail.asp#9-9-2009Wed, 9 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5040/pub_detail.aspMayor Gavin Newsom& rsquo;s Healthy San Francisco plan, which he claims is a model for President Obama& rsquo;s & ldquo;public option,& rdquo; recently picked up some scholarly support. Business owners and low-income workers are not likely to find it encouraging.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5040/pub_detail.asp#9-9-2009Wed, 9 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5046/pub_detail.aspThe president& rsquo;s goal of exerting control over Americans& rsquo; access to health care has been fighting serious headwinds. While insisting that the government would never get between & ldquo;you and your doctor,& rdquo; he also pointed out that the government would only pay for the & ldquo;blue pill& rdquo; if it had the same effect as the & ldquo;red pill& rdquo; but only cost half as much.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5046/pub_detail.asp#9-9-2009Wed, 9 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.555/blog_detail.aspA budget crisis makes strange bedfellows. Last week, the California state senate voted 27-8, and the assembly voted unanimously to hike taxes on privately insured Californians in order to grow government by roping more kids into health plans of the government& #39;s choice (SCHIP) instead of their families& #39;.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.555/blog_detail.asp#9-8-2009Tue, 8 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.553/blog_detail.aspIncreasingly, the Obama administration and congressional leaders are claiming that the proposed Democratic health-care overhaul won& rsquo;t cause taxpayers an extra dime. Yesterday, for example, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer asserted that the House health-care bill & mdash; which, according to the CBO, would raise taxes by $50 billion a year and deficits by $65 billion a year & mdash; won& rsquo;t raise taxes or deficits. Rather, it will be paid for with & ldquo;savings& rdquo; from Medicare.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.553/blog_detail.asp#9-3-2009Thu, 3 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.552/blog_detail.aspWhy is it that health-care socialism & mdash; oops, reform & mdash; has proven so difficult to enact through Congress? Fear not, dear readers, the ineffable Paul Krugman has solved this particular puzzle by invoking the ghost of Richard Nixon, directly I might add, and not through the use of ouija boards and other similar tools needed by such amateurs and mere mortals as my good friend Michael Ledeen. Professor Krugman is on the case and he has solved it: This looming failure is the preferred outcome of & quot;the right-wing fringe,& quot; & quot;crazy [as] a pre-existing condition& quot; (whatever that means), that has taken over the Republican party. Moreover, there is the & quot;vast expansion of corporate influence& quot; as illustrated by the & quot;huge army of lobbyists permanently camped in the corridors of power,& quot; with their & quot;misleading ads& quot; and & quot;fake grass-roots protests.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.552/blog_detail.asp#9-2-2009Wed, 2 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1851/pub_detail.aspPolicy Alerts highlights PRI& #39;s latest press releases, media coverage and impact on public policy in California and across the nation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1851/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2009Tue, 1 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.550/blog_detail.aspUSA Today has run an article describing the relatively dire state of kidney dialysis in America today. Kidney dialysis is difficult enough, but it& #39;s also just plain inconvenient because patients have had to travel to dialysis centers at inconvenient times. Although it& #39;s possible to dialyze at home, 92% of patients are & quot;treated in centers . . . not because it& #39;s optimal but because that is the way it has been done for nearly four decades.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.550/blog_detail.asp#8-27-2009Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.548/blog_detail.aspDog Bites Man. Baby Cries. Water Flows Downhill. And Henry Waxman is a hard statist. The august NY Times reports today that Waxman & quot;is on a crusade to save Medicare billions of dollars.& quot; And just how will Waxman do that? Easy: He& #39;ll take from the evil (John McCain& #39;s adjective, not mine) drug producers, who have received a purported & quot;windfall& quot; from the new Medicare Part D program for subsidized drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.548/blog_detail.asp#8-26-2009Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.547/blog_detail.aspThe New York Times & quot;reports& quot; today that fears of rationing under government health coverage are & quot;unfounded.& quot; After all, some & quot;expert& quot; says that & quot;our culture is not going to allow that,& quot; and & mdash; let& #39;s be honest with ourselves & mdash; if there is anything that management consultants know, it is American culture. And the news story goes on to report that & quot;few health policy experts see the likelihood of lawmakers& #39; adopting some sort of new system in which government bureaucrats decide whether someone& #39;s grandfather can get his hip replaced or a wife can have her cancer treatment paid for.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.547/blog_detail.asp#8-25-2009Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.543/blog_detail.aspPhysicians struggle to get paid after health plans& #39; rescind policies.The long saga of & quot;rescissions& quot; of individual health policies in California shows no sign of ending. The California Medical Association and the Los Angeles County Medical Association have filed an amicus curiae brief in the case of Anthem Blue Cross, which settled allegations of illegal rescissions with the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) in return for contacting the rescinded policy-holders and allowing them to & quot;voluntarily& quot; re-enroll without underwriting and pay any out-of-pocket expenses that they had incurred.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.543/blog_detail.asp#8-21-2009Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.557/blog_detail.aspMickey Kaus does not understand why the choice between health-care rationing and other forms of cost containment & quot;has to be Euro-style rationing . . . if we& #39;re willing to make the alternative hard choice of raising taxes (or cutting other spending) to pay for avoiding it.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.557/blog_detail.asp#8-21-2009Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.544/blog_detail.aspImagine my distress upon reading the letters page of the latest print edition of National Review (Aug. 24, 2009), which contains an exchange of letters by Robert E. Moffit of the Heritage Foundation and Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute. Mr. Moffit takes issue with Mr. Cannon& #39;s criticism of the Heritage Foundation& #39;s support of Governor Romney& #39;s health reform in Massachusetts, which included requiring those who choose not to buy health insurance to post a & quot;bond& quot; in case they end up at the ER and can& #39;t pay their hospital bills. John McClaughry has also recommended this approach to paying for uncompensated care, which Mr. Cannon describes as an & quot;individual mandate& quot; by another name.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.544/blog_detail.asp#8-20-2009Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.542/blog_detail.aspGiven the relative success of farmers& #39; co-ops, a reasonable person is led to conclude that the & quot;co-ops& quot; floated by the president& #39;s faction are simply a way of clothing a wolf (the & quot;public option& quot;) in sheep& #39;s clothing. The goal would be to bait Senator Grassley of Iowa, and other farm-state legislators. Indeed, the health-care co-op in Green Bay, Wisc., that the president has visited and praised was seeded with federal money (via earmarks won by two Wisconsin Democrats), so their support of his & quot;reform& quot; is neither objective nor disinterested.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.542/blog_detail.asp#8-19-2009Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.541/blog_detail.aspPaul Krugman expresses dismay that the country may be moving more towards a Swiss system for delivering medical services rather than a Canadian or British one. With the apparent demise of the so-called & quot;public option,& quot; the path to government monopoly provision of health insurance (for which the & quot;public option& quot; was a Trojan horse) is blocked.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.541/blog_detail.asp#8-17-2009Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.545/blog_detail.aspMany folks are now aware that we have a civic duty to report & quot;fishy& quot; rumors and unfounded gossip about the government& rsquo;s take-over of our access to medical services. This is an important duty. Through the miracle of the Internet, all kinds of nonsense can get through. So, if you make the mistake of actually reading the text of HR 3200 online, you might be disturbed.Thankfully, the White House has posted some short, snappy, interviews with some of the Administration& rsquo;s operatives to dispel any crazy ideas you might have got from wading through all that legal mumbo-jumbo. Come on, why should you waste your valuable time reading a bill that none of the politicians who vote for it will?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.545/blog_detail.asp#8-15-2009Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.538/blog_detail.aspLots of hullabaloo over Sarah Palin accusing the president of establishing a & quot;death panel& quot; to knock off handicapped kids and elderly folks. So, I thought I& #39;d take a gander at the bill myself. What she& #39;s talking about is the proposal for Medicare to cover Advance Planning Directives every five years. As Jonathan Cohn pointed out to Stephen Colbert, his own show& #39;s group policy has the same benefit.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.538/blog_detail.asp#8-13-2009Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4962/pub_detail.asp& ldquo;The cost of our health care has weighed down the economy and the conscience of our nation long enough,& rdquo; claims President Obama.1 This belief, unfortunately, does not jibe with the facts.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4962/pub_detail.asp#8-13-2009Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.537/blog_detail.aspDuring Tuesday& #39;s so-called & quot;town hall& quot; in New Hampshire (in which a schoolgirl warned the president that there were people outside holding signs that said & quot;mean things& quot; about his plan), the president gave the US Postal Service as an example to calm our fears about a new government program, the & quot;public option,& quot; destroying private health insurance.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.537/blog_detail.asp#8-12-2009Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.539/blog_detail.aspYesterday& #39;s town hall in New Hampshire was another damp squib, I& #39;m afraid. (I think the networks have learned that health reform is bad for ratings, so they& #39;ve dialled back the coverage.) But it& #39;s clear that the government has decided to make health insurers the targets, and leave Big Pharma alone (but we already knew that).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.539/blog_detail.asp#8-12-2009Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4961/pub_detail.aspCalifornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently wrote a letter to congressional leaders expressing concern about three elements of the looming federal health care take-over: increasing Medicaid costs; wellness, prevention, and quality; and coverage for all. The July 31 letter shows that the governor has failed to learn the lessons of his own wrong-headed effort.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4961/pub_detail.asp#8-12-2009Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.534/blog_detail.aspAs a San Franciscan with a distinct lack of & quot;San Francisco values& quot;, I& #39;m sometimes put on the hot seat by the local media when the Court of the Red Queen returns from its sojourn in the fabled city of the East (i.e. when the House recesses). This clip, from the local CBS affiliate, quotes President Obama, his health-care policy spokesman Linda Douglass, Speaker Pelosi (at the San Francisco General Hospital), and yours truly.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.534/blog_detail.asp#8-6-2009Thu, 6 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.536/blog_detail.aspAnswer: Unbelievably stupid. Incredibly stupid. Amazingly stupid. Look-up-stupid-in-a-dictionary-and-you& #39;ll-find -these-guys& #39;-photos stupid. Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.536/blog_detail.asp#8-6-2009Thu, 6 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.533/blog_detail.aspToday& rsquo;s LA Times features a trenchant critique of the latest fashion among Washington health-care reformers: Try to squeeze pharmaceutical companies to cut costs. President Obama has already gotten drug makers to commit to pony up $80 billion and perhaps even more to help close the donut hole for seniors getting pharmaceuticals through Medicare Part D & mdash; the prescription-drug program that was implemented in January 2006.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.533/blog_detail.asp#8-5-2009Wed, 5 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.530/blog_detail.aspLast Friday, the House Energy & amp; Commerce Committee marked up HR 3200, the government take-over of Americans& #39; access to medical services. The Blue Dog Democrats inserted an amendment that they figure will insert some fiscal responsibility into this monstrous bill.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.530/blog_detail.asp#8-4-2009Tue, 4 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.74/detail.aspThis summer, Congress and the President are considering legislation that will fundamentally change the role of the federal government in controlling Americans& rsquo; access to medical services. John R.Graham will describe an alternative vision of health care reform that costs less, buys more, and relies on individual choice rather than government power.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.74/detail.asp#7-30-2009Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.523/blog_detail.aspI think this evening& #39;s press conference achieved nothing. He has only the slightest understanding of what he& #39;s talking about. This is the second time I& #39;ve heard him claim that & quot;if the red pill works just as well as the blue pill, but costs half as much, let& #39;s use the red pill.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.523/blog_detail.asp#7-22-2009Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4892/pub_detail.aspAmericans continue to lack the basic freedom to make their own health care decisions according to this third edition of the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, an annual report by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI).Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4892/pub_detail.asp#7-21-2009Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4878/pub_detail.aspSan Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently wrote a column for the Huffington Post promoting his Healthy San Francisco plan as a model for the federal & ldquo;public option& rdquo; touted by President Obama. Healthy San Francisco could be a model, but not in the way Mayor Newsom imagines.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4878/pub_detail.asp#7-15-2009Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4881/pub_detail.aspAs the congressional debate heats up over President Obama& rsquo;s proposed & ldquo;public option& rdquo; and his proposed expansion of Medicaid, the debate largely centers on the question of controlling costs. The president claims that more government control would make health care more affordable. The empirical evidence, however, confirms that more government control would make health care more expensive.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4881/pub_detail.asp#7-14-2009Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.513/blog_detail.aspCheer up. According to the New York Times (which ought to know), the country& rsquo;s most powerful unions are not able to stickhandle their agenda through Congress and the White House due to & ldquo;internal disputes.& rdquo; If true, this is good news for health reform. Note that whenever a corporate interest seeks to appease Obama on health care, it must do so through the intermediation of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The latest example is Wal-Mart, which caved into a & ldquo;mandate& rdquo; that employers cover their employees& rsquo; health care, largely because this would put competitors like Target at a competitive disadvantage.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.513/blog_detail.asp#7-9-2009Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.514/blog_detail.aspWith an announcement that will certainly have implications for the national debate on health reform, Charlie Baker, the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, has announced that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Massachusetts.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.514/blog_detail.asp#7-9-2009Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4846/pub_detail.aspGroups claiming to support women& rsquo;s rights have recently thrown their support behind California bills AB 199 and SB 54, which would ban the practice of gender rating in the individual insurance market. If enacted, this legislation will have adverse consequences that seem to have escaped notice.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4846/pub_detail.asp#7-7-2009Tue, 7 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4848/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; The governance of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell institute, is inadequate to protect the interests of taxpayers and CIRM& rsquo;s own goals, according to Stem Cell Research: Strengthening Governance to Further the Voters& rsquo; Mandate, a June 25 report from the Little Hoover Commission, a state watchdog agency.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4848/pub_detail.asp#7-1-2009Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.510/blog_detail.aspPerhaps humbled by its shellacking for hosting and broadcasting the Obama-infomercial on Wednesday, ABC and its collaborators at the Washington Post put a very different spin on a health-reform poll that has essentially the same results as the New York Times& #39; one a few days ago. While the Gray Lady promoted the notion that the American people are ga-ga for a so-called & quot;public option& quot; for health insurance (actually a swamp of new federal bureaucracies, if Sen. Kennedy& #39;s bill is any indication), the WaPo/ABC folks are close to pushing the panic button on the plan for a government take-over:Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.510/blog_detail.asp#6-30-2009Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.508/blog_detail.aspPresident Obama and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose biographies indicate zero experience in the private, wealth-producing sector of society, believe that they can launch a new & quot;public& quot; health plan to & quot;compete& quot; against the private sector. They claim that this will keep private insurers & quot;honest.& quot; It& #39;s an interesting position for a President who also claims that he is not interested in running a car company. Imagine if he proposed a new Government Motors, in order to keep Toyota and Honda honest! What& #39;s so unique about health insurance, that it needs government & quot;competition,& quot; an idea repellent in other areas of American life?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.508/blog_detail.asp#6-26-2009Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4808/pub_detail.aspImmigrants continue to show up in California, where many become part of our 18.5 percent uninsured population. A more neglected story is traffic the other way, California residents crossing the border for treatment in Mexico, outlined in new research by Steven P. Wallace of UCLA.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4808/pub_detail.asp#6-17-2009Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.502/blog_detail.aspPresident Obama frequently parrots the thoroughly discredited & quot;statistic& quot; that one third of personal bankruptcies are medical bankruptcies. The propagandists of & quot;medical bankruptcy& quot; have now upped the ante with a new study published this week, in which Drs. David Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, and colleagues, report that 62 percent of personal bankruptcies in 2007 were & quot;medical bankruptcies.& quot; The authors are leaders of the Physicians for a National Health Program, who have promoted government-monopoly medicine for decades. Unfortunately, the media swallowed their new report uncritically.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.502/blog_detail.asp#6-9-2009Tue, 9 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4784/pub_detail.aspAs Americans contemplate a significant expansion of government& rsquo;s role in health care, in the form of the Medicare-like & ldquo;public option& rdquo; proposed by President Obama, we must consider how successful Medicare has been at controlling costs in relation to privately purchased health care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4784/pub_detail.asp#6-9-2009Tue, 9 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4737/pub_detail.aspThe California Commission on the Status of Women bills itself as an & ldquo;independent, non-partisan agency working to advance the causes of women.& rdquo; That claim invites scrutiny of the Commission& rsquo;s 2009-2010 priorities. Look at what we find at the very top of their list.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4737/pub_detail.asp#6-2-2009Tue, 2 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.501/blog_detail.aspYes, I do have a nerve, as Mr. Wright charges, to challenge the principle behind Medicare, which he calls a & ldquo;generational compact.& rdquo; (I& rsquo;m going to have to dig out my old Newspeak dictionary to hold my own in this discussion. Professor Chaufan refers to the principle of & ldquo;cooperative compulsion,& rdquo; which sounds ominous.) I& rsquo;m pleased that Mr. Wright does not think it& rsquo;s a & ldquo;bailout& rdquo; for him to finance his parents& rsquo; health care and hopes his children will do the same for him.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.501/blog_detail.asp#5-28-2009Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4763/pub_detail.aspThank you for inviting me here today to speak about the importance of the Arizona Health Care Freedom Act, HCR 2014. I believe that this bill is critical to Arizonans& rsquo; individual choice in health care, and a bulwark against undue government control of their access to health services.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4763/pub_detail.asp#5-26-2009Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4718/pub_detail.aspSenator Barbara Boxer promised that California would get $11 billion in federal & ldquo;stimulus& rdquo; cash, which the embattled Golden State could use for a Medi-Cal bailout. But now President Obama is holding back almost $7 billion at the urging of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4718/pub_detail.asp#5-13-2009Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4715/pub_detail.aspThere was a bit of a flap in the liberal media this month when someone leaked a copy of a presentation on health reform that Dr. Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster and strategist, delivered to the Republican congressional caucus.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4715/pub_detail.asp#5-12-2009Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.499/blog_detail.aspWhen the Wall Street Journal starts fretting over the uninsured, we have a problem. This morning& #39;s paper featured two recently unemployed men: one in Illinois and one in the town of Hohenlockstedt in the German state of Schlewsig-Holstein.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.499/blog_detail.asp#5-7-2009Thu, 7 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.498/blog_detail.aspDoctors, hospitals, & amp; medical schools should defend themselves like the former Veep does.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.498/blog_detail.asp#4-29-2009Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.496/blog_detail.aspNews from Pacific Business Group on Health sparks concernBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.496/blog_detail.asp#4-17-2009Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4629/pub_detail.aspThe advocates of government-run medicine base their claims on the notion that health care is a & ldquo;right.& rdquo; They thus attempt to occupy the moral high ground over those who advocate reforms based on the principle of individual choice. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4629/pub_detail.asp#4-16-2009Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4625/pub_detail.aspOne key item on President Obama& rsquo;s health care agenda is to & ldquo;establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4625/pub_detail.asp#4-14-2009Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.494/blog_detail.aspEditor-in-Chief wants all payments laundered through medical journalsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.494/blog_detail.asp#3-31-2009Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4570/pub_detail.aspIn recent years, the contamination of American staples such as spinach, tomatoes, and peanut butter has made news headlines nationwide and has now captured the attention of President Obama.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4570/pub_detail.asp#3-27-2009Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.489/blog_detail.aspER charges up 50%, visits drop 5%Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.489/blog_detail.asp#3-18-2009Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4565/pub_detail.aspEarlier 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& rsquo; most vulnerable, low-income patients suffered terribly because of the county& rsquo;s management of this failed hospital, which finally closed all in-patient services in August, 2007.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4565/pub_detail.asp#3-18-2009Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4559/pub_detail.aspWithin three weeks of his inauguration, President Obama made a & ldquo;down payment& rdquo; 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.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4559/pub_detail.asp#3-17-2009Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4562/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s President and CEO was invited to give testimony regarding & ldquo;Making Health Care Work for American Families: Ensuring Affordable Coverage& rdquo; to the U.S. Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4562/pub_detail.asp#3-17-2009Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.488/blog_detail.aspState To Take-Over Pricing and Access to CareBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.488/blog_detail.asp#3-16-2009Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.487/blog_detail.aspUninsured and Self-Insured Benefit from Medical Tourism At HomeBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.487/blog_detail.asp#3-13-2009Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.486/blog_detail.aspMore measurement-tools for state policy-makers and residentsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.486/blog_detail.asp#3-11-2009Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.490/blog_detail.aspFocussed 2& quot; in front of their noses, drugstores accept government dependencyBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.490/blog_detail.asp#3-10-2009Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.491/blog_detail.aspNew York Settlement Exposes Flaws in Anti-Trust LawBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.491/blog_detail.asp#3-9-2009Mon, 9 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4516/pub_detail.aspJohn R. Graham, the Director of Health Care Studies, was invited to testify before the California State Senate Standing Health Committee in Sacramento on the & quot;Outlook for Health Reform.& quot;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4516/pub_detail.asp#2-25-2009Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4511/pub_detail.aspThings are changing fast in American health care. Within three weeks of his inauguration, President Obama has seized control of Americans& rsquo; health care choices in many areas. Let& rsquo;s focus on three.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4511/pub_detail.asp#2-24-2009Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4506/pub_detail.aspNada Suleman and her eight babies are much in the news, with good reason. There are lessons here for everyone, and they extend beyond the fertility debate.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4506/pub_detail.asp#2-19-2009Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.463/blog_detail.aspNever mind: pricing policies are starting to make senseBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.463/blog_detail.asp#1-26-2009_1:26:00_PMMon, 26 Jan 2009 13:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.462/blog_detail.aspSB 92 frees Californians to buy health insurance of their choiceBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.462/blog_detail.asp#1-23-2009Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.461/blog_detail.aspSchwarzenegger& #39;s & quot;reform& quot; lives on at California EndowmentBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.461/blog_detail.asp#1-22-2009_4:32:00_PMThu, 22 Jan 2009 16:32:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.460/blog_detail.aspDespite & quot;universal& quot; health care, Mass. spending out of controlBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.460/blog_detail.asp#1-21-2009_12:30:00_PMWed, 21 Jan 2009 12:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4442/pub_detail.aspLast January, governor Schwarzenegger& rsquo;s expensive and unwieldy proposal for so-called & ldquo;universal& rdquo; health care finally gasped its last breath, after a long year of lobbying and coalition-building by the governor& rsquo;s team. A year later, in 2009, legislators should attempt to learn from two states that have legislated & ldquo;universal& rdquo; care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4442/pub_detail.asp#1-21-2009Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.459/blog_detail.aspCalifornia hospitals struggle with busted budgetsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.459/blog_detail.asp#1-20-2009_4:48:00_PMTue, 20 Jan 2009 16:48:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.458/blog_detail.aspPhysicians will rue the day they invited the & quot;Cuomortician& quot; to fix pricesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.458/blog_detail.asp#1-19-2009Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.457/blog_detail.aspAfter NY& #39;s & quot;Cuomortician& quot; Gets $50 million, AMA next in line for $350 millionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.457/blog_detail.asp#1-16-2009_1:48:00_PMFri, 16 Jan 2009 13:48:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.456/blog_detail.aspA-G Shakes Down UnitedHealth Group for $50 Million; Aetna for $20 MillionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.456/blog_detail.asp#1-15-2009_2:34:00_PMThu, 15 Jan 2009 14:34:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.455/blog_detail.aspDentist gets Yelped; fights backBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.455/blog_detail.asp#1-13-2009_3:26:00_PMTue, 13 Jan 2009 15:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4431/pub_detail.aspTom Daschle& rsquo;s new book, Critical: What Can We Do About the Health-Care Crisis, confirms that advocates for a complete government takeover of American health care have learned an important lesson: Don& rsquo;t try it in one big bite. Here Daschle and co-author Jeanne Lambrew have direct experience.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4431/pub_detail.asp#1-13-2009Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.454/blog_detail.aspA healthy radio interview: Lars Larson interviews yours truly about ObamaCare.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.454/blog_detail.asp#1-12-2009Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.452/blog_detail.aspHealth-care elites desire more government control, less choice in health careBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.452/blog_detail.asp#1-7-2009_9:45:00_PMWed, 7 Jan 2009 21:45:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.451/blog_detail.aspMichael Moore& #39;s marketing gift to the Havana hospitalBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.451/blog_detail.asp#1-6-2009Tue, 6 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.450/blog_detail.aspLawyer& #39;s dismissal of billable hours holds lesson for physiciansBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.450/blog_detail.asp#12-31-2008_2:02:00_PMWed, 31 Dec 2008 14:02:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4455/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - December 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4455/pub_detail.asp#12-31-2008Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.449/blog_detail.aspFinal thoughts on returning from the Great White NorthBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.449/blog_detail.asp#12-29-2008_4:53:00_PMMon, 29 Dec 2008 16:53:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.448/blog_detail.aspAggressive Marketing to IndividualsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.448/blog_detail.asp#12-27-2008_2:07:00_PMSat, 27 Dec 2008 14:07:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.447/blog_detail.aspPrivate insurers push for a bigger roleBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.447/blog_detail.asp#12-23-2008_2:30:00_PMTue, 23 Dec 2008 14:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4397/pub_detail.aspAs California teeters on insolvency, Republican state legislators have proposed a budget that transfers $5 billion from two health care programs that are in surplus. The funds in question are for mental health and early childhood development. They are in & quot;silos& quot; because they were approved via propositions. To & quot;break the bank,& quot; the Republican proposal has to go back to voters this spring. This invites the question of whether taxing and spending for specific health programs should be done through the initiative process.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4397/pub_detail.asp#12-23-2008Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.446/blog_detail.aspTwo & quot;earmarked& quot; funds in surplus: Did voters approve too much tax?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.446/blog_detail.asp#12-19-2008_12:00:00_PMFri, 19 Dec 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.445/blog_detail.aspNY Times columnist peddles errors about taxing soft drinksBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.445/blog_detail.asp#12-18-2008_10:11:00_AMThu, 18 Dec 2008 10:11:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.444/blog_detail.aspExcess Hospitalizations A Result of Fragmented CoverageBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.444/blog_detail.asp#12-17-2008_5:12:00_PMWed, 17 Dec 2008 17:12:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.443/blog_detail.aspProbably not the headline you read, but it& #39;s trueBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.443/blog_detail.asp#12-16-2008_12:36:00_PMTue, 16 Dec 2008 12:36:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.442/blog_detail.aspBut corrupt leaders are easy to bust; Beware honest ones, too!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.442/blog_detail.asp#12-15-2008Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.441/blog_detail.aspState Has & quot;Universal& quot; Coverage, But Families Don& #39;t Have DoctorsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.441/blog_detail.asp#12-10-2008_5:10:00_PMWed, 10 Dec 2008 17:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4360/pub_detail.aspThe election of Barack Obama and forthcoming nomination of Tom Daschle as secretary of Health and Human Services has given hope to advocates of government monopoly health care. As the Wall Street Journal noted on November 20, the appointment of Daschle, & ldquo;puts a skilled navigator of Capitol Hill in charge of the president- elect& rsquo;s bid to establish universal health care, which he has made a top priority.& rdquo; However, current fiscal constraints may form a major barrier for any sort of universal plan.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4360/pub_detail.asp#12-10-2008Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.440/blog_detail.aspRecession Reveals Flaws in ERISABloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.440/blog_detail.asp#12-8-2008Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.438/blog_detail.aspUnitedHealth Group Offers A Way to Fix the Government& #39;s MessBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.438/blog_detail.asp#12-4-2008Thu, 4 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.437/blog_detail.aspGovernment Lets Down Developmentally Impaired Adults, But Citizens Don& #39;tBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.437/blog_detail.asp#12-2-2008Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.436/blog_detail.asp29 Pages of Regulation for a $3.40 Co-Pay: No Wonder Health Care& #39;s A HassleBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.436/blog_detail.asp#12-1-2008_6:02:00_PMMon, 1 Dec 2008 18:02:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4424/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - November 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4424/pub_detail.asp#11-30-2008Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.435/blog_detail.aspBudget Crisis Continues.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.435/blog_detail.asp#11-26-2008_12:31:00_PMWed, 26 Nov 2008 12:31:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.434/blog_detail.aspTaxpayers and Providers Not The Only Victims of Government& #39;s Poverty TrapBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.434/blog_detail.asp#11-25-2008Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.433/blog_detail.aspNo Results From $3 Billion Doled Out To Politically Connected PlayersBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.433/blog_detail.asp#11-24-2008_4:55:00_PMMon, 24 Nov 2008 16:55:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.432/blog_detail.aspJust Kidding: Lost Proposition A Success in Public EducationBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.432/blog_detail.asp#11-21-2008Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4326/pub_detail.aspA major driver of health costs over the last couple of decades is chronic illness such as diabetes and heart disease. It& #39;s time to add another chronic ailment to the list: & quot;preventionitis.& quot; Because much chronic disease is associated with bad lifestyle choices, many succumb to the utopian delusion that investment in & quot;prevention& quot; & ndash; eating better, exercising more, and so on & ndash; will cut society& #39;s health bill.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4326/pub_detail.asp#11-19-2008Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.431/blog_detail.aspMove Sure to Shake Up States With Uncompetitive Hospital RegulationBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.431/blog_detail.asp#11-12-2008Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4314/pub_detail.aspThe federal outcome of the 2008 election bodes ill for Americans& rsquo; ability to regain control of their health care dollars. Before the election, PRI compared the candidates& rsquo; health plans and concluded that Senator McCain& rsquo;s proposal was generally superior. Senator Obama& rsquo;s plan was ambitious and weakly defined, but with strong Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, his administration& rsquo;s health reforms will quickly take legislative shape.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4314/pub_detail.asp#11-12-2008Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.430/blog_detail.aspScholarly debate likely to be moot once Democrats monopolize power in DCBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.430/blog_detail.asp#11-11-2008_12:40:00_PMTue, 11 Nov 2008 12:40:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.429/blog_detail.aspMore Government Power Over Kids& #39; Health Care=Bigger ProfitsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.429/blog_detail.asp#11-10-2008Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.428/blog_detail.aspMedi-Cal Cutbacks Show State Can& #39;t Be TrustedBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.428/blog_detail.asp#11-7-2008_3:25:00_PMFri, 7 Nov 2008 15:25:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.427/blog_detail.aspState regulation of health insurance, medical malpractice, hospitals likely to fall under federal powerBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.427/blog_detail.asp#11-5-2008Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.426/blog_detail.aspNational lobbies recognize threat of tax hikes for state-mandated health careBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.426/blog_detail.asp#11-4-2008Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.425/blog_detail.aspInvesting in Prevention in California: One Percent Savings in Five YearsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.425/blog_detail.asp#11-3-2008_3:53:00_PMMon, 3 Nov 2008 15:53:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.424/blog_detail.asp& quot;...shoppers can buy prescriptions for less than laundry detergent...& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.424/blog_detail.asp#10-31-2008Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4327/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - October 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4327/pub_detail.asp#10-31-2008Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.423/blog_detail.aspBut it& #39;s not a & quot;penalty& quot;; it& #39;s a miracle of modern medicineBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.423/blog_detail.asp#10-30-2008_1:13:00_PMThu, 30 Oct 2008 13:13:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.422/blog_detail.aspTobacco Taxes Cannot Insure the UninsuredBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.422/blog_detail.asp#10-29-2008_6:06:00_AMWed, 29 Oct 2008 06:06:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4271/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September 25 & ldquo;Stem Cell Awareness Day.& rdquo; That news got by many Californians, who remain unaware of how California is locked into paying for obsolete research, certain to consume billions of dollars but unlikely to come up with any of the cures Californians were led to believe would be the result of their vote for Proposition 71 in 2004.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4271/pub_detail.asp#10-29-2008Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.421/blog_detail.aspFDA pre-emption of states& #39; product-liability law assumes a lotBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.421/blog_detail.asp#10-27-2008_2:53:00_PMMon, 27 Oct 2008 14:53:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.420/blog_detail.aspWhat& #39;s Behind Drug Makers& #39; Policy of Appeasement?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.420/blog_detail.asp#10-24-2008Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.419/blog_detail.aspAnecdotes instead of analysis; but there& #39;s a silver liningBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.419/blog_detail.asp#10-23-2008Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.418/blog_detail.asp& quot;Experts& quot; Call for More Taxes, Hospital Handouts, Despite EvidenceBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.418/blog_detail.asp#10-22-2008Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4261/pub_detail.aspGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger invested a lost year in health reform, allying himself with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu& ntilde;ez in support of a bill to increase taxes and spending on government-mandated health care by more than $12 billion annually. Fortunately for Californians, the bill stalled in the Senate, and the state& rsquo;s budget crisis pushed health & ldquo;reform& rdquo; off the agenda, for now.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4261/pub_detail.asp#10-22-2008Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.417/blog_detail.aspRecent Data Confirm Positive Trend in Take-UpBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.417/blog_detail.asp#10-21-2008Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4259/pub_detail.asp& ldquo;For anyone interested in getting to the core of America& #39;s health care troubles, this is the perfect book. And for health care policy makers, it should be required reading.& rdquo; & ndash; Steve ForbesPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4259/pub_detail.asp#10-21-2008Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.416/blog_detail.aspMedicaid Actuarial Report a Scary but Necessary Analysis of Fiscal CrisisBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.416/blog_detail.asp#10-20-2008Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.415/blog_detail.aspKeiki Care the Latest Kooky Health PlanBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.415/blog_detail.asp#10-17-2008Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.414/blog_detail.aspStill Not Enough Taxes to Pay for All the Government& #39;s NeedsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.414/blog_detail.asp#10-16-2008Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.413/blog_detail.aspAnd Guess Who Made It?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.413/blog_detail.asp#10-15-2008Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.412/blog_detail.aspWhy Did It Go Into a Death Spiral? What is the Free-Market Solution?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.412/blog_detail.asp#10-14-2008Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4239/pub_detail.aspIf anyone wonders why the government should not decide which benefits health plans must provide, let him observe the troubled birth of the & ldquo;Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.& rdquo; Wellstone-Domenici had languished in Congress for a full 16 years and got passed as part of the Wall Street bailout bill chaotically rushed into law earlier this month.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4239/pub_detail.asp#10-14-2008Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.411/blog_detail.aspCalifornia Gov. Signs Pointless Law to List Calories on Menu-BoardsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.411/blog_detail.asp#10-13-2008_2:50:00_PMMon, 13 Oct 2008 14:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.410/blog_detail.aspSurvey Shows Surprising Awareness of CostsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.410/blog_detail.asp#10-10-2008_1:22:00_PMFri, 10 Oct 2008 13:22:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.409/blog_detail.aspShould The Same People Who Run The K-12 School Monopoly Control Our Kids& #39; Health Care?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.409/blog_detail.asp#10-9-2008Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4228/pub_detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute (PRI) released a voters& rsquo; guide to the health policies proposed by presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4228/pub_detail.asp#10-7-2008Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.407/blog_detail.aspEven If Supreme Court Overturns It, We Need A Better Solution Than ERISABloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.407/blog_detail.asp#10-6-2008_5:11:00_PMMon, 6 Oct 2008 17:11:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.59/detail.aspWhen it comes to the U.S. health care system, there is a set of myths so persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic that it& rsquo;s easy to see why so many Americans believe that a complete government takeover of our health care system is the answer to all of our problems. Sally Pipes& rsquo;s new book, The Top 10 Myths of American Health Care will shatter those myths and set the record straight.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.59/detail.asp#10-1-2008Wed, 1 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4252/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - September 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4252/pub_detail.asp#9-30-2008Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.406/blog_detail.aspLegislators have attacked the symptom, but not the cause, of hospitals& #39; price gougingBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.406/blog_detail.asp#9-26-2008_2:38:00_PMFri, 26 Sep 2008 14:38:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.405/blog_detail.aspAnnual Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET survey shows workers control more of their health care dollarsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.405/blog_detail.asp#9-25-2008_12:28:00_PMThu, 25 Sep 2008 12:28:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.404/blog_detail.aspProviders and Patients Suffer As Politicians Dodge ReformBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.404/blog_detail.asp#9-24-2008_4:28:00_PMWed, 24 Sep 2008 16:28:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4195/pub_detail.aspThree months late, governor Schwarzenegger has finally signed a budget that holds spending down to $103 billion. Unfortunately, the governor and legislators missed the chance to wrangle Medi-Cal, the state& rsquo;s Medicaid program, under control. Medi-Cal is a big part of the state& rsquo;s deficit problem. It& rsquo;s the second largest chunk of the general fund, after K-12 education.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4195/pub_detail.asp#9-24-2008Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.403/blog_detail.asp& quot;Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act& quot; Is So Simple A Child Can Understand ItBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.403/blog_detail.asp#9-23-2008_4:52:00_PMTue, 23 Sep 2008 16:52:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.402/blog_detail.aspRegulatory Fragmentation And A Drug& #39;s Catastrophic Side EffectBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.402/blog_detail.asp#9-22-2008_5:40:00_PMMon, 22 Sep 2008 17:40:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.401/blog_detail.aspAccess Project Report Repeats Myths of & quot;Underinsurance& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.401/blog_detail.asp#9-17-2008_4:55:00_PMWed, 17 Sep 2008 16:55:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.400/blog_detail.aspEmergency Room Overload Continues; State Simply Orders A StopBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.400/blog_detail.asp#9-16-2008_3:36:00_PMTue, 16 Sep 2008 15:36:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.399/blog_detail.aspLimiting Taxpayer Liability While Increasing Choice: What& #39;s Not To Like?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.399/blog_detail.asp#9-15-2008_3:10:00_PMMon, 15 Sep 2008 15:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.398/blog_detail.aspAmbulance Chasers Want to Delay Settlement to Pay Medical ClaimsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.398/blog_detail.asp#9-12-2008_2:50:00_PMFri, 12 Sep 2008 14:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.397/blog_detail.aspPresident Bush Blinks; And States Keep SpendingBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.397/blog_detail.asp#9-11-2008_11:26:00_AMThu, 11 Sep 2008 11:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4145/pub_detail.aspMany studies have examined the costs and benefits of replacing the current health care financing model with a single-payer system fully funded by taxpayers. Most of these studies, including the most prominent, ignore a key component: the significant economic costs of taxes, which would be necessary to pay for government- provided health care. This edition of Health Policy Prescriptions surveys some of this research.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4145/pub_detail.asp#9-9-2008Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.396/blog_detail.aspHealth Care Providers& #39; Dependence on Government is an Unhealthy AddictionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.396/blog_detail.asp#9-4-2008_12:56:00_PMThu, 4 Sep 2008 12:56:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.395/blog_detail.aspBattle between insurance brokers and health plans threatens reformBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.395/blog_detail.asp#9-3-2008_12:59:00_PMWed, 3 Sep 2008 12:59:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.394/blog_detail.aspBut Can Higher Taxes Really Eliminate Smoking Within 5 Years?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.394/blog_detail.asp#9-2-2008Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4194/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - August 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4194/pub_detail.asp#8-31-2008Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.393/blog_detail.asp& quot;Universal& quot; Solution Costs Over Three Times More Than The ProblemBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.393/blog_detail.asp#8-30-2008Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.392/blog_detail.aspSubsidized Funds, Controlled by Politicians, Are No Substitute for ReformBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.392/blog_detail.asp#8-29-2008_3:43:00_PMFri, 29 Aug 2008 15:43:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.391/blog_detail.aspOpportunities are far too complex and promising for government to controlBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.391/blog_detail.asp#8-28-2008Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.390/blog_detail.aspFederal Court Soaks California Taxpayers for Bankrupt ProgramBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.390/blog_detail.asp#8-27-2008_3:44:00_PMWed, 27 Aug 2008 15:44:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.389/blog_detail.aspFinal Countdown to California Health Plans& #39; Translation MandateBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.389/blog_detail.asp#8-26-2008Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4106/pub_detail.aspEver since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger& #39;s ABX1 1 stumbled just short of the finish line last January, he and his Democratic allies in the legislature have been looking to move bits and pieces of the failed health reform plan forward. Amazingly, one that he favors is sponsored by the legislator who killed ABX1 1, state Senator Sheila Kuehl, as well as the California Medical Association.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4106/pub_detail.asp#8-20-2008Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.388/blog_detail.aspIf the Market is So Competitive, How Come The Surplus Is So Big?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.388/blog_detail.asp#8-19-2008Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.387/blog_detail.aspNew Analysis Ignores The Real Problem of Government DependencyBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.387/blog_detail.asp#8-18-2008Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4088/pub_detail.aspSan Francisco-Americans lack the basic freedom to make their own health care decisions according to the second edition of the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, an annual report by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI). The Index measures the degree to which individuals, be they patients, health professionals, entrepreneurs, or taxpayers, & quot;own& quot; the health care in their states.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4088/pub_detail.asp#8-14-2008Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.386/blog_detail.aspAll Women& #39;s Employment Prospects Will Suffer Because of Court RulingBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.386/blog_detail.asp#8-13-2008Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4085/pub_detail.aspThis month, PRI publishes the second edition of the U.S. Index of Health Ownership (IHOP), the only project that ranks states& rsquo; health care according to principles of individual choice. This is very different from other rankings of health care in the states, because each IHOP measurement calls for less government intervention, while other rankings often favor big government spending on health programs, as well as centralized control. As I noted last year, significant challenges make it very difficult to connect the performance of the health care & ldquo;system& rdquo; with actual health outcomes. A recent Commonwealth Foundation publication included performance measurements of both health care access and & ldquo;lifestyle& rdquo; inputs. In my analysis, I pointed out that access and quality measurements have hardly any relation to healthy lives.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4085/pub_detail.asp#8-12-2008_6:00:00_PMTue, 12 Aug 2008 18:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.385/blog_detail.aspDo They Really Think A Higher Excise Tax Will Stop A Rapist?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.385/blog_detail.asp#8-12-2008Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.384/blog_detail.aspEditorial Isn& #39;t Quite Sure Who the Bad Guy Is - But Understands the ProblemBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.384/blog_detail.asp#8-11-2008Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.383/blog_detail.aspAnd A Stark Warning for Boomers Who Think Medicaid Long-Term Care is a Good DealBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.383/blog_detail.asp#8-8-2008Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.382/blog_detail.aspAnother Example of How Government & quot;Help& quot; Backfires With Tragic ConsequencesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.382/blog_detail.asp#8-7-2008_4:45:00_PMThu, 7 Aug 2008 16:45:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.381/blog_detail.aspConvenient Urgent and Retail Clinics, plus EMTALA Reform, Are the PrescriptionsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.381/blog_detail.asp#8-6-2008_2:47:00_PMWed, 6 Aug 2008 14:47:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.380/blog_detail.aspCollaboration with Dem Legislators Will Squeeze CaliforniansBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.380/blog_detail.asp#8-5-2008_3:30:00_PMTue, 5 Aug 2008 15:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.379/blog_detail.aspBut When Will Hospitals Stop Appeasing the Government?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.379/blog_detail.asp#8-4-2008_1:49:00_PMMon, 4 Aug 2008 13:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.378/blog_detail.aspCalifornia Poll Shows Crisis Not as Bad as You ThinkBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.378/blog_detail.asp#8-1-2008_1:31:00_PMFri, 1 Aug 2008 13:31:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4126/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - July 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4126/pub_detail.asp#7-31-2008Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.377/blog_detail.aspPatients Suffer When Hospitals Become Dependent on GovernmentBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.377/blog_detail.asp#7-30-2008Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.376/blog_detail.aspAnother Grand Idea From the Folks Behind San Francisco& #39;s Healthy Access PlanBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.376/blog_detail.asp#7-29-2008Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4025/pub_detail.aspImagine if you bought an airline ticket to fly from San Francisco to Chicago and after the flight you received an extra bill from the co-pilot for what he claims is a fair price for his services. He is unsatisfied with the airline& #39;s pay, and would like you and your fellow passengers to make up the difference.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4025/pub_detail.asp#7-23-2008Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.375/blog_detail.aspBut For How Long Will They Really Treat Folks For Free?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.375/blog_detail.asp#7-10-2008_5:04:00_PMThu, 10 Jul 2008 17:04:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.374/blog_detail.aspMaybe Anthem Blue Cross Didn& #39;t Break the Law, But it Sure Stuck the ProvidersBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.374/blog_detail.asp#7-8-2008_5:59:00_PMTue, 8 Jul 2008 17:59:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3996/pub_detail.aspA benefit mandate is a state law that commands a health plan to pay for, or at least offer, a specified treatment or type of provider, removing the benefit from negotiation between beneficiaries and health plans. For example, a mandate may require a health plan to cover treatment of alcoholism, or chiropractic services.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3996/pub_detail.asp#7-8-2008Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.373/blog_detail.aspHow About This: Maybe The Health Plan Did Not Break the Law?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.373/blog_detail.asp#7-7-2008_2:35:00_PMMon, 7 Jul 2008 14:35:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.372/blog_detail.aspThe Lights Go Dim on the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment CouncilBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.372/blog_detail.asp#7-3-2008_2:34:00_PMThu, 3 Jul 2008 14:34:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.371/blog_detail.aspDepartment of Managed Health Care Cannot Keep Up With Health Care ChangesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.371/blog_detail.asp#7-2-2008_2:43:00_PMWed, 2 Jul 2008 14:43:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.370/blog_detail.aspNew Study Finds Higher Premiums, Lower Wages, Longer Hours, More UninsuredBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.370/blog_detail.asp#7-1-2008_3:00:00_PMTue, 1 Jul 2008 15:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3974/pub_detail.aspThis paper reviews 28 original actuarial and econometric articles that attempt to estimate the cost of benefit mandates, as well as others that summarize the literature on mandates during the last two decades of their development. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3974/pub_detail.asp#7-1-2008Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.369/blog_detail.aspCalifornia& #39;s Most Vulnerable Citizens at the Mercy of State-Run Health CareBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.369/blog_detail.asp#6-30-2008_3:39:00_PMMon, 30 Jun 2008 15:39:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4064/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - June 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4064/pub_detail.asp#6-30-2008Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4030/pub_detail.aspWe& rsquo;ve all heard the statistic & ldquo;47 million Americans do not have health insurance& rdquo; as an underlying argument for massive health care reform. But did you know that 57 percent of the 47 million uninsured have annual incomes above $50,000? Or that two-thirds of the 47 million are between the ages of 18 and 34? Are younger Americans being sold another Social Security scheme?Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4030/pub_detail.asp#6-27-2008Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.368/blog_detail.aspSchwarzenegger& #39;s Fair Weather Allies Turn on Him in A CrisisBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.368/blog_detail.asp#6-26-2008_11:38:00_AMThu, 26 Jun 2008 11:38:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3958/pub_detail.aspCalifornia& rsquo;s non-partisan Legislative Analyst has weighed in on the costs of government-monopoly health care. Backers of such systems are rushing to the barricades, but the revelations serve as welcome enlightenment for all Californians.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3958/pub_detail.asp#6-25-2008_6:30:00_PMWed, 25 Jun 2008 18:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.367/blog_detail.aspWhy Does the California Medical Association Want Accountants to Run Health Care?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.367/blog_detail.asp#6-25-2008Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.366/blog_detail.aspPennsylvania Senate Holds Up Ultra-Expensive MandateBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.366/blog_detail.asp#6-24-2008_1:25:00_PMTue, 24 Jun 2008 13:25:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3944/pub_detail.aspOutside the Administration, few politicians are serious about addressing the impending bankruptcy of Medicare, and some are even hastening it along.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3944/pub_detail.asp#6-24-2008Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.365/blog_detail.aspLike the thousands of planes that land safely every dayBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.365/blog_detail.asp#6-23-2008_1:56:00_PMMon, 23 Jun 2008 13:56:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.364/blog_detail.aspHave Empire State Pols Learned Nothing From the Failure of Maine Rx?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.364/blog_detail.asp#6-20-2008_3:08:00_PMFri, 20 Jun 2008 15:08:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.363/blog_detail.aspRanks States By NIH Funding While Condemning Pharmaceutical InvestmentBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.363/blog_detail.asp#6-19-2008_3:28:00_PMThu, 19 Jun 2008 15:28:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.362/blog_detail.aspBill to Allow Educational Mailings to Patients Killed Stone DeadBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.362/blog_detail.asp#6-18-2008_12:02:00_PMWed, 18 Jun 2008 12:02:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.361/blog_detail.aspBill only two years old, but taxes must be hiked one third more than anticipatedBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.361/blog_detail.asp#6-17-2008Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.360/blog_detail.aspIf the New York Times endorses it, it doesn& #39;t necessarily mean it& #39;s bad.....Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.360/blog_detail.asp#6-16-2008Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.358/blog_detail.aspBig Surprise: State Insurance Regulators Favor More Insurance Regulation!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.358/blog_detail.asp#6-13-2008Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.357/blog_detail.aspL.A. County looks like it wants to replicate S.F.& #39;s & quot;success& quot;: & quot;Pay-or-play& quot; mandate next?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.357/blog_detail.asp#6-12-2008_3:30:00_PMThu, 12 Jun 2008 15:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.356/blog_detail.aspSB 1096 would improve patient adherence to medicationBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.356/blog_detail.asp#6-11-2008Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.355/blog_detail.aspAmericans on Government Health Plans Much More Likely To Be & quot;Underinsured& quot; Than Americans With Private InsuranceBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.355/blog_detail.asp#6-10-2008_5:11:00_PMTue, 10 Jun 2008 17:11:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.354/blog_detail.aspUnion Boss: & quot;I pledge...Canadian...health care...& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.354/blog_detail.asp#6-9-2008_4:37:00_PMMon, 9 Jun 2008 16:37:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.353/blog_detail.aspPublic Health Bureaucracy Will Teach Your Child to Touch Her Toes!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.353/blog_detail.asp#6-6-2008_12:00:00_PMFri, 6 Jun 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.352/blog_detail.aspGovernment-Run Health Care A Disaster on Either Side of the BorderBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.352/blog_detail.asp#6-5-2008Thu, 5 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.351/blog_detail.aspFederal Trade Commission Rips Bill To Hobble Retail ClinicsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.351/blog_detail.asp#6-4-2008_12:45:00_PMWed, 4 Jun 2008 12:45:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.350/blog_detail.aspEven Sacramento Republicans caving in on health reformBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.350/blog_detail.asp#6-3-2008Tue, 3 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.349/blog_detail.aspBut it& #39;s past time for creative solutions: Here& #39;s a suggestionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.349/blog_detail.asp#6-2-2008Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.347/blog_detail.aspYou Can Vote At 18, But You& #39;re Not Competent to Buy A Health Plan Until 30Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.347/blog_detail.asp#5-22-2008_10:26:00_AMThu, 22 May 2008 10:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.346/blog_detail.aspCity& #39;s & quot;Universal& quot; Health Plan Means More Lawsuits, Not More CareBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.346/blog_detail.asp#5-21-2008_11:24:00_AMWed, 21 May 2008 11:24:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.345/blog_detail.aspBut those dependent on government programs refuse to see itBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.345/blog_detail.asp#5-14-2008_7:27:00_PMWed, 14 May 2008 19:27:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3850/pub_detail.aspMany politicos advocate more government as the & ldquo;solution& rdquo; du jour for American health care & ndash; as if we don& rsquo;t have enough already. But government interference could come at the expense of new medical technology and competitive ventures that promise to improve quality, reduce costs, and increase choices for individuals. Americans generally object to an unwieldy government monopoly over medicine, so we should examine the achievements and failings of foreign systems.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3850/pub_detail.asp#5-13-2008Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.344/blog_detail.aspWill Health Plans Continue to Aid and Abet the Enemy?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.344/blog_detail.asp#5-12-2008_3:22:00_PMMon, 12 May 2008 15:22:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.343/blog_detail.aspCON artists will have to fight a bit harderBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.343/blog_detail.asp#5-6-2008Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.342/blog_detail.aspNow It Only Needs $194 Million More To Achieve & quot;Universal& quot; Health CareBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.342/blog_detail.asp#5-2-2008_3:32:00_PMFri, 2 May 2008 15:32:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.341/blog_detail.aspIf I were writing WellPoint& #39;s new California ads, they& #39;d look differentBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.341/blog_detail.asp#4-30-2008_1:40:00_PMWed, 30 Apr 2008 13:40:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3825/pub_detail.aspHealth care reform is still on the table in California, which should consider carefully the achievements and failings of foreign systems. Canada is the usual candidate but Australia& rsquo;s health care strategies deserve a closer look.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3825/pub_detail.asp#4-30-2008Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.340/blog_detail.aspYet Another Poll Claims Californians Trust Government More Than ThemselvesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.340/blog_detail.asp#4-28-2008_11:30:00_PMMon, 28 Apr 2008 23:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.339/blog_detail.aspGovernor Napolitano Ignores the Real & quot;Cost Shift& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.339/blog_detail.asp#4-24-2008_12:27:00_PMThu, 24 Apr 2008 12:27:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.337/blog_detail.aspLegislators Ignore Law Requiring Independent Analyses of BillsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.337/blog_detail.asp#4-17-2008_1:09:00_PMThu, 17 Apr 2008 13:09:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.336/blog_detail.aspCalifornia& #39;s Insurance Commissioner Makes A Bold BidBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.336/blog_detail.asp#4-16-2008_12:05:00_PMWed, 16 Apr 2008 12:05:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.335/blog_detail.aspCalifornia Medical Association Prefers That Doctors Work for Health Plans Instead of PatientsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.335/blog_detail.asp#4-15-2008_1:49:00_PMTue, 15 Apr 2008 13:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.333/blog_detail.aspThe Commonwealth Connector& rsquo;s & ldquo;Terrible Twos& rdquo;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.333/blog_detail.asp#4-14-2008_1:49:00_PMMon, 14 Apr 2008 13:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.331/blog_detail.aspLegislative Attack on Competition in Health Insurance Will Backfire On Medical ProfessionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.331/blog_detail.asp#4-11-2008_11:19:00_AMFri, 11 Apr 2008 11:19:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.330/blog_detail.aspBad Laws Will Increase the Number of UninsuredBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.330/blog_detail.asp#4-10-2008_2:36:00_PMThu, 10 Apr 2008 14:36:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.329/blog_detail.aspBut don& #39;t take it from me: ER Docs say so, too.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.329/blog_detail.asp#4-9-2008Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.328/blog_detail.aspChange in Reimbursement Led to Higher Costs and No Better CareBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.328/blog_detail.asp#4-8-2008_12:05:00_PMTue, 8 Apr 2008 12:05:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3782/pub_detail.aspLast month& rsquo;s Medicare Trustees& rsquo; report confirms that Medicare is going bankrupt faster than Social Security, even though they serve the same population.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3782/pub_detail.asp#4-8-2008Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.327/blog_detail.aspMartin Luther King, Jr.-Harbor Hospital Still MothballedBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.327/blog_detail.asp#4-7-2008_4:54:00_PMMon, 7 Apr 2008 16:54:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.326/blog_detail.aspCiting & quot;Uninsurance& quot; As A Cause of Death Leads to Bad PolicyBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.326/blog_detail.asp#4-4-2008_3:55:00_PMFri, 4 Apr 2008 15:55:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.325/blog_detail.asp& quot;Classic Bureaucratic Snafu& quot;: The Good News Is That The State Even Allowed An AuditBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.325/blog_detail.asp#4-2-2008_2:50:00_PMWed, 2 Apr 2008 14:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.324/blog_detail.aspRegulator & amp; Politicians Miss the & quot;Root Cause& quot; of Unfair PracticeBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.324/blog_detail.asp#4-1-2008_11:49:00_AMTue, 1 Apr 2008 11:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.323/blog_detail.aspClosed for 7 Months, Los Angeles& #39; Martin Luther King, Jr.- Harbor Hospital Still Suffers Too Much GovernmentBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.323/blog_detail.asp#3-31-2008_3:48:00_PMMon, 31 Mar 2008 15:48:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.322/blog_detail.asp$15 million Zyprexa Settlement A Pseudo-Victory Against Attorney-General Adventurism - But Questions Remain UnansweredBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.322/blog_detail.asp#3-28-2008_1:27:00_PMFri, 28 Mar 2008 13:27:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.321/blog_detail.aspNational Healthcare Quality Report State Snapshots Loaded With Good Data: But Beware of Bureaucrats Bearing Statistics!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.321/blog_detail.asp#3-27-2008_2:58:00_PMThu, 27 Mar 2008 14:58:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.320/blog_detail.aspOp-ed Advocates Government Monopoly Health Care; While Article Describes the Sufferings of Medi-Cal PatientsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.320/blog_detail.asp#3-26-2008_2:17:00_PMWed, 26 Mar 2008 14:17:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3749/pub_detail.aspState Senator Sheila Kuehl, California& rsquo;s leading partisan of government monopoly health care, has assumed the role of consumer watchdog. Her new measure, SB 1565, & ldquo;Stem Cell Research & ndash; Public Accountability and Access,& rdquo; targets problems with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Some may wonder if the senator should be pointing fingers, but CIRM does seem to lack accountability.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3749/pub_detail.asp#3-26-2008Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.319/blog_detail.aspBig Labor Strikes At Ten NorCal Hospitals: Imagine It Was A Public Sector Union in A Government Monopoly Health Care System.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.319/blog_detail.asp#3-24-2008_5:19:00_PMMon, 24 Mar 2008 17:19:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.318/blog_detail.aspDisturbing News: Retail Health Clinics Buying into the Status QuoBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.318/blog_detail.asp#3-15-2008_12:38:00_PMSat, 15 Mar 2008 12:38:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.317/blog_detail.aspOn the 20th Anniversary of Prop 103, Foundation for Taxpayer & amp; Consumer Rights Seeks a New Profit Center: Health Care Dollars (Which Would Be Better Spent on Patient Care).Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.317/blog_detail.asp#3-14-2008_11:49:00_AMFri, 14 Mar 2008 11:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.316/blog_detail.aspScholars Think Tax Hikes Equal & quot;Affordability& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.316/blog_detail.asp#3-13-2008_11:12:00_AMThu, 13 Mar 2008 11:12:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.315/blog_detail.aspCalifornia think tank recommends lifting the veil on health professions& #39; turf-protectionsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.315/blog_detail.asp#3-13-2008Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3723/pub_detail.aspAfter folding on ABX 1 1, the governor now tries his hand at the state& rsquo;s dwindling budget with desperate ideas to rescind tax credits and request more federal funds. As for health care, the legislature& rsquo;s & ldquo;new& rdquo; approach is incremental change. There are few winning hands thus far.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3723/pub_detail.asp#3-12-2008Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.313/blog_detail.aspReally, should the state allow such & quot;fragmented& quot; care?!?!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.313/blog_detail.asp#3-11-2008_3:55:00_PMTue, 11 Mar 2008 15:55:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3721/pub_detail.aspDuring 2007, some new books on health reform offered the same old message of single-payer, government-monopoly health care. Others offered market-based solutions but, unfortunately, rely too much on & ldquo;top-down& rdquo; technical innovation instead of & ldquo;bottom-up& rdquo; consumer preference to improve American health care. Three books not only show the wide spectrum of views, but they also typify the tendency of scholars and practitioners to offer idealist solutions to health care problems and with less diversity of individual choice.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3721/pub_detail.asp#3-11-2008Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.312/blog_detail.aspTaxes & amp; Health Care Both More Bamboozling: Behold Schedule HC - a Bipartisan Bureaucratic Befuddlement!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.312/blog_detail.asp#3-10-2008_4:10:00_PMMon, 10 Mar 2008 16:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.311/blog_detail.aspPlaying Whack-A-Mole in Sacramento: You Can& #39;t Keep A Bad Reform DownBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.311/blog_detail.asp#2-29-2008_2:52:00_PMFri, 29 Feb 2008 14:52:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.310/blog_detail.aspCosts of Bureaucratic Compliance Already Piling Up for Small BusinessesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.310/blog_detail.asp#2-26-2008_1:49:00_PMTue, 26 Feb 2008 13:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.309/blog_detail.aspAnother Schwarzenegger Health & quot;Reform& quot; Ally& #39;s Hypocrisy Revealed?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.309/blog_detail.asp#2-25-2008_9:10:00_PMMon, 25 Feb 2008 21:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.307/blog_detail.aspDelusions About Cost & amp; Benefits of Health & quot;Reform& quot; PersistBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.307/blog_detail.asp#2-21-2008Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.305/blog_detail.aspBut At Least the Goal is Worthy: & quot;Transparency& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.305/blog_detail.asp#2-14-2008_4:33:00_PMThu, 14 Feb 2008 16:33:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3682/pub_detail.aspLast month the Senate health committee dumped the Schwarzenegger/N& uacute;& ntilde;ez Model ABX1 1, California& #39;s trend-setting gadget for health-care repair. Senator Sheila Kuehl, who chairs that committee, tossed it for more personal reasons, other than the obvious $14-billion price tag and state budget deficit of similar size.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3682/pub_detail.asp#2-13-2008Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.304/blog_detail.aspCalifornia& #39;s Regulators Abolished Legal Underwriting, So Insurers Outsource it to DoctorsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.304/blog_detail.asp#2-12-2008_3:53:00_PMTue, 12 Feb 2008 15:53:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.303/blog_detail.aspUnless It Doesn& #39;t Happen At All: Notes on the UnitedHealth/Sierra MergerBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.303/blog_detail.asp#2-11-2008_4:50:00_PMMon, 11 Feb 2008 16:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3676/pub_detail.aspSuppose that American politicians decided that spending on roads and highways was & ldquo;unsustainable.& rdquo; How could they cut those costs? One tactic would be to pass laws banning automobile advertising.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3676/pub_detail.asp#2-11-2008Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.302/blog_detail.aspConnector Boss Does Some Magical BudgetingBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.302/blog_detail.asp#2-7-2008_5:24:00_PMThu, 7 Feb 2008 17:24:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.301/blog_detail.aspOverall, uninsured patients pay a little more than Medicare patients in California hospitalsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.301/blog_detail.asp#2-5-2008Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.300/blog_detail.aspFlorida Governor Crist Makes the Right Call on Hospital CartelsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.300/blog_detail.asp#2-4-2008_6:10:00_PMMon, 4 Feb 2008 18:10:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.298/blog_detail.aspIn a Pointless Exercise, San Diego& #39;s Scripps Health to & quot;Refund& quot; Uninsured Patients& #39; Excessive ChargesBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.298/blog_detail.asp#2-1-2008_1:05:00_PMFri, 1 Feb 2008 13:05:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3579/pub_detail.aspCalifornians entered 2007 hopeful that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders would collaborate to find real solutions to overcome the & ldquo;root causes& rdquo; of rapidly increasing health costs, the growing number of uninsured, and the rise in small businesses increasingly unable to provide health benefits. Instead, they got a proposed tax increase.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3579/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2008Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.280/blog_detail.aspTaxpayer Beware: A $115 Billion Crisis We Didn& #39;t Even Know AboutBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.280/blog_detail.asp#1-8-2008_4:24:00_PMTue, 8 Jan 2008 16:24:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3563/pub_detail.aspHSAs are still young, but they are part of a burgeoning reform movement called consumer-driven health care (CDHC), which is proving to lower costs and encourage responsible behavior among Americans seeking to save more money for health care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3563/pub_detail.asp#1-8-2008Tue, 8 Jan 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.277/blog_detail.aspIs it really an & quot;emergency& quot; if you can walk out when you& #39;re tired of waiting?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.277/blog_detail.asp#1-7-2008_10:55:00_AMMon, 7 Jan 2008 10:55:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.276/blog_detail.aspABX1 1& #39;s Biggest Business Supporter is Not Even Subject to State RegulationsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.276/blog_detail.asp#1-4-2008_2:52:00_PMFri, 4 Jan 2008 14:52:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.275/blog_detail.aspAs San Francisco& #39;s & quot;Universal& quot; Health Plan Expands to 300% of FPL, Nobody Shows UpBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.275/blog_detail.asp#1-3-2008_3:13:00_PMThu, 3 Jan 2008 15:13:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.274/blog_detail.asp& quot;Universal& quot; Health Care: The Difference Between Mandatory Private Coverage and Government Monopoly is Only a Matter of Time - I heard it from the source!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.274/blog_detail.asp#1-2-2008_6:05:00_PMWed, 2 Jan 2008 18:05:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.270/blog_detail.aspWill Schwarzenegger-Nu& ntilde;ez ABX1 1 Be Next?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.270/blog_detail.asp#12-27-2007_10:15:00_AMThu, 27 Dec 2007 10:15:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3550/pub_detail.aspAfter months of exhausting irresolution, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu& ntilde;ez crafted the Schwarzenegger/Nu& ntilde;ez health-care bill, ABX1 1, which sounds like it requires batteries and a remote control. As it turns out, ABX1 1 requires $14 billion that California doesn& rsquo;t have. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3550/pub_detail.asp#12-26-2007Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.263/blog_detail.aspWho Pays the Health Care Bills When We Don& #39;t Know the Debtor?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.263/blog_detail.asp#12-11-2007_5:03:00_PMTue, 11 Dec 2007 17:03:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3532/pub_detail.aspAnyone who talks frequently to physicians will quickly learn what the single biggest problem in American health care is today: health insurers are oligopolies. Federal law forbids physicians from collectively bargaining a standard fee-schedule with third-party payers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3532/pub_detail.asp#12-11-2007Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.261/blog_detail.aspIf New York Times, AARP, and Consumers Union Endorse It, It& #39;s Gotta Be BadBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.261/blog_detail.asp#12-10-2007_2:46:00_PMMon, 10 Dec 2007 14:46:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.259/blog_detail.aspDecision Will Drive Up Cost of Individual Health InsuranceBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.259/blog_detail.asp#12-7-2007_4:40:00_PMFri, 7 Dec 2007 16:40:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.257/blog_detail.aspCalifornia Translation Mandate on Insurers Whacks Doctors TooBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.257/blog_detail.asp#12-5-2007_2:26:00_PMWed, 5 Dec 2007 14:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.256/blog_detail.aspOrange County Physicians and Patients Face ChangeBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.256/blog_detail.asp#12-4-2007_5:05:00_PMTue, 4 Dec 2007 17:05:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.252/blog_detail.aspPRI& #39;s First Cross-Over Blog Posting!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.252/blog_detail.asp#12-3-2007_11:04:00_AMMon, 3 Dec 2007 11:04:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3500/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Last week, medical researchers announced that they had reprogrammed mature human cells to behave like embryonic stem cells. The rejuvenated cells, according to press reports, were able to grow into main tissue types and could thus be used to treat various diseases. That is good news, but the location of the discovery, Japan and Wisconsin, is also of interest.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3500/pub_detail.asp#11-28-2007Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3415/pub_detail.aspMedicine is perhaps the least expected of American industries to face global competition, but as businesses become globalized, national boundaries weaken against competitive forces and economic necessity. Today, doctors can work remotely from patients, and patients can choose remote health care. Medical tourism is growing, and that makes it more important for American public policy to streamline health care and allow domestic providers to compete internationally.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3415/pub_detail.asp#11-13-2007Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3404/pub_detail.aspIn January, Governor Schwarzenegger asked Californians to accept a tax increase to fund & ldquo;universal& rdquo; health reform that would increase spending by $12 billion. Almost a year later, the bill is up to $14 billion.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3404/pub_detail.asp#10-31-2007Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.193/blog_detail.aspBut Governor Schwarzenegger Still Gambling on a Tax HikeBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.193/blog_detail.asp#10-11-2007_8:30:00_PMThu, 11 Oct 2007 20:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.192/blog_detail.aspGov. Schwarzenegger& #39;s Plan Gets A Little WorseBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.192/blog_detail.asp#10-10-2007_6:53:00_AMWed, 10 Oct 2007 06:53:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3350/pub_detail.aspThere& rsquo;s a rising chorus in the land that the flaws of American health care are not only bad for our health but harm national competitiveness and overall welfare. Even Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, a company that has introduced some headline-making innovations in health benefits for its workforce and customers, bemoans the cost of health care as a burden on the economy.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3350/pub_detail.asp#10-9-2007Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.188/blog_detail.aspMedical Mapractice Reform WorksBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.188/blog_detail.asp#10-5-2007_10:22:00_AMFri, 5 Oct 2007 10:22:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.187/blog_detail.aspLegislative language released to stakeholders todayBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.187/blog_detail.asp#10-3-2007_5:50:00_PMWed, 3 Oct 2007 17:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.185/blog_detail.aspBut Where in Oz Will the Tornado Drop Them?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.185/blog_detail.asp#10-2-2007Tue, 2 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.183/blog_detail.aspGov. Spitzer Has $360 Million to Shut Hospitals - But Not to Insure KidsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.183/blog_detail.asp#10-1-2007_12:39:00_PMMon, 1 Oct 2007 12:39:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.182/blog_detail.aspAn Exchange With An Appalled Autism AdvocateBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.182/blog_detail.asp#9-28-2007Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.179/blog_detail.aspCan Conservatives Square the Regulatory Circle?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.179/blog_detail.asp#9-27-2007_12:11:00_PMThu, 27 Sep 2007 12:11:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.176/blog_detail.aspThe CHIPs are Down - President Bush Must Raise the AnteBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.176/blog_detail.asp#9-26-2007_4:13:00_PMWed, 26 Sep 2007 16:13:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3314/pub_detail.aspCalifornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger& rsquo;s special session to achieve & ldquo;consensus& rdquo; on health reform really comes down to one issue: how much more will we be taxed to fund government control over our health care? The session should consider ideas better than the ones currently on the table.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3314/pub_detail.asp#9-26-2007Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.174/blog_detail.aspSubsidies are a Weak Substitute for Real ReformBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.174/blog_detail.asp#9-25-2007Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.168/blog_detail.aspExperts Ignoring Root Causes Causes ConfusionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.168/blog_detail.asp#9-19-2007_10:46:00_AMWed, 19 Sep 2007 10:46:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.167/blog_detail.aspAnother Employer Group Begs to Be TaxedBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.167/blog_detail.asp#9-18-2007_6:13:00_PMTue, 18 Sep 2007 18:13:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.163/blog_detail.aspDidn& rsquo;t Safety-Net Hospitals Get the Memo?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.163/blog_detail.asp#9-13-2007_11:39:00_AMThu, 13 Sep 2007 11:39:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.162/blog_detail.aspA Doctor Responds By Changing His Practice & ndash; Instead of Whining to the StateBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.162/blog_detail.asp#9-12-2007_2:41:00_PMWed, 12 Sep 2007 14:41:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3282/pub_detail.aspThe struggle of big government versus small government persists on Capitol Hill, where some legislators in the 110th Congress desire more bureaucracy in America& rsquo;s health-care system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3282/pub_detail.asp#9-11-2007Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.158/blog_detail.aspPatients, Not Politicians, Must Drive Price TransparencyBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.158/blog_detail.asp#9-10-2007Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.157/blog_detail.aspA lot fewer than claimed in a recent medical journal article from Arizona!Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.157/blog_detail.asp#9-7-2007_4:50:00_PMFri, 7 Sep 2007 16:50:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.156/blog_detail.aspMass. physicians& rsquo; attack on & ldquo;convenient clinics& rdquo; dishonors their professionBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.156/blog_detail.asp#9-6-2007Thu, 6 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.155/blog_detail.aspThe Trials of a Lipid Lowering MedicineBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.155/blog_detail.asp#9-5-2007_4:49:00_PMWed, 5 Sep 2007 16:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3277/pub_detail.aspCan the battle for California health reform get any stranger? Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders differ only by degree, not on principle. They all believe that the government knows best how to insure Californians& rsquo; health, and haggle only over the cost.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3277/pub_detail.asp#9-5-2007Wed, 5 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.154/blog_detail.aspRogue Regulator Wrapped Up In Own Red Tape?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.154/blog_detail.asp#8-29-2007_2:31:00_PMWed, 29 Aug 2007 14:31:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.153/blog_detail.aspHas Paul Krugman Never Heard of a & quot;Charter School& quot; or a & quot;Voucher& quot;?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.153/blog_detail.asp#8-28-2007_1:26:00_AMTue, 28 Aug 2007 01:26:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.152/blog_detail.asp& quot;Tax Me Before I Fail To Provide Health Insurance, Again& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.152/blog_detail.asp#8-24-2007_5:00:00_PMFri, 24 Aug 2007 17:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.151/blog_detail.aspRidiculous Responses to the Rise of Retail ClinicsBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.151/blog_detail.asp#8-23-2007_4:32:00_PMThu, 23 Aug 2007 16:32:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.150/blog_detail.aspField Poll Results Defy Explanation: A SiCKO effect?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.150/blog_detail.asp#8-22-2007_2:41:00_PMWed, 22 Aug 2007 14:41:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.144/blog_detail.aspHealth Reforming Politicos Have Sown the Wind, but Taxpayers Will Reap the WhirlwindBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.144/blog_detail.asp#8-20-2007_3:23:00_PMMon, 20 Aug 2007 15:23:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.143/blog_detail.aspAttorney-General Cuomo& #39;s Attack on Health Plans is Unprovoked & amp; FrivolousBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.143/blog_detail.asp#8-17-2007_1:24:00_PMFri, 17 Aug 2007 13:24:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.142/blog_detail.aspA verdict shows where blame for crazy hospital pricing lies: the StateBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.142/blog_detail.asp#8-16-2007_7:41:00_PMThu, 16 Aug 2007 19:41:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.134/blog_detail.aspYou know government health care is bad when the government payer shuts down the government providerBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.134/blog_detail.asp#8-14-2007_1:46:00_PMTue, 14 Aug 2007 13:46:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3198/pub_detail.aspMore than a year from the presidential election, health care pushes ahead as an important domestic priority. Americans must decipher what is right for health care reform, but some pundits appeal more to the heart than the mind. This year alone, one film and three books take on this important topic, with mixed results.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3198/pub_detail.asp#8-14-2007Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.133/blog_detail.aspWhat& rsquo;s the New York Times& #39; beef against American health care? Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.133/blog_detail.asp#8-13-2007_7:30:00_PMMon, 13 Aug 2007 19:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.132/blog_detail.aspCalifornia Hospital Foundation& #39;s Attack on 40 Physician-Owned Inpatient Beds is Unfounded.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.132/blog_detail.asp#8-10-2007_3:54:00_PMFri, 10 Aug 2007 15:54:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.131/blog_detail.aspIt& #39;s hard to keep up with the LA Times on health policy.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.131/blog_detail.asp#8-7-2007_12:28:00_PMTue, 7 Aug 2007 12:28:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.130/blog_detail.aspI have taken a few swings at American hospitals, and their often harmful lobbying stances, but Ron Winslow& rsquo;s Wall Street Journal article about Minnesota& rsquo;s rural hospitals airlifting heart attack patients to urban hospitals where they can get more effective care is breathtakingly impressive.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.130/blog_detail.asp#8-3-2007_2:43:00_PMFri, 3 Aug 2007 14:43:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3266/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - July 2007Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3266/pub_detail.asp#7-31-2007Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.120/blog_detail.aspNRO's Andrew Stuttaford highlights some revealing data from Scotland.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.120/blog_detail.asp#7-12-2007_2:24:00_PMThu, 12 Jul 2007 14:24:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3110/pub_detail.aspIn the past two years, a number of organizations have ranked states according to various health measurements.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3110/pub_detail.asp#7-10-2007Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.117/blog_detail.aspThe Manhattan Institute's Dr. David Gratzer, a native-born Canadian, takes down Michael Moore's "Sicko" in a most effective manner, in this column published in Canada's National Post.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.117/blog_detail.asp#7-8-2007_12:07:00_AMSun, 8 Jul 2007 00:07:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.116/blog_detail.aspIn the Boston Herald, a Briton objects to Michael Moore's fantasy-portrayal of the UK's National Health Service.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.116/blog_detail.asp#7-7-2007_2:20:00_PMSat, 7 Jul 2007 14:20:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.109/blog_detail.aspKurt Loder of MTV News calls Michael Moore "a con man of a very brazen sort," and goes on to demolish "Sicko" in detail. First the Toronto Star, now MTV -- is "Sicko" too absurd for even the bastions of left-wing media?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.109/blog_detail.asp#7-1-2007_3:01:00_PMSun, 1 Jul 2007 15:01:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.108/blog_detail.aspToday, Secretary of Health & amp; Human Services Leavitt and Director of National Economic Council Hubbard elaborated the President& #39;s proposal for a health coverage tax credit. Meanwhile, the New York Times is stuck in a rut on health policy.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.108/blog_detail.asp#6-28-2007_2:31:00_PMThu, 28 Jun 2007 14:31:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.105/blog_detail.aspAmerica& #39;s Physicians Attack Patient ChoiceBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.105/blog_detail.asp#6-26-2007Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3036/pub_detail.aspMichael Moore showed up in Sacramento last week to promote his film Sicko. Senator Sheila Kuehl hailed Moore as a prophet of truth to the American people but the filmmaker is so mired in his own health hysterics that he regularly contradicts himself.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3036/pub_detail.asp#6-20-2007Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.104/blog_detail.aspWhile a government-run hospital in LA kills a patient, Michael Moore advocates the government take-over all hospitals.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.104/blog_detail.asp#6-13-2007_9:31:00_AMWed, 13 Jun 2007 09:31:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.103/blog_detail.aspIf you want to see some photos from today's Michael Moore rally for government-run health care at the California state capitol, go here.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.103/blog_detail.asp#6-12-2007_8:02:00_PMTue, 12 Jun 2007 20:02:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2999/pub_detail.aspPresident Bush established a Health IT (Health Information Technology) initiative in 2003 to make our paper-clogged health-care system more efficient through the use of computers.1 The government has spent more than $1 billion to expand health information technology since then, but the private sector has recently taken impressive strides to streamline Health IT on its own.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2999/pub_detail.asp#6-12-2007Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.101/blog_detail.aspIs Resistance Futile? I thought I& #39;d like something about this film - there& #39;s a lot to criticize in U.S. health care - but it looks like Michael Moore has completely got it wrong.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.101/blog_detail.asp#6-11-2007_4:57:00_PMMon, 11 Jun 2007 16:57:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.98/blog_detail.aspWhy do some U.S. politicians still want to steal drugmakers& #39; intellectual property?Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.98/blog_detail.asp#6-8-2007Fri, 8 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.97/blog_detail.aspDespite hitting Gov. Schwarzenegger& #39;s veto last year, state senator Sheila Kuehl re-introduced SB-840, her bill to impose government monopoly health care in California, in February. Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.97/blog_detail.asp#6-7-2007Thu, 7 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2983/pub_detail.aspThe much-politicized consumer-directed health care (CDHC) initiative has recently taken heat from critics calling it uncompassionate, unfair, and even sexist. See, for example, & ldquo;Consumer Directed Healthcare: Except for the Healthy and Wealthy It& rsquo;s Unwise,& rdquo; Journal of General Internal Medicine, March 15. The new free-market approach seeks to lower costs by giving individuals more financial freedom and control of their health care, but Dr. Stephie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein are trying to scare women away from it.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2983/pub_detail.asp#6-5-2007Tue, 5 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.95/blog_detail.aspProf. Paul Krugman, Disinformationist-in-Chief of U.S. health care, gives Sen. Obama lukewarm praise, and Gov. Schwarzenegger something to think about....Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.95/blog_detail.asp#6-4-2007_4:30:00_PMMon, 4 Jun 2007 16:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.94/blog_detail.aspOnly 37% of eligible Hawaiians have enrolled in state& #39;s price contolled Rx schemeBloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.94/blog_detail.asp#6-1-2007_3:21:00_PMFri, 1 Jun 2007 15:21:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.92/blog_detail.aspThe last couple of days have seen an outrageous example of cherry picking in the individual health insurance market: 60 Minutes did an & quot;expos& eacute;& quot; of underwriting for individual health plans, where likely just under 20 million Americans buy health insurance. Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.92/blog_detail.asp#5-25-2007Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.85/blog_detail.aspLooks like Canadians aren't too enthralled with filmmaker Michael Moore's paean to their health system -- by way of trashing his own country's, of course.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.85/blog_detail.asp#5-21-2007_10:58:00_AMMon, 21 May 2007 10:58:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2961/pub_detail.aspMembers of the Health Policy Consensus Group offer the following guidelines to policymakers for consideration during debate over reauthorization of the State Children& rsquo;s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). We also offer a brief summary of our larger vision of expanding access to health insurance.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2961/pub_detail.asp#5-21-2007Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.26/detail.aspGovernor Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators have proposed health reforms of sweeping scope: and they appear committed to achieving them in 2007. Join an expert panel for a lunch-time discussion about effects of likely California health reforms.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.26/detail.asp#5-7-2007Mon, 7 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2943/pub_detail.aspAmericans consider health-care costs to be a high priority for government action, but in this area the government is already the 800-pound gorilla. We have long promoted more individual choice and less government control in health care, but we don& rsquo;t just advocate & ldquo;dog-eat-dog& rdquo; capitalism. Another helpful solution is philanthropy. Rooted in American principles of savings, growth, and volunteerism, philanthropy may play an increasingly important role with future generations as government programs become fiscally fragile. Indeed, if we had relied more on philanthropy over the last four decades, those programs would be in a lot better financial shape.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2943/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2007Tue, 1 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2923/pub_detail.asp& quot;State-Sanctioned Mass Rape in Burma and Sudan.& quot; That is certainly enough to grab attention. The United Nations claims to support the welfare of women around the world, but it certainly has a strange way of showing it.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2923/pub_detail.asp#4-24-2007Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2873/pub_detail.aspAmerica& rsquo;s governors are brainstorming health-care policy like never before, and in their race for & ldquo;universal& rdquo; care, big government is rearing its officious head.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2873/pub_detail.asp#4-8-2007Sun, 8 Apr 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.10/detail.aspRedesign of healthcare is underway. Does Governor Schwarzenegger have the answers? Learn how the health system moves on despite regulatory constraints.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.10/detail.asp#3-2-2007Fri, 2 Mar 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.607/pub_detail.aspGovernor Schwarzenegger will start his second term with California health reform as his top priority. Hopefully, the Governor will take a fresh turn towards universal choice in health care, which requires breaking free from the inflexible and expensive status quo but does not impose more government power. So far, his policy approach remains unclear.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.607/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2007Thu, 1 Feb 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2875/pub_detail.aspLast year, we noted with concern the rising enthusiasm for mandatory, private health insurance, overseen by state or federal bureaucracies. We proposed that the relative success of the Swiss health-care system was not due to its mandatory nature, but that its method of paying for health care approximates true & ldquo;insurance& rdquo; significantly better than America& rsquo;s does. Our effort has not stemmed the tide.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2875/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2007Thu, 1 Feb 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3097/pub_detail.aspOn January 9 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, hobbled with a broken leg, will deliver the State of the State speech in which he is expected to unveil his plan for health care. The guessing game is on in the Capitol, with key signals in the pressPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3097/pub_detail.asp#1-3-2007Wed, 3 Jan 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2705/pub_detail.aspLast year, I anticipated that 2006 would be & ldquo;The Year of the Health Savings Account,& rdquo;1 or HSA. Such accounts are held at financial institutions, into which employers or employees deposit pre-tax dollars. Any American with a qualifying, low-premium policy can open an HSA. Money in the account used for health spending is never taxed. HSA owners 65 and older can tap into the account for non-health purposes, but that money is added to their taxable income when they withdraw it. In this respect, an HSA is similar to a 401(k) retirement account.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2705/pub_detail.asp#1-1-2007Mon, 1 Jan 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2716/pub_detail.aspThe holiday season is here and merry Americans are filling their shopping bags and stomachs with celebratory & ldquo;surplus.& rdquo; As a result, the giving season always bears unwelcome gifts for hips and bellies. Of course, too much fat is nothing to celebrate, but recently, it& rsquo;s not about the amount but rather the kind of fat you eat. Trans fats are the worst among them. As usual, government has arrived at the scene like an anti-fat super hero to save Americans from themselves.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2716/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2006Fri, 1 Dec 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2715/pub_detail.aspMandatory health insurance is an ineffective solution to the perverse incentives that cause America& rsquo;s hospitals to give uncompensated care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2715/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2006Wed, 1 Nov 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.428/pub_detail.aspCalifornia hospitals are seduced by the New Tobacco Industry. This industry makes nothing that it sells to those who voluntarily buy. Instead, it feeds off a river of cash, a Leviathan wreathed in smoke rising from the billionsof dollars that the government extracts from the Old Tobacco Industry and its customers every year.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.428/pub_detail.asp#10-10-2006Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.115/blog_detail.aspPacific Research Institute& #39;s Josh Trevi& ntilde;o interviews PRI Health Care Director John R.Graham regarding California Proposition 86. Proposition 86 will put an additional tax on cigarette sales. California hospitals want a part of the New Tobacco Industry action.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.115/blog_detail.asp#10-2-2006Mon, 2 Oct 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2714/pub_detail.aspMedical malpractice law does not serve justice, because it fails to redress patients& rsquo; grievances while lining the pockets of lawyers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2714/pub_detail.asp#10-1-2006Sun, 1 Oct 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2713/pub_detail.aspMedical tourism is the phenomenon of Americans saving thousands of dollars by seeking treatment in emerging health markets like India and Thailand.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2713/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2006Fri, 1 Sep 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2712/pub_detail.aspMedicaid maintains a deeply rooted, perverse incentive that all but guarantees unaccountable spending growth by state politicians.President Bush continues to offer states more freedom to improve Medicaid via the Deficit Reduction Act and provisions in his 2007 budget. Most states politicians are not engaging this opportunity, preferring simply to complain about the federal government& rsquo;s demands for Medicaid accountability.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2712/pub_detail.asp#8-1-2006Tue, 1 Aug 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.586/pub_detail.aspAs 46 states begin their fiscal year this month, health care will prove to be one of the most costly expenditures. Medicaid spending alone is predicted to reach $320 billion this year. These dramatically rising health care costs should force state policymakers to lay the groundwork for meaningful and lasting reform according to health care expert John R. Graham, director of health care studies at the Pacific Research Institute and editor of the new book, What States Can Do to Reform Health Care: A Free Market Primer.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.586/pub_detail.asp#7-20-2006Thu, 20 Jul 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2711/pub_detail.aspHealth care in this country is a mess, but when it came to making reforms during Health Week, lawmakers in the Senate and the House achieved only gridlock. Some of the best bills wound up dead, or severely wounded. Necessary measures include medical malpractice reform, access to health insurance across state lines, fewer restrictions on health savings accounts, and increased technology in health care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2711/pub_detail.asp#7-1-2006Sat, 1 Jul 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.300/pub_detail.aspLast year, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) introduced SB-840, the California HealthInsurance Reliability Act, which the State Senate has passed and now awaits debate in the Assembly,having passed the Assembly Health Committee in summer 2005. SB-840 imposes a Canadian-stylegovernment healthcare monopoly in California.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.300/pub_detail.asp#6-12-2006Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2710/pub_detail.aspGovernments need to change how they account for national health spending: The Center for Medicare & amp; Medicaid Services accounts for health spending in a largely meaningless way, and these measurements motivate popular demands that Medicaid and other government health plans & ldquo;control& rdquo; costs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2710/pub_detail.asp#6-1-2006Thu, 1 Jun 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2709/pub_detail.aspPresident Bush has made health care a top priority for 2006. Along with increased portability and ownership, an important and controversial aspect of the President& rsquo;s health-care agenda includes greater access to HIT. The Bush administration has pledged $100 million for HIT, and specifically for a national EHR. Properly executed, nationally available EHRs promise benefits to Americans& rsquo; health that outweigh the risks of compromising personal health information.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2709/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2006Mon, 1 May 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2708/pub_detail.aspPressured by those nervous that consumer-directed health care will not really get off the ground without a nudge from the state, the President and other conservative politicians are leaning towards forcing providers to disclose prices publicly and submit to government measures of quality.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2708/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2006Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2707/pub_detail.aspThe U.S. is the most medically innovative country in the world, and these innovations are responsible for saving and improving the lives of countless patients. Three instructive new books acknowledge both the U.S. health care system& rsquo;s existing achievements, and its government-induced defects. A common free market theme among these books means foreseeable overlap, even from chapter to chapter. But differences among them considerably distinguish their approach on health care reform.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2707/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2006Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2706/pub_detail.aspThe complexity and confusion of the Medicare Part D drug benefit, where the media focuses its attention, is actually a relatively insignificant part of the problem posed by the new entitlement, which accelerates a vicious circle of bad incentives for politicians, citizens, and providers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2706/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2006Wed, 1 Feb 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.302/pub_detail.aspWith the defeat of two competing prescription drug discount proposals in the November 8, 2005 special election, politicians and interest groups who want to lower drug prices are likely to revisit a notion that has already been pursued unsuccessfully by California state legislators: the & ldquo;parallel trade& rdquo; of medicines from Canada and other countries with lower-priced prescription drugs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.302/pub_detail.asp#1-17-2006Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.298/pub_detail.aspThe problem of Californians without health insurance is not as awful as generally portrayed. Most of the discussion revolves around the often unstated assumption that Californians should enjoy health & ldquo;coverage& rdquo; that pays for all or most of their health expenditures. However, laws and regulations that force health insurers to provide policies on this basis ensure that many Californians will choose not to buy them.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.298/pub_detail.asp#1-10-2006Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3001/pub_detail.aspLet& rsquo;s take a break from wringing our hands about how confusing and complicated the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit is for our & ldquo;needy& rdquo; seniors (the wealthiest generation in the history of mankind), and examine a healthier offspring of the Medicare Modernization Act of December 2003: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). President Bush& rsquo;s State of the Union speech on January 31 will likely propose expanding the flexibility of this powerful tool that patients are using to take control of their own health care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3001/pub_detail.asp#1-1-2006Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2704/pub_detail.aspMedia hype about obesity has tipped the scale of excess. Since the ever-eager talons of government seized the anti-obesity initiative, the crusade has taken flight in the form of TV advertisements, billboards, and other education efforts everywhere. The result has been hyperbole, exploitation by groups seeking to control other people& rsquo;s behavior, and a sense of victimization among obese people who are told they cannot and should not help themselves. Though evidence indicates that genetics plays a role in obesity, there is no refuting that the chief cause of this & ldquo;crisis& rdquo; is unhealthy behavior.1 Obesity is now considered as great an evil as smoking (which until a generation ago was considered a voluntary, acceptable activity), because of the idea that it imposes a cost upon society.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2704/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2005Thu, 1 Dec 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3232/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3232/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2005Thu, 1 Dec 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3231/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3231/pub_detail.asp#11-30-2005Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.296/pub_detail.aspAddress and PowerPoint Presentation by Sally C. Pipes to the Canadian International Medical Clinics Association Saving Medicare: Strategies and Solutions in Vancouver, Canada 1Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.296/pub_detail.asp#11-11-2005Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2702/pub_detail.aspSuppose that American politicians decided that spending on roads and highways was & ldquo;unsustainable& rdquo;. How could they cut those costs? (I realize that this is extremely unlikely in our pork-laden U.S. government, but bear with me. It& rsquo;s just a thought experiment.)Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2702/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2005Tue, 1 Nov 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.316/pub_detail.asp& ldquo;Most Californians probably do not realize that government regulations cause high drug prices for uninsured patients,& rdquo; said John R. Graham, director of health care studies at PRI and author of the new report. & ldquo;Although Prop. 78 creates a new state program, it actually reduces government involvement in setting prescription drug prices by approving voluntary discount programs that drug makers are already operating in the U.S.& rdquo; Over time, Mr. Graham expects that these discounts will be financed largely by pharmaceutical manufacturers and at little cost to California& rsquo;s taxpayers. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.316/pub_detail.asp#10-24-2005Mon, 24 Oct 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2701/pub_detail.aspSupporters of newly proposed California bill SB 840, entitled & ldquo;The Health Insurance Reliability Act,& rdquo; believe that government-run health care will solve America& rsquo;s health care problems. Last July, the California Democratic Committee Executive Board announced, & ldquo;a universal, single-payer health insurance system& hellip; has been predicted in numerous American studies and demonstrated in other countries to result in greater efficiency, lower costs to businesses, individuals, and government.& rdquo;1 Certainly, uninsured patients, rising costs of medical care, and emergency rooms flooded with patients for non-urgent care are evidence of a broken health care system. But socialized medicine is not the answer. Californians should seriously consider the Constitutional consequences of a completely government-run system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2701/pub_detail.asp#10-1-2005Sat, 1 Oct 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2700/pub_detail.aspWhen the New York Times, which seldom misses a chance to attack drug makers, opines thusly about a recent multimillion-dollar verdict against one of the world& rsquo;s largest pharmaceutical companies, that signals serious problems with America& rsquo;s tort system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2700/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2005Thu, 1 Sep 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2699/pub_detail.aspMedicaid versus MedicareIn July, President Bush appointed a Medicaid Advisory Commission to propose changes to the massive program. This is an important step to reforming a program truly out of control.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2699/pub_detail.asp#8-1-2005Mon, 1 Aug 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.179/pub_detail.aspThe forthcoming Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) provisions of the Convention on Biodiversity carry significant potential implications for the future of biotechnological and pharmaceutical research and development investment, and thus for the evolution of preventative and therapeutic medicine, that is, for the future alleviation of human suffering. If implemented in a system of contractual arrangements, ABS would secure for the owners of flora, fauna, and traditional knowledge clearer and more certain ownership of intellectual and physical property without the severe valuation and other biases inherent in a patent-based system. A patent-based ABS system on the other hand would be equivalent analytically to a long-run tax on biotechnological and pharmaceutical research and development investment. Accordingly, it would have the effect of reducing such investment and thus the worldwide biotechnological and pharmaceutical capital stock over time.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.179/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2005Sun, 1 May 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.460/pub_detail.aspOrdinary Americans are the fastest growing readership segment of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Consumers now follow developments in medicine with the same close attention that they follow the ebbs and flows of their mutual funds. and, hopefully, with better results. Better health care information, and health literacy, are allowing consumers to make smarter choices about their health care, and in turn, lead healthier lives.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.460/pub_detail.asp#4-25-2005Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.153/pub_detail.aspWhen any new drug is invented and ready for distribution in Canada, the Canadian government responds by enforcing an automatic ban on its use. This ban is removed for patients who need the drug immediately only under extraordinary circumstances. The general ban is only lifted after the manufacturer has paid a user fee and waited for Health Canada to undertake a lengthy review to certify the safety and efficacy of the medicine. This ban is harmful to Canadians& rsquo; health and is implicated in the deaths of hundreds of Canadians annuallyPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.153/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2005Fri, 1 Apr 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3230/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3230/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2004Wed, 1 Dec 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3229/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3229/pub_detail.asp#6-1-2004Tue, 1 Jun 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.352/pub_detail.aspThe bill before the committee today consists of two substantial parts. One calling for a state-sponsored web site to facilitate illegal importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada. The other calls on the state to mimic other jurisdictions in actually importing such pharmaceuticals directly for state-sponsored programs. The state-sponsored web site was addressed in my testimony on SB 1149. The issues in this importation debate are safety, the impact of price controls on research and development, and intellectual property.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.352/pub_detail.asp#4-13-2004Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.354/pub_detail.aspWith all due respect to the committee, its staff, and the time, effort, and taxpayer money that must have been expended in putting together this resolution, I must say that the facts collected don& #39;t support the conclusion that massive importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada will & quot;pose no additional risk to the public.s health and safety and will result in significant reduction of cost of prescription drugs to the American consumer.& quot;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.354/pub_detail.asp#4-13-2004Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.412/pub_detail.aspThis paper offers a review of the Alan Sager testimony on West Virginia bill H.B. 4084.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.412/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2004Mon, 1 Mar 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.544/pub_detail.aspOn December 8, 2003, the President signed the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which added a prescription drug benefit as part of the Medicare program starting in 2006.The impact of the legislation on pharmaceutical industry profits is the subject of some controversy. A recent study by academics estimates that the Medicare prescription drug benefit would increase profits in the pharmaceutical industry by $139 billion, or 38 percent, between 2006 and 2013. The study, written by Alan Sager and Debora Socolar of Boston University, has been widely quoted by critics of the recently enacted Medicare legislation. These results stand in stark contrast to the opinion of financial analysts who track developments in the pharmaceutical industry.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.544/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2004Mon, 1 Mar 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2273/pub_detail.asp The San Francisco supervisors have enlisted their city in the quest to reimport cheap prescription drugs from Canada. They thereby provide a lesson in bad government and poor economics. Other cities, as well as California& #39;s state government, would be wise not to follow their misguided example.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2273/pub_detail.asp#1-21-2004Wed, 21 Jan 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2764/pub_detail.aspDecember 2003 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2764/pub_detail.asp#12-31-2003Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3228/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3228/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2003Mon, 1 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2760/pub_detail.aspAugust 2003 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2760/pub_detail.asp#8-31-2003Sun, 31 Aug 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2697/pub_detail.aspOn July 25, the House passed a bill, H.R. 2427, that allows the importation of price-controlled prescription drugs from 25 other nations, with no certification of their safety. The legislation became part of the Medicare bill passed by the House, which has been sent to a conference committee for reconciliation with a Senate bill that also allows importation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2697/pub_detail.asp#8-1-2003Fri, 1 Aug 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2696/pub_detail.aspPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2696/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2003Tue, 1 Apr 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2695/pub_detail.aspObservers got a jolt when Medicare& #39;s Board of Trustees released its annual report on March 17 showing the program in worse shape than expected. Despite a decrease in physician fees of 5.4 percent in 2002, Medicare expenses shot up by 8.5 percent to $266 billion.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2695/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2003Sat, 1 Mar 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.308/pub_detail.aspMedicare, the government health-care program for the elderly and disabled, faces a financial crisis when the baby boom generation begins to retire. Moreover, reform has become necessary because the complex, defined benefit Medicare program is failing to deliver the basic features of good medical care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.308/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2003Sat, 1 Feb 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2694/pub_detail.aspIf market-based health-care reform were a Hollywood movie, it would be a horror flick called Mediscare in which heartless Republicans threaten senior citizens by attempting reform of the Medicare program. But Washington beats Hollywood to the punch by creating its own theatre. A sequel to Mediscare has now arrived, but whether seniors will buy tickets remains to be seen.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2694/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2003Sat, 1 Feb 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2693/pub_detail.aspThe federal government released data this month showing the United States spent $1.4 trillion on health care in 2001, or $5,035 per capita. This year, spending will increase to nearly $1.7 trillion. Yet all around us the health-care system is falling into chaos. The headlines tell the story.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2693/pub_detail.asp#1-1-2003Wed, 1 Jan 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2692/pub_detail.aspGaming the system has always been part and parcel of the federal Medicare program. At its inception, doctors discovered that by increasing their fees they would receive higher Medicare reimbursements in subsequent years. As lawmakers instituted price controls to thwart such tactics, new ways to game the system have arisen. Consider the case of Tenet Healthcare Corp., a large, for-profit hospital chain.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2692/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2002Sun, 1 Dec 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.365/pub_detail.aspA week before Independence Day, 37-year-old Debbie Thomas found herself on a bus headed over the border to seek medications. This was not, however, one of the highly publicized stories of Americans going to Canada to buy cut-rate prescriptions.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.365/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2002Fri, 1 Nov 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2691/pub_detail.aspPresident Bush and the new Congress should waste no time giving all Medicare beneficiaries access to prescription drug coverage. No, I& rsquo;m not talking about creating Medicare & ldquo;Part D& rdquo; & ndash; a government-run drug benefit that would eat up trillions of taxpayer dollars while destroying research and development on life-saving drugs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2691/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2002Fri, 1 Nov 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2209/pub_detail.aspIt is the only place where you can look north from Canada into the United States. And here, at one of the most crossed borders in the world, some realities become clear, such as the nature of the traffic headed southward. While American politicians make a great show of bus tours to Canada, Canadians board buses headed south, in search of medical care.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2209/pub_detail.asp#10-16-2002Wed, 16 Oct 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2685/pub_detail.aspCongress is in the midst of trying to pass another Medicare & ldquo;giveback& rdquo; bill. Physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and home health-care providers are spending tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress to get more money from the system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2685/pub_detail.asp#10-1-2002Tue, 1 Oct 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2690/pub_detail.aspLegislation passed by the U.S. Senate on July 31 would weaken patent protection for brand-name drugs by allowing generic drugs to reach the market sooner. Supporters claim that the bill, S. 812, will reduce drug spending by $60 billion over the next 10 years.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2690/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2002Sun, 1 Sep 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2202/pub_detail.aspTurning a two-year budget surplus of $12 billion into a deficit of $24 billion, California& rsquo;s current predicament, is a tough act to follow by any standard. But a debt-relief plan currently making the rounds here may be up to the task, at least in terms of irony, because it makes the state dependent on the very groups it has punished: smokers and the Big Tobacco companies.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2202/pub_detail.asp#8-28-2002Wed, 28 Aug 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2199/pub_detail.aspSeveral years ago the government of California, which has better things to do, scolded residents for their eating habits, prompting a response in this space. The sequel involves a weighty tale of a different sort, with a potentially huge conflict.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2199/pub_detail.asp#8-8-2002Thu, 8 Aug 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2689/pub_detail.aspPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2689/pub_detail.asp#8-1-2002Thu, 1 Aug 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2688/pub_detail.aspConsumer Reports provides a valuable service with its tough product reviews and ratings. But the popular magazine also promotes a health-care system that is bad for consumers and the medical profession alike. The latest example appears in the July 2002 issue. The article, ominously titled & ldquo;The unraveling of health insurance,& rdquo; takes a look at the new consumer-driven health-care plans that are being adopted by large employers as an antidote to the nearly perpetual health-care crisisPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2688/pub_detail.asp#7-1-2002Mon, 1 Jul 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2687/pub_detail.aspHealth insurance premiums are growing at unsustainable rates. Large parts of the population don& rsquo;t have any insurance at all, and Medicare beneficiaries continue to be covered by an antiquated program with large gaps in coverage & ndash; most conspicuously, a lack of coverage for outpatient prescription drugs. This is all eerily similar to the health-care landscape a decade ago.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2687/pub_detail.asp#6-1-2002Sat, 1 Jun 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2684/pub_detail.aspIn the ever-changing world of health care, one thing remains the same. Low-income workers continue to be shortchanged by America& rsquo;s steadfast reliance on an employment-based health insurance system.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2684/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2002Mon, 1 Apr 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2683/pub_detail.aspWhile millions of Americans lose their health-care coverage, Senator Tom Daschle has taken a defiant stance in order to prevent the enactment of tax credits for individuals who purchase their own health insurance.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2683/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2002Fri, 1 Mar 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2682/pub_detail.aspThe debate over the future of Medicare is set to continue in 2002. The Bush administration has indicated that its proposed budget for fiscal year 2003, due in early February, will include a combined Medicare reform and prescription drug plan.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2682/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2002Fri, 1 Feb 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2681/pub_detail.aspJust as the nation appears ready to emerge from the economic downturn that officially began in March 2001, Congress is attempting to come to the rescue with a & ldquo;stimulus& rdquo; package. Democratic party leaders in Congress have been pressing to include a health-care provision that would subsidize the purchase of COBRA health insurance for laid-off workers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2681/pub_detail.asp#1-1-2002Tue, 1 Jan 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.314/pub_detail.aspAs the system that has provided federal workers with a choice of health plans since 1960, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) is the oldest, most successful example of & ldquo;defined contribution& rdquo; health insurance. The program serves as a model for broader health care reform, but the future success of the FEHBP is being threatened.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.314/pub_detail.asp#12-12-2001Wed, 12 Dec 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.267/pub_detail.aspA sweeping health-care reform proposal that would install a Canadian-style & quot;single-payer& quot; government-monopoly system has qualified for the November ballot in California. This initiative, & quot;The California Health Security Act,& quot; raises in acute form nearly all of the key issues in the national health-care debate, such as universal coverage, administrative efficiency of the private market, global budgets, rationing, and employer mandates.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.267/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2001Thu, 1 Nov 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.533/pub_detail.aspOver the next few months the already heated debate over health care reform will intensify even more. President Clinton has evidently decided to pull out all the stops in his effort to persuade Congress to pass the health care plan crafted under the First Lady& #39;s guidancePublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.533/pub_detail.asp#11-1-2001Thu, 1 Nov 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1888/pub_detail.aspDue to the September 11 terrorist attacks, more than 100,000 airline and related industry employees are expected to be laid off. From this tragedy has arisen an opportunity to get to the root of the problem of lost health coverage.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1888/pub_detail.asp#10-31-2001Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1864/pub_detail.aspSenior citizens are alarmed by their increased spending on prescription drugs. Unfortunately, some lawmakers have offered a solution to this problem without understanding the ailment.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1864/pub_detail.asp#6-13-2001Wed, 13 Jun 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1869/pub_detail.aspThe clock is ticking on legislation that would stop the government from accessing your medical data. If Congress does not pass the Medical Privacy Protection Resolution, House Joint Resolution 38, to repeal the medical privacy regulation by Friday, June 15, then you may lose your medical privacy.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1869/pub_detail.asp#6-13-2001Wed, 13 Jun 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3418/pub_detail.aspPresidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush supported reimportation of pharmaceuticals as a solution to prescription drug woes. But now Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson suggests he opposes reimportation as a risk to public health.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3418/pub_detail.asp#5-14-2001Mon, 14 May 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3459/pub_detail.aspIn deciding whether or not to adopt a new Medicare prescription drug program, Americans should consider carefully how it would affect them in the long run, both as taxpayers and seniors. If history is any indication, a new prescription drug program will most likely end up costing much more than politicians claim.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3459/pub_detail.asp#10-3-2000Tue, 3 Oct 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3456/pub_detail.aspIn many nations, especially France, Canada, and Japan, government price controls are limiting consumer access to prescription medicines and leading to higher health-care spending. But if some lawmakers have their way, the United States will follow this regulatory path by setting prices for prescription drugs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3456/pub_detail.asp#9-21-2000Thu, 21 Sep 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3454/pub_detail.aspRepublicans and Democrats have competing plans to provide prescription drugs for seniors. Beyond the combative rhetoric, however, the similarities outweigh the differences. Both plans are expensive, bureaucratic, and threaten future treatment options for seniors.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3454/pub_detail.asp#7-10-2000Mon, 10 Jul 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3430/pub_detail.aspAccording to conventional wisdom, Hispanics are one monolithic group wedded to government solutions in health care. But a new poll by the Hispanic Business Roundtable (HBR) shatters that stereotype with the revelation that many Hispanics are expressing a desire for more control over their health-care decisions.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3430/pub_detail.asp#4-4-2000Tue, 4 Apr 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3427/pub_detail.aspProposition 28, slated for the March California ballot, allows state voters to eliminate unfair taxes and roll back further government encroachment into our homes and schools. The measure accomplishes these goals by repealing Proposition 10, narrowly approved in November 1998.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3427/pub_detail.asp#2-10-2000Thu, 10 Feb 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3431/pub_detail.aspWhat do you get when you cross Washington politics with an agenda for government-controlled health care? Extortion, D.C. Style.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3431/pub_detail.asp#2-8-2000Tue, 8 Feb 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2747/pub_detail.aspDecember 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2747/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1999Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2746/pub_detail.aspOctober 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2746/pub_detail.asp#10-31-1999Sun, 31 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3473/pub_detail.aspThis week, California Governor Gray Davis signed legislation which declares that & quot;mental illness is real.& quot; As a psychiatrist I& rsquo;d have to say that the legislators got this part correct. But the new law also mandates parity in coverage for mental illness& mdash;bad medicine for all Californians.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3473/pub_detail.asp#10-1-1999Fri, 1 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2745/pub_detail.aspSeptember 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2745/pub_detail.asp#9-30-1999Thu, 30 Sep 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2743/pub_detail.aspJuly 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2743/pub_detail.asp#7-31-1999Sat, 31 Jul 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3476/pub_detail.aspDid you know that if Congress does not pass a medical privacy law by August 21, then the Clinton Administration will be handed the authority to regulate your medical privacy? This deadline, established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), puts pressure on Congress to act, or be acted upon, to protect the confidentiality of Americans& rsquo; medical records.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3476/pub_detail.asp#7-9-1999Fri, 9 Jul 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2742/pub_detail.aspJune 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2742/pub_detail.asp#6-30-1999Wed, 30 Jun 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3478/pub_detail.aspThese are not good times for Americans who value their privacy. Things will get much worse if, as planned, the government institutes a national patient identification system and a massive federal medical database.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3478/pub_detail.asp#6-28-1999Mon, 28 Jun 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2741/pub_detail.aspMay 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2741/pub_detail.asp#5-31-1999Mon, 31 May 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3481/pub_detail.aspBy the time they reach the age of five, the majority of American children is given 33 doses of 10 different vaccines. Some lawmakers, parents, and medical professionals have begun to question the long-term effects of these vaccines on children& rsquo;s health and consider the proper role of government in this area.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3481/pub_detail.asp#5-17-1999Mon, 17 May 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2739/pub_detail.aspMarch 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2739/pub_detail.asp#3-31-1999Wed, 31 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3488/pub_detail.aspThere is no question that nearly all Californians think children should have access to quality health care. And while current efforts to expand government health care programs for children may be well intentioned, these programs have serious unintended consequences. Experience has shown that government health care programs can encourage families to drop their private health insurance and severely reduce health care choices.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3488/pub_detail.asp#3-8-1999Mon, 8 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3226/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3226/pub_detail.asp#3-1-1999Mon, 1 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2738/pub_detail.aspFebruary 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2738/pub_detail.asp#2-28-1999Sun, 28 Feb 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2737/pub_detail.aspJanuary 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2737/pub_detail.asp#1-31-1999Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2736/pub_detail.aspDecember 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2736/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1998Thu, 31 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.193/pub_detail.aspSince the mid-1990s, California& rsquo;s state spending has been increasing at an impressive pace. Governor Gray Davis& rsquo;s most recent budget proposal is $102 billion& mdash;almost eight percent higher than last year& rsquo;s proposed budget& mdash;and does not fully account for changing economic conditions and the state& rsquo;s electricity crisis. Figure 1 in this study breaks down the governor& rsquo;s proposed budget by spending area.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.193/pub_detail.asp#12-1-1998Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3223/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3223/pub_detail.asp#12-1-1998Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2735/pub_detail.aspNovember 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2735/pub_detail.asp#11-30-1998Mon, 30 Nov 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2734/pub_detail.aspOctober 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2734/pub_detail.asp#10-31-1998Sat, 31 Oct 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3243/pub_detail.aspThe claim to champion the health of children has been a consistent rhetorical winner for politicians promoting more government spending and control. From the expansion of Medicaid to its present status as a middle-class entitlement to the growth of school-based health clinics, massive new government programs that do little to improve health-care outcomes have all been created in the name of & quot;the children.& quot; And now the latest program coming out of Washington moves us one step closer to nationalized medicine under the pretense of aiding children.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3243/pub_detail.asp#10-7-1998Wed, 7 Oct 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2733/pub_detail.aspSeptember 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2733/pub_detail.asp#9-30-1998Wed, 30 Sep 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3222/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3222/pub_detail.asp#9-1-1998Tue, 1 Sep 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2732/pub_detail.aspAugust 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2732/pub_detail.asp#8-31-1998Mon, 31 Aug 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3242/pub_detail.aspIn 1994, Congress resoundingly rejected President Clinton& rsquo;s managed-competition health plan. That same plan, however, remains alive and well in California, which operates two state-mandated health-plan purchasing cooperatives & mdash; CalPERS (California Public Employees& rsquo; Retirement System) and HIPC (Health Insurance Plan of California). These state-run programs offer only managed-care options, limiting choice for California& rsquo;s public and small-business employees.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3242/pub_detail.asp#8-12-1998Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.552/pub_detail.aspIf one gauged the well-being of children strictly by the flurry of alarming media accounts and the rhetoric of child welfare advocates, one might believe that American children stand in dire peril. Politicians compound this problem with their fever-pitch crusades claiming to champion the cause of children.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.552/pub_detail.asp#8-1-1998Sat, 1 Aug 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2731/pub_detail.aspJuly 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2731/pub_detail.asp#7-31-1998Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2730/pub_detail.aspJune 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2730/pub_detail.asp#6-30-1998Tue, 30 Jun 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3239/pub_detail.aspIt is rare when a week passes without hearing a criticism of Medi-Cal, California& rsquo;s Medicaid program for the poor. Many of these criticisms center on rising cost and declining quality of care. The reasons behind these problems are complex, but one reform proposal addresses both concerns.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3239/pub_detail.asp#6-9-1998Tue, 9 Jun 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2729/pub_detail.aspMay 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2729/pub_detail.asp#5-31-1998Sun, 31 May 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3220/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3220/pub_detail.asp#3-1-1998Sun, 1 Mar 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2726/pub_detail.aspFebruary 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2726/pub_detail.asp#2-28-1998Sat, 28 Feb 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2725/pub_detail.aspJanuary 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2725/pub_detail.asp#1-31-1998Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2724/pub_detail.aspDecember 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2724/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1997Wed, 31 Dec 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2723/pub_detail.aspNovember 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2723/pub_detail.asp#11-30-1997Sun, 30 Nov 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2722/pub_detail.aspOctober 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2722/pub_detail.asp#10-31-1997Fri, 31 Oct 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2721/pub_detail.aspSeptember 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2721/pub_detail.asp#9-30-1997Tue, 30 Sep 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2720/pub_detail.aspAugust 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2720/pub_detail.asp#8-31-1997Sun, 31 Aug 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.540/pub_detail.aspThis report on welfare reform is the first in a series of publications that will focus on various aspects of California& #39;s current and future welfare system. With more control and discretion being given back to state and local governments, it is imperative that Californians understand the various components and policy goals of welfare reform that will be sought by the executive and legislative branches in Sacramento.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.540/pub_detail.asp#5-1-1997Thu, 1 May 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2969/pub_detail.aspIn November 1994, California voters overwhelmingly defeated Proposition 186 (73% - 27%), an initiative that would have placed every man, woman, and child& #39;s health care needs in California in the hands of a government run and controlled system. Now, the same labor organizations that were behind Proposition 186 are back with the same agenda, but with a different twist.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2969/pub_detail.asp#10-1-1996Tue, 1 Oct 1996 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.226/pub_detail.aspIt is generally agreed upon by both criminal justice officials and academic researchers that there are growing numbers of seriously mentally ill individuals entering the criminal justice system. Up until now, however, there have been few estimates of the fiscal impact of this increase. While acknowledging the data limitations, this report makes estimations of the costs of the seriously mentally ill on corrections, law enforcement, and the courts.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.226/pub_detail.asp#9-1-1996Sun, 1 Sep 1996 00:00:00 EST