Health Care
California
California Health Reform: The Myths Abide
The (usually more reliable) Riverside Press-Enterprise reported the proceedings of a conference, held over the last two days, which issued a dreary post-mortem on the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez California Health Care Deforminator ABX1-1. ABX1-1 was Governor Schwarzenegger’s and former Assembly Speaker Nuñez’s attempt to ram so-called “universal” health care down our throats ...
Drug Pricing
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide-1
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute has just released The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide. This is the latest book from health care scholar, and PRI President and CEO Sally C. Pipes. The book’s foreword is by Steve Forbes: “For anyone interested in getting ...
California
Californians Beware: “Healthy” San Francisco’s Tax Hikes May Be Coming Your Way
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger invested a lost year in health reform, allying himself with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez 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’s ...
Commentary
Even Blue Cross/Blue Shield Likes Consumer-Driven Health Care
The latest presentation from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) continues the steady drumbeat of positive data about the take-up of consumer-driven health plans (CDHP), which has reached (fingers crossed) its tipping point. It’s an outstanding presentation, prepared by Maureen Sullivan, senior VP at BCBSA (with whom I’m not ...
Commentary
Sec. Leavitt to Greedy Governors: Medicaid Is Not A Bottomless Well
One of the “benefits” of the way we finance Medicare (and Social Security), at least, is that the law requires offically appointed actuaries to report annually on the fiscal status of the program, via the Medicare Trustees Report. Each year, the horror of Medicare’s unfunded liability grows starker and closer. ...
Commentary
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
Commentary
“Universal” Health Care in Hawaii: A Quarter Century of Failure
Today, the world learned that Hawaii is dropping its plan for “universal” health care for kids, Keiki Care, just seven months after it launched. (For some insightful commentary, see here.) But wait a minute… Hawaii already imposed “universal” health care in 1974! Or maybe not, I guess. In my analysis ...
California
Nickel & Dimed in San Francisco Health Care
Despite a (possibly short-term) victory in court, San Francisco’s Health Access Program faces an uphill struggle to provide so-called “universal” health care to San Franciscans. SF HAP, a.k.a. “Healthy San Francisco”, is the name given to the City’s tax hike on small businesses to fund it’s public health bureaucracy. Apparently, ...
Commentary
Port-Wine Stains: A Particularly Idiotic Statement on State Benefit Mandates
Me, that’s who. Alabama came in first place in the second edition of the Index of Health Ownership. I was so pleased that I asked Michael Ciamarra of the Alabama Policy Institute to collaborate with me on an op-ed for placement in local newspapers. As a result, I managed to ...
Commentary
Importation is a national security issue
John McCain and Barack Obama have long been proponents of lifting the ban on foreign drug importation. Both claim the move would reduce the nation’s healthcare costs by giving Americans access to cheap pills from abroad. Now, according to recent announcements from their advisors, they are both reconsidering their support ...
California Health Reform: The Myths Abide
The (usually more reliable) Riverside Press-Enterprise reported the proceedings of a conference, held over the last two days, which issued a dreary post-mortem on the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez California Health Care Deforminator ABX1-1. ABX1-1 was Governor Schwarzenegger’s and former Assembly Speaker Nuñez’s attempt to ram so-called “universal” health care down our throats ...
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide-1
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute has just released The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide. This is the latest book from health care scholar, and PRI President and CEO Sally C. Pipes. The book’s foreword is by Steve Forbes: “For anyone interested in getting ...
Californians Beware: “Healthy” San Francisco’s Tax Hikes May Be Coming Your Way
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger invested a lost year in health reform, allying himself with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez 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’s ...
Even Blue Cross/Blue Shield Likes Consumer-Driven Health Care
The latest presentation from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) continues the steady drumbeat of positive data about the take-up of consumer-driven health plans (CDHP), which has reached (fingers crossed) its tipping point. It’s an outstanding presentation, prepared by Maureen Sullivan, senior VP at BCBSA (with whom I’m not ...
Sec. Leavitt to Greedy Governors: Medicaid Is Not A Bottomless Well
One of the “benefits” of the way we finance Medicare (and Social Security), at least, is that the law requires offically appointed actuaries to report annually on the fiscal status of the program, via the Medicare Trustees Report. Each year, the horror of Medicare’s unfunded liability grows starker and closer. ...
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
“Universal” Health Care in Hawaii: A Quarter Century of Failure
Today, the world learned that Hawaii is dropping its plan for “universal” health care for kids, Keiki Care, just seven months after it launched. (For some insightful commentary, see here.) But wait a minute… Hawaii already imposed “universal” health care in 1974! Or maybe not, I guess. In my analysis ...
Nickel & Dimed in San Francisco Health Care
Despite a (possibly short-term) victory in court, San Francisco’s Health Access Program faces an uphill struggle to provide so-called “universal” health care to San Franciscans. SF HAP, a.k.a. “Healthy San Francisco”, is the name given to the City’s tax hike on small businesses to fund it’s public health bureaucracy. Apparently, ...
Port-Wine Stains: A Particularly Idiotic Statement on State Benefit Mandates
Me, that’s who. Alabama came in first place in the second edition of the Index of Health Ownership. I was so pleased that I asked Michael Ciamarra of the Alabama Policy Institute to collaborate with me on an op-ed for placement in local newspapers. As a result, I managed to ...
Importation is a national security issue
John McCain and Barack Obama have long been proponents of lifting the ban on foreign drug importation. Both claim the move would reduce the nation’s healthcare costs by giving Americans access to cheap pills from abroad. Now, according to recent announcements from their advisors, they are both reconsidering their support ...
