How can President Obama possibly endorse the bill that Speaker Pelosi unveiled to such great fanfare on Thursday? The House bill breaks major promises he has made to the American people about his goals for health reform. To name just a few: Cost: The president has assured us that health reform would lower health costs. But the House bill would bend the federal cost curve UP, not down, according … [Read more...] about Breaking Promises
Archives for October 2009
Can Obamacare Be Stopped?
Whether or not Congress passes health-reform legislation depends largely upon whether policymakers in Washington start listening to the American people. If they do, they could pass reasonable, targeted reforms. But that is not the track this Congress and the White House are on now. A poll released last week by the Galen Institute shows the public is overwhelmingly opposed to critical … [Read more...] about Can Obamacare Be Stopped?
Can Obamacare Be Stopped?
Whether or not Congress passes health-reform legislation depends largely upon whether policymakers in Washington start listening to the American people. If they do, they could pass reasonable, targeted reforms. But that is not the track this Congress and the White House are on now. A poll released last week by the Galen Institute shows the public is overwhelmingly opposed to critical … [Read more...] about Can Obamacare Be Stopped?
Costs Keep Rising
Three years after Massachusetts enacted its sweeping health-reform legislation, rising health costs continue to bedevil the state and threaten to derail reform efforts.Despite a significant restructuring of the state's health sector and dominance of nonprofit health plans, Massachusetts still has the highest health-insurance costs in the nation, averaging $13,788 for a family, according to the … [Read more...] about Costs Keep Rising
Costs Keep Rising
Three years after Massachusetts enacted its sweeping health-reform legislation, rising health costs continue to bedevil the state and threaten to derail reform efforts.Despite a significant restructuring of the state's health sector and dominance of nonprofit health plans, Massachusetts still has the highest health-insurance costs in the nation, averaging $13,788 for a family, according to the … [Read more...] about Costs Keep Rising
The Fix Is Not In
Cost remains the central issue in the health-reform debate, and the news last week was not good for leaders on either side of Capitol Hill — first with a vote in the Senate blocking a deficit-spending trick and then with a new report showing the House bill would actually increase health costs.The vote last Wednesday on the “Doc Fix” stunned everyone, even, apparently, Majority … [Read more...] about The Fix Is Not In
The Fix Is Not In
Cost remains the central issue in the health-reform debate, and the news last week was not good for leaders on either side of Capitol Hill — first with a vote in the Senate blocking a deficit-spending trick and then with a new report showing the House bill would actually increase health costs.The vote last Wednesday on the “Doc Fix” stunned everyone, even, apparently, Majority … [Read more...] about The Fix Is Not In
More Drugs, Less Crime: Health Reformers Should Worry About Setting Back Pharmaceutical Innovation
In 1990, the United States was near the peak of a decades-long crime wave. Time magazine reported that New York City was undergoing "a surge of... violent crime that government officials seem utterly unable to combat."Less than two decades later, the city's crime-rate has plummeted. Noting yet another year-over-year decline in criminality, The New York Times recently reported that … [Read more...] about More Drugs, Less Crime: Health Reformers Should Worry About Setting Back Pharmaceutical Innovation