A new survey that is highly critical of consumer-directed health care is getting attention in the media, and once again, we need to tell you what it really says. The Commonwealth Fund and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) have produced the third in a series of studies that we can only believe reflects an agenda to show that CDHC is a failure. The Commonwealth website, for example, … [Read more...] about The True Story
Gold Standard
A gold standard in health policy is finding ways to improve care, save money, and enlist patients in better managing their chronic conditions. And we have new evidence of the success of a program that is doing just that. The Asheville Project began several years ago, enlisting local pharmacists to monitor and help manage the health of diabetes patients and coach them about using their medicines … [Read more...] about Gold Standard
What They Agree On
Now that it appears the Democratic presidential contest will keep going for some time, health care will continue to be a major topic of debate. While most of the disagreement between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has focused on universal coverage -- and particularly an individual mandate -- that dispute is actually overshadowing how many similarities there are between their two health … [Read more...] about What They Agree On
The GOP's Prescription for Health Care
Health care has been a sleeper issue in the Republican presidential primaries. But as we heard in President Bush's State of the Union address last night, the GOP does have ideas -- big and transformative ideas designed to energize the free market to target many of the problems that plague our health sector. The leading Republican candidates all have announced plans that would give more power … [Read more...] about The GOP's Prescription for Health Care
The GOP’s Prescription for Health Care
Health care has been a sleeper issue in the Republican presidential primaries. But as we heard in President Bush's State of the Union address last night, the GOP does have ideas -- big and transformative ideas designed to energize the free market to target many of the problems that plague our health sector. The leading Republican candidates all have announced plans that would give more power … [Read more...] about The GOP’s Prescription for Health Care
Massachusetts Struggles
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has been boasting that his state's health reform initiative has reduced the number of uninsured by half, with nearly 300,000 more people added to the health insurance rolls. What he doesn't say is that four out of five of them are relying heavily on taxpayer subsidies for their coverage. Of the 293,000 people newly insured in Massachusetts: 160,000 earn … [Read more...] about Massachusetts Struggles
What Do Consumers Want?
Following up on my commentary of last week about the National Federation of Independent Business joining forces with a big labor union and the AARP on health care, I inaccurately said that the NFIB sponsored the Harry and Louise ads about the Clinton health reform plan in the 1990s. In fact, the ads were produced by the Health Insurance Association of America. My apologies for the error. But the … [Read more...] about What Do Consumers Want?
Very Strange Bedfellows
The National Federation of Independent Business has been one of the stalwart defenders of health freedom. But its recent association with two activist liberal groups is raising eyebrows around town. The NFIB was a leader in the 1990s in explaining to the American people the restrictions and complexities of the Clinton health reform initiative and the loss of freedom to Americans and especially … [Read more...] about Very Strange Bedfellows