Health Reform & Standards for Equal Justice

The Urban Institute's Eugene Stuerle is not very happy with the health care expansion legislation that is likely to be passed into law. Stuerle argues that the legislation violates the standards of equal justice. Of course, families in this income bracket pay far more than $14,700 for health care. They get hit by uninsured expenses or covered expenses they have ...

Making Jobs More Expensive

The recently passed health care “reform” noted by James below is going to have another impact some have noted, but many have not given much thought too. It will, in effect, make labor more expensive. When something becomes more expensive for firms then tend to use less of it. They will substitute away from it if possible, ...

House Trades Freedom for Health Coverage, Senate’s Move

The House passed a trillion dollar bill that will force Americans to buy health insurance, force even small businesses to provide health coverage, and require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.  (The last, as I have previously argued, makes it something other than "insurance.") Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray for WaPo: Hours after President Obama exhorted Democratic lawmakers to "answer the call ...

Health Care Reform Tax on Low Income Earners

James Capretta does a back of the envelope calculation on the Baucus health care reform bill and concludes that it would be like having a 70% marginal tax rate on the low income. According to CBO, family coverage in 2016 is likely to cost about $14,400 under the so-called “silver option” in the health-care reform plan sponsored by Senate Finance Committee ...

Health Care Reform Fate Still Mystery

Scanning the stories on Memeorandum this morning, it appears that a radical reform of America's health care system is either a fait accompli or deader than a doornail.  Why, even Bob Dole is conflicted. Karl Rove has a piece in WSJ titled "The GOP Is Winning the Health-Care Debate." He cites polling data: According to Fox News surveys, the number of ...

Health Insurance Mandates

Sam Stein reports that "Democrats are bracing themselves for a new line of conservative attack against a provision in the health care legislation once considered so non-controversial that it was endorsed by several major Republican officials."  What is it, you might ask, that these dastardly Republicans are opposing out of their racist hatred of Barack Obama? On Tuesday, Sen. Jon Kyl ...

What Health Care Costs

Ezra Klein has yet another op-ed in WaPo on health care in which he outlines a state of facts that one would think is beyond dispute and then leaps to conclusions that are quite disputable. The title of the piece is "You Have No Idea What Health Costs," which is likely true for most people, and the subhead is ...

45% of Doctors Would Quit Under ObamaCare

A new Investor's Business Daily poll contends that nearly half the nation's doctors would "Consider leaving [their] practice or taking an early retirement" if "Congress passes its health care plan." Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it ...

‘Free’ Medical Care for Military

Amongst the many stories circulating about the suddenly-famous Rep. Joe Wilson (who once used caffeine!) is that he's opposed to government provided health care for non-citizens in the United States in violation of our immigration laws* yet he and his son shamelessly take it just because they're in the National Guard!  Indeed, this is apparently their "dirty little secret." He's passionate! ...

Shouting ‘Liar’ in a Crowded Congress

The big news surrounding President Obama's latest heathcare speech is that South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" in response to the claim that illegal immigrants would not be covered under universal coverage: AP ("Obama heckled by GOP during speech to Congress"): The nastiness of August reached from the nation's town halls into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as President ...

Resource Allocation and Health Care

Over at his web site Dave has put up a post discussing how resources are allocated. I've touched on this very briefly in comments and a post or two, but nothing this extensive. As such, go read it, it's good. Here is a snippet, Despite the author’s attempt to assuage concern by pooh-poohing the idea of rationing, rationing or ...

Its the Costs, Stupid

In the last several posts on health care it is often pointed out that health insurance companies engage in dubious practices. For example, they’ll deny coverage for the most trivial of reasons. Many posting comments focus on this issue as well as others such as quality of care, the moral nature of providing health care, and so forth. ...

A Doctor Speaks on Health Care

Scott Payne has a really insightful interview with physician Dan Summers that's definitely worth reading for another perspective on how our current, awful system of health care works. Here's a snippet: As someone who works within the system on a day-to-day basis, what are your thoughts about the current state of health care in the US? I think the current state ...

Split Health Care Bill

Taking a page out of Soloman's playbook, Congressional Democrats have a brand new plan for passing health care reform. The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes. The idea is ...

Obama’s Op-Ed on Health Care

President Obama, seeing that he is taking a beating in the polls, and that health care is starting to founder took to the pages of the New York Times to lay out the case for health care reform. I think he did a rather bad job of it. He could have done it with far, far fewer ...