Home
rbshocker Bennett's Library tagged → View Popular
Olympia Snowe Tells Story About Health-Care History - WSJ.com
Olympia Snowe delivered a very good speech on health care shortly before Thanksgiving, not that the press corps noticed. With Majority Leader Harry Reid's announcement this week of a double-secret bargain that Democrats hope will squeeze ObamaCare through the Senate—after nine whole days of debate so far in the world's greatest deliberative body—the Maine Republican's words seem more pertinent than ever.
What Senate health bill means for consumers - Washington Post- msnbc.com
While confusion reigned on Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the prospects and details of a Senate deal to replace a government-run insurance plan with other measures, it is not too soon to ask what the proposal would mean for regular people.
The short answer — subject to Senate revisions — is that those without employer-provided insurance would have more options for buying coverage, but if they are younger than 55, their money would go to a private insurer, no matter what. Rates would be more competitive than what they are offered now, but possibly less so than under a "public option." And if they are between 55 and 64, they might be able to buy into Medicare early, though at what prices remains to be seen.
Get ready: There’ll be a price for health benefits - Health care- msnbc.com
Have your checkbooks and credit cards ready. There's a price for health care security.
President Barack Obama's overhaul — now looking like it really will happen — should give uninsured Americans options they've never had before. But it won't be a free ride.
Medicare Part D 'Reforms' Will Harm Seniors - WSJ.com
There is a little-noticed provision buried deep in both the House and Senate health-care reform bills that is intended to save billions of dollars—but instead will hurt millions of seniors, impose new costs on taxpayers, and charge employers millions in new taxes.
-
As part of the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003, Congress created a new drug
benefit—called Medicare Part D—for retirees at a cost of about $1,900 per
recipient per year. -
government provided a subsidy of at least $800
- 1 more annotations...
Obamacare at Any Cost
We have now reached the stage of the health-care debate when all that matters is getting a bill passed, so all news is good news, more subsidies mean lower deficits, and more expensive insurance is really cheaper insurance. The nonpolitical mind reels.
HHS would become federal giant under Senate plan | Washington Examiner
A quick search of the Senate health bill will bring up "secretary" 2,500 times.
That's because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it.
-
HHS would become federal giant under Senate plan
By: Susan
Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
November
26, 2009 -
the secretary is given the power to establish "the basic per enrollee, per month
cost, determined on average actuarial basis, for including coverage under a
qualified health care plan." - 3 more annotations...
Fighting the Wrong Health Care Battle
AS the health care debate enters its decisive stage, liberals in Congress should be ready to trade the public option for provisions that will actually make the reforms succeed.
Health 'reform' that burdens our young
-
entitlements" dominate government spending and squeeze education,
research, defense and almost everything else -
Because workers, not retirees, are the primary taxpayers, this spending involves
huge transfers to the old. - 5 more annotations...
Harry Reid's Health-Care Bill Attacks HSAs - WSJ.com
About the best that can be said about the Senate health-care bill that Harry Reid revealed this week is that it's marginally less destructive than the House monster. By a hair. Its $1.2 trillion cost (more like $2.5 trillion if you discount the accounting gimmicks), multiple and damaging new taxes, and new regulations will make health insurance more expensive for most Americans while reducing the quality of medical care.
-
The End of HSAs
-
But for today let's focus on the damage the bill would do to consumer-driven
health plans—the kind that give individuals more control over their health
dollars and insurance choices. The 2,074-page bill crushes them with
malice-aforethought. - 8 more annotations...
Health reform's vital signs - Fred Hiatt
Is American democracy in paralysis? That question emerged at a conference of big thinkers and experts in various fields organized last week by Foreign Policy magazine, our sister publication.
A leap forward to better care - Peter Orzag
The nation stands on the verge of achieving fundamental health-care reform. For the first time in history, the House of Representatives has enacted comprehensive health-reform legislation, and the Senate has begun its own debate. These bills will provide a bedrock sense of security and stability for Americans who have health insurance, and quality, affordable options for Americans without it.
A budget-buster in the making - David Broder
It's simply not true that America is ambivalent about everything when it comes to the Obama health plan.
The new health care bureaucracy
Anytime Washington gets involved in any policy decision, Washington writes all the rules and tells everyone what to do. Health care is no exception. What started as a plan to find ways to cover people who don't have insurance transformed into thousands of pages of new regulations, mandates, prohibitions, oversight and general central control.
Health 'Reform' Gets a Failing Grade - WSJ.com
As the dean of Harvard Medical School I am frequently asked to comment on the health-reform debate. I'd give it a failing grade.
We should not be making public policy in such a crucial area by keeping the electorate ignorant of the actual road ahead.
-
The rhetoric on both sides is exaggerated and often deceptive
-
Our health-care system suffers from problems of cost, access and quality, and
needs major reform. Tax policy drives employment-based insurance; this begets
overinsurance and drives costs upward while creating inequities for the
unemployed and self-employed. A regulatory morass limits innovation. And deep
flaws in Medicare and Medicaid drive spending without optimizing care. - 2 more annotations...
Obama's Malpractice - Robert Samuelson
There is an air of absurdity to what is mistakenly called "health care reform." Everyone knows that the United States faces massive governmental budget deficits as far as calculators can project, driven heavily by an aging population and uncontrolled health costs. Recovering slowly from a devastating recession, it's widely agreed that, though deficits should not be cut abruptly (lest the economy resume its slump), a prudent society would embark on long-term policies to control health costs, reduce government spending, and curb massive future deficits.
-
Recovering slowly from a devastating recession, it's widely agreed that, though
deficits should not be cut abruptly (lest the economy resume its slump), a
prudent society would embark on long-term policies to control health costs,
reduce government spending, and curb massive future deficits. The administration
estimates these at $9 trillion from 2010 to 2019. -
So, what do they do? Just the opposite. Their sweeping overhaul of the health
care system -- which Congress is halfway toward enacting -- would almost
certainly make matters worse. - 4 more annotations...
A New Tax a Day, and Medicare Could Be Next - WSJ.com
The latest schemes are leaking out of the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid is scrambling to find enough money while not offending Big Labor. The Senate Finance bill imposes a 40% tax on expensive private health plans, many of which belong to union members as part of their negotiated contracts
-
So Mr. Reid wants to reduce this tax and is floating a new Medicare payroll tax
surcharge as a substitute. -
It would also create the first progressive payroll tax in American history, with
wealthier workers paying a higher Medicare payroll tax rate than lower income
workers. - 2 more annotations...
The Health Care Rationing Commission - WSJ.com
-
one of the least examined is a new commission to tell Congress how to control
health spending. Democrats are quietly attempting to impose a "global budget" on
Medicare, with radical implications for U.S. medicine. -
the various health bills stipulate that Congress will arbitrarily decide how
much to spend on health care for seniors every year—and then invest an unelected
board with extraordinary powers to dictate what is covered and how it will be
paid for. White House budget director Peter Orszag calls this Medicare
commission "critical to our fiscal future" and "one of the most potent reforms." - 6 more annotations...
Government Health Fixes Will Leave Us Broke
By a razor-thin margin, lawmakers approved the trillion-dollar health reform package proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Saturday evening. Proponents of the measure claim that it will eventually pay for itself -- and even lower the nation's healthcare costs and the federal deficit.\n\nThis is nonsense. For evidence, look no further than our history with Medicare.\n\n
-
By a razor-thin margin, lawmakers approved the trillion-dollar health reform
package proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Saturday evening. Proponents
of the measure claim that it will eventually pay for itself -- and even lower
the nation's healthcare costs and the federal deficit.This is nonsense. For evidence, look no further than our history with
Medicare.
Who's your daddy? Uncle Sam - JSOnline
The health care scheme that squeaked through the House of Representatives will load great new costs on people. But wait until you find out about what you get in return: a new dad.
-
The health care scheme that squeaked through the House of Representatives
will load great new costs on people. But wait until you find out about what you
get in return: a new dad.
A $300 billion deception
HAVING PASSED a health reform bill that is, at least theoretically, paid for, the House of Representatives is poised this week to blow a quarter-trillion-dollar hole in the federal budget involving, you guessed it, health care. This is the so-called doc fix, to prevent scheduled cuts in Medicare reimbursements to physicians from taking effect.
-
HAVING PASSED a health reform bill that is, at least theoretically, paid for,
the House of Representatives is poised this week to blow a
quarter-trillion-dollar hole in the federal budget involving, you guessed it,
health care. This is the so-called doc fix, to prevent scheduled cuts in
Medicare reimbursements to physicians from taking effect.
Selected Tags
Related Tags
Sponsored Links
Top Contributors
Groups interested in healthcare
-
Nursing & Healthcare Websites
Items: 28 | Visits: 70
Created by: Stephan Macaluso
-
MedEthics
Items: 17 | Visits: 146
Created by: ken meece
Highlighter, Sticky notes, Tagging, Groups and Network: integrated suite dramatically boosting research productivity. Learn more »
Join Diigo