Recent Articles

“The federal district court’s decision declaring portions of federal health care reform unconstitutional reaffirms that the federal government has limited and enumerated powers. The theories advanced by the federal government in support of the mandate were without bounds and could have justified virtually unlimited federal control of private activity. Reforming America’s health care system is important, but just like everything else, from national security to environmental protection, it must be done in a way that’s consistent with constitutional principles.”

“In a stinging rebuke to the Obama administration, a federal judge Monday invalidated a key provision of the recently passed health care law, saying that it ‘exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power.'”

ObamaCare created the budget-busting CLASS Act, which the new Deficit Commission has proposed to repeal. “Repealing CLASS is a start, but Congress must seriously reconsider the entire health-care bill, paying particular attention to its two most expensive provisions: the Medicaid expansion and the health-insurance subsidies. Beyond their exorbitant price tags, these programs increase the ranks of those dependent on government by tens of millions of people.”

“To stay in business under ObamaCare, doctors will have to adjust. Some will see fewer patients themselves and hire nurse practitioners to help carry the load; others will work part-time and supplement their income elsewhere. Many will join groups or become salaried employees of hospitals or clinics.”

“First, ObamaCare’s state-side implementation is going to be very difficult and very complex. Even big, liberal states like California are going to have trouble keeping up with the law’s requirements. Second, that complexity is going to set up a system that’s 1) going to create a lot more interdependence between the government and the private sector and 2) begging to be gamed. That’s presumably why private firms, especially in the consulting sector, are already investing heavily in staff who can explain what the government’s doing and, presumably, how to take advantage of it. “

Despite its 2000+ pages, ObamaCare still will require over ten thousand pages of new regulations to govern its implementation.

“Parente offers a clear, market-oriented alternative to the current centralized health-IT procurement approach, which is supplemented with insufficient bribes and penalties to achieve private-sector compliance with interoperability standards. He concludes that this more practical “back to the future” path to harnessing health information in real time can deliver
long-overdue dividends in medical-fraud control, insurance-coverage administration and underwriting, and improved health care quality.”

“The recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to transform regulation of private health insurance. It would put in place a new federal regulatory regime that prescribes various mandates for covered benefits, imposes tighter restrictions on insurance premiums, sets limits on how premium dollars are spent, and exerts much greater political and bureaucratic control over health insurance.”

“The coauthors argue that a more sustainable, marketbased, and patient-centered version of health reform must instead convert existing defined benefit promises into ‘defined contributions’ that individuals and their families then can use to enroll in coverage arrangements of their choice. Capretta and Miller recommend that Medicare subsidies should no longer hide the true cost of promised benefits but provide beneficiaries incentives to obtain the most value for them. They find that a move to replace both traditional Medicaid assistance and the tax preference for ESI with defined contribution payments would open up new possibilities for explicit and beneficial coordination between the Medicaid program and the coverage normally offered to working-age Americans.”

“The results of the 2010 midterm elections represent a wake-up call for Democrats and Republicans alike. Thanks in large part to widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s economic performance and a lack of public confidence in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives and will have additional votes in the Senate. This return to two-party government creates a tougher political climate for the White House in implementing health care reform.”