On Monday, The Heritage Foundation hosted a panel of current and future physicians to discuss the impact of Obamacare on their profession. Their remarks highlighted the importance of the doctor-patient relationship as the heart of the practice of medicine and detailed direct threats as a result of the new health law. Representative Michael Burgess, M.D., (R-TX) explained that part of being a physician is fighting for the best interests of each individual patient. Under Obamacare, this will be harder to do, as government inserts itself further into the provision of …
After one year, Obamacare remains just as unpopular as ever. The fight for repeal has gained ground in both Congress and the states. But repeal is only the first step in setting a new agenda on health care. In her recently released paper, Heritage expert Nina Owcharenko explains the four steps necessary to creating lasting reform that is truly market-based and patient-centered: “Unlike Obamacare, Congress should pursue an approach to health care reform that preserves the doctor–patient relationship and cutting-edge innovation while controlling costs and expanding access to private health …
Iran predictably has lambasted the U.N.-backed intervention in Libya, which it regards as a front for western neo-colonial efforts to seize Libyan oil resources. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave a televised speech on Monday that criticized the military intervention in Libya and accused President Barack Obama of lying: “The US and Western (allies) claim they want to defend the people by carrying out military operations or by entering Libya … You did not come to defend the people, you’ve come after Libyan oil.” He accused the United States …
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has completed its initial review of President Barack Obama’s budget request and found that the White House significantly understated the cost of and red ink in its budget. While President Obama claimed his budget would produce $7.2 trillion in deficits (a staggering figure) over the next decade, CBO calculated $9.5 trillion in deficits. That is more debt than the federal government accumulated from 1789–2010 combined. Overall, CBO estimates that the national debt held by the public—40 percent of GDP before the recession—would soar past 87 …
Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan were on the road at a high school in Wilmington, Del., this week to celebrate the anniversary of the first Race to the Top awards. “We were able to help jump-start some of the farthest reaching education reforms in history,” Biden said at Monday’s event. “All across the country, Race to the Top is inspiring the same kind of change we’re seeing here in Delaware.” The vice president is right about at least one thing: The reforms were far-reaching. Delaware received …
In the age of the TV remote and DVR, when viewers can adjust (or mute!) volume or skip commercials entirely without moving from the couch, it’s hard to fathom why Congress would consider it necessary to regulate the decibel levels of television advertising. But that’s precisely the purpose of the CALM Act (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act), which, in addition to ranking among the most excessive exercises of government authority, also ranks high on the list of truly irritating acronyms. The new law directs the Federal Communications Commission to ensure …
Just what is it with the Obama Administration and state broadcasters? Not content with sticking by NPR after the House of Representatives voted to cut off its funding, it now emerges that the administration has been giving money to the BBC and, according to one report, is considering increasing that aid. Of course, one thing NPR and the Beeb share, apart from being on the public dole, is that they oppose traditional American values. Is that what the Obama Administration likes? The report by the British newspaper The Guardian that …
One year ago, when President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he proclaimed it would lower costs, reduce the deficit, and lift the drag on our economy. Since then, insurance premiums have not dropped; coverage has not increased; over half of the states have filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services; and two courts have declared the legislation unconstitutional. Shouldn’t a year be long enough for Obamacare to secure a place in our hearts and minds? Not when the bill is an unpopular, unconstitutional …
After hitting some minor speed bumps, the Haitian runoff election ran more smoothly than anticipated on Sunday, March 20. The run-off candidates, Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly and former first lady Mirlande Manigat, are still neck and neck in the race to become Haiti’s next president. For a while, the dramatic return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide threatened to disrupt the process. Fortunately, observers have verified that the results announced on April 16 will be accurate. Fourteen months after the destructive Haitian earthquake, the Haitian people faced a choice between a …
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Obamacare. While advocates spend the week highlighting the new law’s effects on different groups of Americans, we are doing the same. A review of the facts on the ground and the conclusions of Heritage research over the past year reveals the far-reaching negative consequences. Today, the focus is on the “consumer protections” included in Obamacare. To be sure, some Americans will benefit from these changes, but, as Heritage analyst Brian Blase explains, the overall result is that: “Obamacare has increased government control of Americans’ …
