This past Monday, the White House co-hosted an invitation only health care forum with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times the event “was clearly programmed to showcase the broad goals” President Barack Obama has on health care, but “was light on details” with “no discussion of how to achieve those goals.” Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that back in Washington, Democrats Agree on a Health Plan that includes “a public health insurance plan as an alternative to private insurance.” Considering the cost …
Over the past 25 plus years, the Federalist Society has helped establish a conservative legal establishment that has successfully pushed back against the liberal ideas entrenched in law schools and government. Tonight in New York City, the Benjamin Rush Society will host its inaugural under the leadership of Sally C. Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute. Pipes recently discussed her project with National Review’s John J. Miller: MILLER: Why do medical students need to think about public policy? Isn’t that just time spent away from lessons on …
A new study released today by the Lewin Group, one of the most well-respected health care consultancies in Washington, gives new estimates on “The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Plan” like the one being considered by President Obama and the congressional leadership. The Lewin Group says that “If the public plan is opened to all employers…at Medicare payment levels we estimate that about 131.2 million people would enroll in the public plan. The number of people with private health insurance would decline by 119.1 million people. This would …
While 77% of Americans say the quality of their own health care is excellent or good, access to and rising costs of health care remain fundamental problems with our health care system. As conservatives we believe a better functioning, more competitive, and transparent marketplace would cover more people and deliver the higher-value care we seek. Judging by his policy proposals, it appears that President Barack Obama has a different vision. Yesterday, the the Health Policy Consensus Group, a coalition of experts from market-oriented think tanks (including the American Enterprise Institute, …
When President Barack Obama included $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research in his economic stimulus bill, we warned that such funding would set the stage for government rationing of your health care: The House and Senate bills would establish a framework and funding for comparative effectiveness research and health information technology. While the Senate’s language is broad and vague, the House language provides further clarity. The House committee report states that “those [items] that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be …
America is facing a shortage of qualified health care professionals, including doctors and nurses. The Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) has identified over 6,000 Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas across the country, with 64 million Americans living in them. According to HRSA, it would take over 16,000 new primary care doctors in these shortage areas to meet the need. The problem is even more acute in crucial specialties such as obstetrics and gynecology. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports that almost one third of women in …
The President’s Budget The Actual Cost: The $634 billion in the President’s budget is only a “down payment” on health care reform. Experts believe that the actual cost of Obama’s health care plan could reach $1.6 trillion over 10 years. This is in addition to the trillions of dollars Obama has already spent on health care this year through the stimulus and SCHIP. Details, Please: On such an important piece of the President’s budget and agenda, there is little detail on what the Administration expects to spend with the $634 …
Religious institutions have long been an essential part of health care delivery in our nation. Long before government programs began monopolizing the health care industry, religious institutions were providing care to the poor and most vulnerable. Today, Catholic health care facilities alone make up a third of the nation’s hospitals. As the federal government has encroached further and further into health care decision making, religious freedom advocates have passed a number of laws designed to protect the consciences of health care providers. But these laws have rarely been enforced. Seeking …
On March 9, 2009, the Obama Administration proposed to rescind a Bush Administration regulation protecting the conscience rights of health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, and medical students. This regulation implemented longstanding federal conscience protection laws, some of which have been on the books since the 1970s. These laws prohibit discrimination against health care providers who object to participating in abortion, sterilization, or other controversial medical procedures. Although federal conscience protections have been in place for years, very few health care providers are aware of their rights under these …
The Center for American Progress has a new report out titled “Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan that Delivers Market Discipline”. Listing everything that we disagree in their report would result in something much longer than a blog post, but since they mention us by name, we need to make one fact clear: including a public plan in a Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) health insurance reform model would destroy a competitive health insurance market. Here is what CAP writes: Promoting choice among health insurance plans to …
