Opinion
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Experts Discuss Medicaid Reform
Opinion -The need for Medicaid reform was the subject of a session in March at the 23rd Annual Washington Economic Policy Conference sponsored by the National Association for Business Economics. -
HPV Vaccine Effort Encounters Strong Opposition
Opinion -Parents determined to resist an aggressive campaign by a major corporation and government bureaucracies were heartened this spring as a nationwide, orchestrated attempt to mandate the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for their 11- and 12-year-old -
States Attack Hospital-Acquired Infections
Opinion -When people enter a hospital for treatment, they typically expect to leave it either cured or doing much better. But according to the U.S. -
Michigan Offers Lifestyle Incentives for Medicaid Recipients
Opinion -If Michigan Medicaid recipients start leading healthier lifestyles, they could be rewarded with care benefits as a way to help the state control health care costs, if a plan the state Senate approved at the end of February gets the go-ahead from the -
New Study Favors More Government Health Care, Sparks Broad Skepticism
Opinion -In mid-March, a nonprofit group released a study finding two of the universal health care bills currently pending in the U.S. Congress would cover more uninsured Americans than President George W. Bush's tax break plan. -
Expanding Access Through Retail Health Clinics
Opinion -The retail health clinic model is a simple, effective innovation for providing health care service for routine medical conditions and preventive care, according to Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, a free-market think tank in Virginia. -
HPV Vaccine Mandate Stalls in Colorado Senate
Opinion -The Colorado Senate Appropriations Committee failed to approve Senate Bill 80, which would have prevented girls age 12 and older from attending school without proof they had been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV). State Sen. -
The Problem with the FDA Drug Approval Process
Opinion -Excerpted from More Choices, Better Health: Free to Choose Experimental Drugs, by Bartley J. Madden--the first in a several-part series. The complete booklet is available for sale in the online store at http://www.heartland.org. -
Commentary: Government Health Policy Should ‘Do No Harm’
Opinion -I am probably the only person you know (or are likely to meet) who thinks all the major problems in our health care system are caused by bad government policies. -
Analysis: Long-Term Care … on the House
Opinion -What if America could wave a legal wand and make the huge government cost of long-term care (LTC) shrink dramatically? Evidently, it's possible, so I attended two conferences to find out how. More on that after we lay the groundwork. -
Commentary: Health Courts a Popular, But Politically Suspect, Proposal
Opinion -The idea seems appealing at first glance for those interested in tort reform: Create a special "health court" to hear complicated medical malpractice cases. -
Making Sense of HDHPs
Opinion -For some, high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) can seem perplexing. But with a little instruction, they can be made much simpler. -
Fictional Book Proposes Real Solutions
Opinion -Healthcare Happily Ever After Robert Hopper, Ph.D. and Debra Hopper Overland Park: A.D. Banker and Company®, L.L.C. 2007 88 pages, paperback, ISBN 978-0-9773986-1-4, $9.95 Available from the publisher Call Pam Reihs at 800/255-0408 ext. -
Retail Health Clinics Pick up Momentum in Tx.
Opinion -Retail health clinics are becoming increasingly popular nationwide, and the movement got a boost in Texas on February 15 when Baylor Health Care System and MedBasics announced a formal collaboration. -
Identifying the Uninsured
Opinion -Excerpted from Understanding the Uninsured and What to Do About Them, by the Council for Affordable Insurance, March 2007--the first of a several-part series. Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau reports the number of uninsured has grown--reaching 46. -
Medicaid Spending Surges in 2007
Opinion -Medicaid spending is expected to grow more than 6 percent in 2007, according to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. -
Hospitals Can Lower Infection Rates
Opinion -The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) have provided guidelines and suggestions that could decrease hospital-acquired infections. -
Health Care Is Not a Right
Opinion -Health care is not a right. One cannot have a right to other people's services; those must be provided voluntarily. -
Ill. Governor Wants Nearly $33 Billion More to Spend
Opinion -Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has proposed the largest tax increase in the state's history as part of a plan to raise nearly $33 billion in new revenues, a hefty portion of which would fund a universal health care scheme. -
Texas Governor Wants Medicaid Reforms, More Private Insurance
Opinion -Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is proposing several bold steps to reform the state Medicaid program and help the uninsured purchase health insurance, including subsidies to help people buy private insurance and fund Health Savings Accounts. -
U.S. Census Bureau Admits It Has Over-Counted the Uninsured
Opinion -The U.S. Census Bureau reported in late March that more Americans have health insurance than it had previously reported. It says about 1. -
A Common-Sense Solution to Drug Approval Delays
Opinion -Clearly, people have different preferences for risk-taking and unique health conditions--yet we are stuck with a one-size-fits-all Food and Drug Administration regulatory system. -
Analysts Urge Caution to Trust Markets
Opinion -On February 7, a diverse group of nine national companies and unions announced it was forming a coalition to reform the nation's health care system and ensure universal coverage by 2012. -
Mass. Mandate May Cost Twice Early Estimate
Opinion -Massachusetts residents trying to comply with a state law passed in 2006 are in sticker shock today. Last April, then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed into law an ambitious proposal to insure all Massachusetts residents by making health coverage mandatory.
