Opinion
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Bush Health Care Plan Triggers Debate
Opinion -Responses to President George W. Bush's new health initiative have filled newspapers and the airwaves since his January 8 State of the Union address. -
Proposed Federal Law Would Free States to Pursue Innovative Reform
Opinion -As President George W. Bush attempts to push a national solution to America's health care policy problem, some members of the U.S. House and Senate are hoping to make it easier for states to come up with their own answers. -
Commentary: ‘Lean Thinking’ Can Improve Health Care
Opinion -Some may think throwing more money around will solve all the ills of American medicine. At the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, we think otherwise as a result of our own experiences. -
Georgia State Senator Proposes Market-Based Reform
Opinion -On January 11, Georgia state Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) introduced the Insuring Georgia's Families Act (S.B. 28), a bill that aims to use market-based incentives to insure at least 500,000 of the state's 1.7 million uninsured residents. -
Legislators’ Group Defends Pharmacy Benefit Contracts
Opinion -In December the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) approved a resolution opposing recent efforts by advocacy groups and state legislatures to force pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to disclose proprietary and business transaction information to -
Illinois Health Care Task Force Report Draws Critics
Opinion -On January 26, Illinois' Adequate Health Care Task Force delivered to Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and the legislature its final recommendations on how to insure all state residents. -
Commentary: Restoring Individual Rights and Health Care Freedom
Opinion -I believe I am sovereign over my own body, and that I, not the state, have the right and the responsibility to care for it. Because of this, I believe there should be no tax preference for health care spending. -
Hospitals Come to Grips with Consumer-Driven Care
Opinion -The hospital industry is slowly waking up to the new environment created by empowered consumers. -
Medicare Part D Costs $136B Less than Estimated
Opinion -A report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on January 24 reveals Medicare Part D costs are substantially lower than federal officials estimated they would be, thanks in part to free-market forces at work in the plan. -
Texas HPV Vaccine Mandate Angers Many
Opinion -Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) circumvented the state legislature in early February when he issued an executive order making vaccination against a sexually transmitted virus a requirement for girls entering sixth grade, beginning September 2008. -
Details Missing on Coalition Plan for Calif. Uninsured
Opinion -In January, a group of the nation's top health care organizations forged a coalition, the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured (HCCU), proposing a plan to provide insurance coverage to all Americans, starting with California. But unlike Gov. -
States Can Fix Long-Term Care Problems
Opinion -How can a state cope with the growing cost of Medicaid long-term care? The Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin tackled that question in a study I conducted for it in December 2006. -
W. Virginia Launches Pilot Wellness Effort
Opinion -As the cost of health care continues to skyrocket, many health insurers are looking for ways to avoid using the health care system by keeping their clients healthy. -
Rhode Island to Mandate Lower-Cost Health Plan
Opinion -You may have to pay extra to see the doctor of your choice, and you'll have to pursue "wellness initiatives" to avoid large out-of-pocket costs. -
Medical Database Launches Online HSA Tracker
Opinion -Responding to the growing national interest in consumer-driven health care products, an online medical marketplace began offering users a health savings account (HSA) tracker in November. -
Employer Mandate Costs Small Businesses
Opinion -Health policy experts outlined a laundry list of problems with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plan to insure all state residents after he announced the proposal in his State of the State Address on January 8. -
Massachusetts Insurers Set Out to Enroll Working Poor
Opinion -On January 2, Massachusetts kicked off the second wave of enrollment for its individual health insurance mandate, signed into law last April by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R). -
What Should Government Do to Reduce Obesity?
Opinion -Over the past few years, obesity has become a prominent issue, prompting increasing numbers of organizations, interest groups, and government officials to propose ways of dealing with the "epidemic. -
FDA Reform Would Speed Rx Drug Availability
Opinion -The history of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one of relentless growth in regulatory power. Growth spurts typically occur on the heels of well-publicized safety issues, such as the recent Vioxx situation. -
Market Factors Are Best Regulator of Drug Prices
Opinion -A timely question, given the new Medicare drug benefit launched last year, is how increasing insurance coverage is likely to affect innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. -
Schwarzenegger Plan Would Drive Up Costs: Experts
Opinion -Once they'd had a few days to analyze the details of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposal to legislate health insurance for all California residents, health policy experts from coast to coast responded with horror. -
Insurance Mandates Aren’t the Answer to Uninsured
Opinion -In an op-ed published in the Baltimore Sun a few months ago, I questioned Maryland legislators' interest in mandating individual health insurance coverage. -
Access to Innovations Is Major Patient Concern
Opinion -A cancer patient sees a news report on the TV, or on the Internet, about a new treatment technology. She calls her oncologist, hoping to access the technology immediately. -
Innovative Plan Unites Pharmacists and Employers Against Diabetes
Opinion -An employee of the City of Charleston, South Carolina left work early one day last spring because he didn't feel well. On his way home, he blacked out at the wheel and had a car accident.
