Opinion
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Medicare Will Be Bankrupt by 2019
Opinion -Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)--the 20-year-old watchdog group dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government--on March 25 criticized national leaders for "overseeing the fiscal deterioration of the Medicare -
Pawlenty Proposal Pfizzles at Pfizer Meeting
Opinion -CHICAGO, April 24, 2004: Minnesota's Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty's attempt to threaten Pfizer with a price control resolution went nowhere at the Pfizer stockholder meeting held Thursday, April 22, at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis. -
The Pros and Cons of Importing Drugs from Canada
Opinion -I’ve been asked to present an overview of arguments for and against proposals to increase the quantity of drugs imported from Canada and other countries. -
Health Insurance Meltdown in Vermont
Opinion -Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, a physician who recently left the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, considers his state a model for health care reform. -
The Case for Malpractice Reform in Illinois
Opinion -From 1997 through 2002, the average total jury verdict went up 61 percent. From 1997 through 2002, the average jury award for non-economic damages has gone up 132 percent. -
States Wrestle with Malpractice Reform Proposals
Opinion -New Jersey Physicians attending a February hearing urged the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners to lobby state legislators to reduce the minimum level of malpractice insurance physicians are required to maintain. -
McClellan Nominated to Replace Scully
Opinion -President George W. Bush has nominated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Mark McClellan to serve as the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator (CMS). -
Open Letter: Opponents Misrepresent Health Savings Accounts
Opinion -To: Members of Congress From: Greg Scandlen Subject: Recent Attacks on HSAs You have received emails from certain interest groups urging you to oppose adding Health Savings Accounts to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. -
Free-Market Crisis and Opportunity
Opinion -“Once millions of HSAs are established, it will be almost impossible to reverse this program,” writes Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) on its Web site (http://www.pnhp. -
Happiness and Health in a Prosperous Society
Opinion -The Progress Paradox : How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse by Gregg Easterbrook ($24. -
Hospitals Face Pressure to Change Pricing Policies
Opinion -Under pressure from Congress and consumer advocates, the hospital industry said it would consider making price adjustments for the uninsured if Medicare officials approve the action. -
Consumer-Driven Health Care and the Modern Family
Opinion -The way we pay for health care is based on an industrial-age image of the American family that seldom applies today. Women, whether working or not, are especially hurt by this antiquated system. -
The Silent Health Care Epidemic
Opinion -A silent epidemic threatens the health of millions of people living in the United States; has no regard for age, race, education, or income level; is estimated to cost billions of dollars a year; is immune to preventative care and can’t be detected with -
Medical Liability Crisis and Access to Care Law
Opinion -In response to the growing medical liability crisis in Illinois, the state medical society has developed the Medical Liability Crisis and Access to Care Law of 2004. -
Crane Seeks Full Tax Deduction for HSAs
Opinion -When Health Savings Accounts became law on January 1, millions of Americans received the chance to buy low-cost health insurance policies and save money in tax-free savings accounts. -
Doctors Flee Illinois
Opinion -As the number of companies willing to sell medical malpractice insurance in Illinois shrinks and insurance premiums skyrocket, doctors are moving out of the state or quitting medicine entirely. -
FDA Warns Minnesota on Drug Importation
Opinion -A strongly worded letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (D) that his decision to establish a Web site offering prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies is “unsafe, unsound and ill-considered. -
Insurers Embrace HSAs, Opponents Launch Astroturf Campaign
Opinion -Employee Benefit News reports, “with the ink barely dry on the colossus Medicare bill, [i]nsurers have already begun planning, developing, and rolling out new HSA products. -
‘Last Chance’ for TennCare
Opinion -In what may be the defining moment of his term in office, Governor Phil Bredesen (D) told state legislators on February 17 he would save Tennessee from the clear and present danger of unchecked TennCare spending by acting immediately to limit benefits -
LTC Financing Needs Urgent Action
Opinion -Managing Editor’s note: The Bush administration’s 2005 fiscal year budget proposal would allow taxpayers--even those who do not itemize--to deduct from their income tax returns any payments for long-term care insurance premiums. -
New York Health Insurance: ‘Consumers Are Outraged’
Opinion -In the early 1990s, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) in New York was the largest private not-for-profit insurer in the nation. But its financial statements showed a company in serious trouble. -
Did the Atkins Diet Kill Robert Atkins?
Opinion -Dr. Robert Atkins, the famous diet guru who amassed a fortune promoting the evils of carbohydrate calories and the benefits of high protein and fat intake, slipped on a patch of ice on April 8, 2003. -
A Critical Moment for Health Care in America
Opinion -Pamela Wimbish of Aurora, Illinois has the distinction of being the nation’s first person to hold a Health Savings Account (HSA) insurance policy. Her policy took effect January 1, the first day HSAs became available. -
Colorado Wrestles with Evidence-Based Medicine
Opinion -Statutory language requiring the use of “evidence-based medicine” (EBM) in programs from Medicaid to workers’ compensation will reportedly be presented to the Colorado General Assembly in 2004.
