Opinion
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Hard Lesson about Socialized Medicine
Opinion -Managing Editor’s note: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” said George Santayana. -
Let Them Eat Cake
Opinion -In a rare burst of speed, the U.S. -
Keller, Kraft Weigh in on Obesity
Opinion -U.S. Rep. Ric Keller (R-Florida) and Kraft Foods Inc. have launched separate efforts aimed at a similar goal: to help Americans take more personal responsibility for their waistlines. Keller is the sponsor of H.R. -
Don’t Target Fast Food for Obesity Problem
Opinion -May 29, 2003 The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson Secretary of Health and Human Services U.S. -
Greetings from the Sausage Factory
Opinion -The old saw is if you like sausage or legislation, avoid watching either being made. Here’s a case in point. -
Experts Deride Dirigo Health
Opinion -Maine Governor John Baldacci's universal health care proposal attracted the attention of experts from across the country ... but their reviews were not the glowing ones the governor sought. -
Florida Renews Disease Management Program
Opinion -Florida officials have renewed an innovative disease management experiment offered through the state’s Medicaid program by four of the country’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. The two-year program would have expired on June 30. -
Seniors Worry about Government Drug Benefit
Opinion -A Zogby International opinion poll, conducted June 18-21 and released by the Galen Institute, found overwhelming public support for private-sector options in Medicare ... -
House Republicans Demand Free-Market Medicare
Opinion -Forty-four House Republicans have promised to beach President George W. Bush’s Medicare prescription drug plan if it does not include free-market reforms. They say the drug benefits will cost too much and drive Medicare even closer to insolvency. -
08/2003 Consumer Choice Matters: All In a Day’s Work
Opinion -I’m swimming in a sea of health economists at the “Fourth World Congress of the International Health Economics Association.” There are nearly 1,000 people listed as “presenters” and another 1,000 or so attendees. -
08/2003 Galen Report
Opinion -The promise of a Medicare drug benefit has been transformed from a political football into a steamroller, and at least one thing is clear: The bill is based on bad policy. -
Medicare Reform Deja Vu
Opinion -In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Catastrophic Health Care Act--sweeping Medicare reform legislation meant to respond to what legislators saw as overwhelming demand for government-provided health care benefits. -
Maine Launches Controversial Health Plan
Opinion -Maine's first-year Democratic Governor, John Baldacci, signed on June 18 a bill giving him something he asked for in early May: universal health care. -
‘A la Carte’ Menus Encourage Kids to Eat Poorly
Opinion -Reporting in the July 2003 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, registered nurse Martha Kubik and colleagues at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health found school-age children who were allowed to choose food outside the -
Analysis: Medicare Reform Measure Repeats Mistakes of 25 Years Ago
Opinion -In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Catastrophic Health Care Act--sweeping Medicare reform legislation meant to respond to what legislators saw as overwhelming demand for government-provided health care benefits. -
Apologies to My Grandchildren
Opinion -Dear Jack, Katie, Luke, Will, Tess, Elle, and Anthony: My entire generation owes you an apology. -
Attack on Fast Food Jeopardizes Public Health Community
Opinion -Attorney John Banzhaf, who for years has litigated against tobacco, purportedly in an effort to protect public health, has announced his intention to solve another public-health problem--obesity--by suing fast-food restaurants. -
Generics Added to Medicare Reform Measure
Opinion -The Senate voted 94-1 on June 19 to approve a proposal aimed at speeding the market entry of generic drugs by eliminating some patent extension practices used by brand-name drug manufacturers. -
Pennsylvania Senator Opposes Drug-Pricing Proposal
Opinion -Managing Editor’s note: On June 23, 2003, Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) rose to the Senate floor in opposition to a proposal by Senator Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), who sought to mandate that prescription drugs be sold in the United States at the -
Senator Defends Medicare Reform Measure
Opinion -Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told USA Today the Senate’s Medicare reform measure “targets the poorest and the sickest. It gets the most bang for the buck. It keeps traditional Medicare intact. -
Federal Employees Protected from ‘Medicare Reform’
Opinion -The U.S. House of Representatives on July 7 passed legislation guaranteeing federal employees and members of Congress will have prescription drug benefits better than those available through Medicare when they retire. -
Consumer-Driven Plans Blooming
Opinion -Health insurance products designed to give consumers a bigger say in their coverage--and consequently become more discriminating consumers of health care services--are multiplying at a dizzying pace. -
Moseley Braun, Edwards Join Health Plan Debate
Opinion -Moseley Braun: My Plan Is “Radical” Democratic Presidential hopeful and former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun is in the early stages of developing a “radical” and “ambitious” health care plan designed to cover the uninsured and provide -
Judge Overturns Massachusetts Tax on Rx
Opinion -Superior Court Judge Allan van Gestel has overturned a state prescription drug tax and said government officials must return to pharmacies statewide $18 million in revenue collected from the tax, which took effect January 1.
