Opinion
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Bipartisan Health Care Brewing
Opinion -Lost amid the "Goldie Locks" talk about President George W. Bush's tax cut proposal—"is it too big, too small, or just right"—is another tax proposal built on a bipartisan foundation. -
Single Payer: Neither Simple Nor Smart
Opinion -Let's start with three facts. First, patients are unhappy and growing unhappier with the nation's medical care system. They want changes. Second, there are plenty of proposals out there. -
States Move Ahead of Congress on Rx Drug Fix
Opinion -While Congress debates and discusses, the nation’s 50 laboratories of democracy are pushing ahead with their own plans to address the issue of affordable access to prescription drugs. -
06/2001: The Pulse
Opinion -Consumer-Driven Health Care Takes OffThe defined contribution approach is increasingly being called "consumer-driven," which shifts the focus away from employer payment and toward the role of the worker/patient. -
Market-Based Trends Noted
Opinion -One of the “perks” I receive as managing editor is the opportunity to review pending legislation. Some folks might view this activity as about as interesting as watching dandelions bloom in the lawn. -
06/2001: State Legislative Update
Opinion -Arizona A revised version of the high-risk health insurance bill (HB 2589) passed the House by a wide margin. Funding for the plan requires an insurance premium between 100 and 150 percent of the average price of an individual insurance policy and $3. -
No Thanks to Drug Companies
Opinion -The growing AIDs crisis in Africa has put U.S. drug companies in the hot seat, creating for them both an ethical and an economic dilemma. -
Bush Issues Privacy Rules
Opinion -President George W. Bush’s April decision to implement the hotly contested Medical Privacy Act shocked consumer groups and industry experts. -
Drug Benefit Debate Will Shed Light on Medicare Mess
Opinion -When Medicare was established in 1965, pharmaceutical drugs represented a small part of medical expenditures. -
Harry Potter and the Dragon of Health Care
Opinion -A mature Harry Potter has traveled through the Outerland, to the banks of the Hogwash. From here he can see his final destination: the Ministry of the Village. -
Small Business Owners Speak Out
Opinion -A new national survey, sponsored by the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and co-sponsored by the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and U.S. -
Socialized Medicine in 10 Easy Steps
Opinion -Republicans have never been big fans of reforming the health insurance system, nor have many of them ever taken the time to learn much about it. -
Think Tank Offers Plan for Prescription Drug Security
Opinion -Lower-income senior citizens would get help right away with routine and catastrophic prescription drug expenses under a Medicare reform measure outlined in late March by the Alexandria, Virginia-based Galen Institute. -
Urban Legends Haunt Long-Term Care Decisions
Opinion -According to the American Opinions on Reforming Medicaid survey, conducted in August 1995, 72 percent of Americans cannot afford to pay the high cost of long-term health care (LTC) without financial assistance. -
Legislators Cautioned on Vaccine Authority Proposal
Opinion -Legislation proposed by the only physician-member of the Minnesota state legislature has raised red flags among some vaccine and health policy groups. Rep. Richard Mulder, M.D. -
AMA Outlines its Position on Privacy Rule
Opinion -Patient privacy is a right long advocated by the American Medical Association (AMA). Establishing federal privacy protections is a worthwhile endeavor. Yet, consensus on the details has proven to be extremely difficult. -
HIAA and Families USA Seek More Government
Opinion -The Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), an insurance trade organization, has partnered with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and Families USA, a liberal advocacy group that supports government-run health care, in a compromise -
About The Health Policy Consensus Group
Opinion -The Health Policy Consensus Group is a task force of leading health care economists and health policy analysts, including researchers at the major market-oriented think tanks. -
Price Controls and Grandma’s Medicine
Opinion -Many legislators believe they are assisting senior citizens by interfering in the normal market process that establishes prescription drug prices. History, however, provides evidence to the contrary. -
NCPA and AMA Lead the Way to Market-based Reform
Opinion -President George W. Bush has told Congress he supports a market-based approach to health care reform. -
Bush Administration Stumbles
Opinion -Misgivings about President George W. Bush's ideas on health care are turning into alarm as the new administration unfolds. -
‘Bill of Rights’ a Boon to Lawyers, Not Patients
Opinion -Like used-car salesmen, politicians in Washington, D.C. have taken the flawed, old model of the patients' bill of rights and slapped a new sticker on it in an effort to fool unwitting buyers. The legislation has always been a lemon. -
04/2001: The Pulse
Opinion -Small Business Groups Work DC BeatThe National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is busy in Washington, supporting association health plans, expanded MSAs, and full deductibility of premiums for the self-employed, according to Al Crenshaw in the -
Privacy of Medical Records in the News
Opinion -Last year a sophisticated Internet hacker took control of the University of Washington Medical Center’s network and downloaded the admissions records of 4,000 cardiology patients.