Opinion
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11/2001: The Galen Report
Opinion -The warning from all quarters, including HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, is to avoid complacency, since the current economic downturn will mean many more people will lose health insurance coverage this year. -
Doctors Support Market-Based Health Care
Opinion -At the Washington State Medical Association's (WSMA) annual meeting in early October, a majority of some 200 doctors present voted to continue supporting the existing market-based health care system, while still striving for universal coverage. -
Hospital Costs Drive Medical Inflation
Opinion -Pharmaceutical companies, it seems, are not the bad guys after all. "Tracking Health Care Costs," a new study published by the journal Health Affairs, puts things into proper perspective. -
Stop Demonizing the Good Guys
Opinion -Before September 11, President George W. Bush and many members of Congress promised to make prescription drug benefits part of Medicare. Given the current state of the union, the timeline has moved to next year. -
Huckabee Resists Clinton Mandate
Opinion -Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) is considering a Medicaid mandate from the former Clinton administration moot, since the Bush administration has not attempted to enforce it. -
University to Study Health Care at Mexican Border
Opinion -Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the department has awarded a $250,000 research grant to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. -
Helping Laid-Off Workers Keep Insurance
Opinion -Congress has before it several bills to help newly laid-off workers from the airlines and other industries affected by the terrorist attacks on America. President George W. -
11/2001: The Pulse
Opinion -The Census Bureau released in early October a revised report on the count of uninsured for the year 2000. -
Number of Stem Cells Lower than Thought
Opinion -In August, when President George W. Bush announced his limited support for stem- cell research, he indicated more than "60 genetically diverse stem-cell lines already exist. -
New York Doctors Sue HMOs
Opinion -The Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), on behalf of its 27,000 physician members, has sued six major HMOs for allegedly engaging in wrongful practices—including the arbitrary denial of "medically necessary" care, breach of contract with -
11/2001: State Legislative Update
Opinion -Connecticut Governor John Rowland (R) gave the state's not-for-profit hospitals a strong dose of taxpayer money. -
A Regulatory Bypass Operation
Opinion -Even after the 1994 demise of then-President Bill Clinton’s national health care proposal, we've witnessed increasing federal regulation of health insurance. -
Bush Seeks Billions in Health Insurance Subsidies
Opinion -President George W. Bush called on Congress to approve $3 billion in "emergency grants" to states to assist workers who were laid off following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. -
Four Apply for Marijuana under New Nevada Law
Opinion -Four people formally applied for cards allowing the possession of marijuana during the first week of Nevada's medical marijuana law. -
How Government Rations Health Care
Opinion -Currently, a Statewide Health Care Insurance Plan Task Force is meeting in Arizona with the goal of expanding existing benefits in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state’s health care plan for low-income residents. -
Individual Health Insurance: Solution for the New Economy? Part 2 of 2
Opinion -The employer-based health insurance system has worked well in the United States for a number of years. But changes in the workplace and the health care system are making employer-based health insurance an anachronism. U.S. -
Nationalizing Health Care One Slice at a Time
Opinion -The medical privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 undermine our ability to get an accurate assessment of the costs and benefits of information disclosure. -
PhRMA Responds to New Study
Opinion -The Center for Studying Health System Change study found that, while hospital care fueled the largest portion of last year's spending on health, total spending on prescription medicines also increased. -
Subsidizing Prescription Drugs: An Ill-Advised Path
Opinion -While federal officials ponder how to create a new federal entitlement for prescription drugs, many states already have ventured down this ill-advised path. -
Tennessee Employers May Face ‘Play or Pay’
Opinion -Ironically, the notion that businesses, commercial insurers, and health care providers should either participate (play) in TennCare or subsidize it (pay) could emerge as a divisive issue in the Volunteer State’s next legislative session, which convenes -
‘Individual Identifier’ Controversy Resurfaces
Opinion -Eight years after then-President Bill Clinton failed in his attempt to put the federal government in charge of all matters health care, critics of the scheme are still doing battle with it, piece by piece. -
Improving Accountability in Congress
Opinion -I must admit I had my doubts about George W. Bush leading the country as our new President. His opposition to the Kyoto Protocol and to the ergonomics rules began to give me some confidence in his leadership abilities. -
High-Risk HIP Will Return to Tennessee
Opinion -On September 28, Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist unveiled plans to revamp the state’s troubled TennCare program, replacing it with a high-risk pool for people with pre-existing medical conditions, a managed-care Medicaid program, and a premium support -
Politicians Delight in Killing Goose that Lays Golden Eggs
Opinion -Most adults in the U.S. can remember when doomsayers announced health care costs were about to destroy our nation’s economy. Double-digit inflation in health-related expenditures would cripple local, state, and national budgets.