Abstract: Obamacare is on the march, and state policymakers must decide by 2014 how they will respond to this encroachment on states’ rights to control their own health insurance markets. The state of Utah has been on the reform path since 2005. With its system of defined contributions (as opposed to the standard defined benefits), a functioning health insurance exchange,…
Abstract: Americans who receive health insurance through their jobs generally have little flexibility: 86 percent of employers in the country offer only one plan. This system of “defined benefits” has worked well for expanding group coverage, but severely limits options for individuals, and has not kept costs from skyrocketing. Recipients of employer-sponsored health…
Abstract: In sharp contrast to the recently enacted federal health care reform, Utah is taking a targeted approach to expanding coverage while moving the system in a more patient-centered direction. Utah's approach promises to increase the number of employers offering insurance, reduce the number of uninsured, provide true coverage portability, increase…
(Article originally written for the New England Journal of Medicine ) As the prospects for health care reform ebb and flow by the day, one school of thought holds that making modest adjustments rather than enacting large-scale reform could help to avert controversy and command more broad support. Perhaps --but…
The District of Columbia is home to one of the nation's most troubled public school systems. The District spends $14,400 for every child in public school—well above the national average and more than any of the 50 states.[1] The 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported that Washington, D.C.'s fourth and eighth graders scored lower than any other…
The Medicaid expansion is touted by proponents of Obamacare as a "no-brainer." While it is true that some states may see...…
When the fight for control over what is taught in American schools is won, Utah will be remembered for having fired the...…
Critics of state and local government action on immigration fail to keep in mind one simple but critical point: The...…
There’s a lot of talk these days about patient-centered health care reform. Before Obamacare, health care revolved...…
In the past year, the Congressional health care battle has usurped much of the public discourse on health care reform. ...…
Since our “modest proposal” essay was published in the Washington Post on Feb. 19, we have heard mostly support, but...…
Heritage Foundation today to meet with bloggers at The Blogger's Briefing. Before the meeting, he sat down with us to...…
Utah is not the only Western state that is rejecting the left's global warming regulation policies. This week Arizona...…
Utah's House Legislature took a strong stance against cap and trade as well as the alleged scientific consensus by...…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMLzi2CBII[/youtube] It's simple: "Our approach in Utah is to give consumers...…