July 2, 2008
Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: Medicaid Waiver Renewal Will Set a Precedent
By Greg D’Angelo and Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1979)
As the Medicaid waiver for Massachusetts's health care reform is up for debate again, federal and state officials should remember the intent of the original ...
June 19, 2008
Courageous Reforms in Ryan's Entitlements Road Map: Where Is the Democratic Response?
By J. D. Foster
(WebMemo #1958)
For years, political deadlock has stymied pressing reforms from health care to taxes to entitlements. Congressman Paul Ryan (R–WI), ranking member of the House Budget ...
June 19, 2008
Guidelines for Structuring Health Insurance
By Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D.
(Testimony )
The way in which Americans access health care is uniquely different from any other major country. As an immigrant to this country, I was immediately ...
June 18, 2008
Medicare: Congress Is Poised to Block Competitive Bidding for Medical Supplies
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1959)
Members of Congress, under pressure from industry lobbyists, are poised to block competitive bidding for durable medical equipment and supplies in the Medicare program.
June 13, 2008
The Success of Medicare Advantage Plans: What Seniors Should Know
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2142)
Medicare Advantage is a success and can serve as the first stage of reform, but Congress will have to change the existing payment system and ...
June 13, 2008
Executive Summary: The Success of Medicare Advantage Plans: What Seniors Should Know
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #2142)
Medicare Advantage is a success and can serve as the first stage of reform, but Congress will have to change the existing payment system and ...
June 11, 2008
Medicare: Drifting Toward Disaster
By The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
(Heritage Lecture #1088)
Medicare is based on the cost of seniors' health care being borne primarily by younger workers. The demographic reality is there are diminishing numbers of ...
May 20, 2008
Ending the Physician Payment Crisis: Another Reason for Major Medicare Reform
By John S. O’Shea, M.D.
(WebMemo #1931)
Under existing congressional formulas, Medicare payment rates for the services that physicians provide to Medicare beneficiaries will be reduced by 10 percent in July of ...
May 20, 2008
SCHIP: The Bush Administration's Effort to Preserve Children's Private Health Coverage
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1933)
In August of 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released a directive on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The directive keeps the ...
May 15, 2008
Federal Funds and State Fiscal Independence
By Sven R. Larson, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2136)
If the present trend in federal aid to states continues, federally sponsored programs will soon eclipse state budgets and turn the federal government into the ...
May 14, 2008
Blocking Medicaid Rules: Hurting Families and Taxpayers Alike
By Daniel Patrick Moloney, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1924)
Congress is about to make a bad decision on Medicaid that will affect taxpayers and families alike. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), ...
May 2, 2008
The Medicaid Regulations: Stopping the Abuse of Taxpayers' Dollars
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1911)
Congress may soon undermine efforts to instill integrity into the Medicaid program by weakening important safeguards against its abuse. These safeguards are embodied in seven ...
April 23, 2008
State Health Reform: Six Key Tests
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1900)
State legislators are increasingly focused on health care reform. Escalating health care costs, state deficits, rising numbers of uninsured, and federal inaction have forced them ...
April 23, 2008
Health Care Reform: Design Principles for a Patient-Centered, Consumer-Based Market
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Backgrounder #2128)
The foundational insight behind consumer-centered health care reform is that the only way to achieve better value is to make the consumer (and patient) the ...
April 23, 2008
Executive Summary:
Health Care Reform: Design Principles for a Patient-Centered, Consumer-Based Market
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Executive Summary #2128)
The foundational insight behind consumer-centered health care reform is that the only way to achieve better value is to make the consumer (and patient) the ...
March 26, 2008
Congress Must Not Ignore the Medicare Trustees' Warning
By Greg D'Angelo and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1869)
Congress should take steps to transform Medicare from a costly open-ended entitlement program to a defined-contribution program.
March 25, 2008
Medicare and Social Security: The Challenge of Giant Entitlement Costs
By David C. John and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1867)
Today's report affirms the need for Congress to begin a serious overhaul of both of these vital programs.
March 13, 2008
Lawmakers Should Approach Wyden–Bennett Health Bill with Caution
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1849)
Although it proposes needed tax reforms, S. 334 would also replace the current health system with one that is heavily regulated by the federal government. ...
March 12, 2008
America's Unstable Health Insurance System: Recommendations for Increasing Stability and Coverage
By Michelle C. Bucci
(Backgrounder #2115)
Once regarded as stable and dependable, employer-sponsored insurance no longer addresses the needs of many workers in a changing labor market. Private ownership would guarantee ...
March 6, 2008
Medicare Advantage: The Case for Protecting Patient Choice
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1836)
The President should veto any legislation that undercuts either consumer choice or competition in Medicare Advantage.
March 6, 2008
Congress Should Support HHS Efforts to Curtail Medicaid Mismanagement
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1837)
Proposed regulations aim to prevent states from exploiting Medicaid's financing structure.
February 19, 2008
Rethinking Social Insurance
By Stuart M. Butler and Maya MacGuineas
(White Paper )
The single greatest threat to the fiscal health of the United States is the runaway growth of the nation's major retirement and health care entitlement ...
February 12, 2008
The President's Proposals for Medicaid and SCHIP: One Step Forward, One Step Back
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1806)
Congress should embrace the President's proposals for Medicaid but reject the increase in SCHIP spending.
February 11, 2008
Make Medicare Budget Options Compatible with Comprehensive Reform
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1807)
In response to the trigger in Medicare law, Congress should move the program toward a new system based on free market principles.
February 11, 2008
State and Local Governments Must Address Unfunded Health Care Liabilities
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1808)
Instead of seeking a federal bailout, state and local officials should enact creative, market-based reforms.
February 6, 2008
Benefits of the President's Proposed Standard Deduction for Health Insurance
By J.D. Foster, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1799)
Correcting the tax treatment of private health insurance would strengthen the consumer-driven market forces that should discipline health care prices.
February 5, 2008
The President's Medicare Budget: A First Step Toward Entitlement Reform
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1797)
It Members of Congress do not agree with the President's proposals, they should develop reasonable alternatives of their own.
February 4, 2008
Congress Must Pull the Trigger to Contain Medicare Spending
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., and Alison Acosta Fraser
(WebMemo #1796)
A trigger in Medicare law presents Congress with an opportunity to reform entitlements.
January 18, 2008
Health Care and Homeland Security: Crossroads of Emergency Response
By The Heritage Foundation
(Special Report #19)
Health care reform is again being seriously discussed. Rapidly rising costs, problems with access to care and questions about quality of care have made this ...
December 28, 2007
The Crisis in America's Emergency Rooms and What Can Be Done
By John S. O’Shea, M.D.
(Backgrounder #2092)
State and federal officials can reduce the burden on emergency departments by expanding patient access to private health insurance, separating emergency services planning from hospital ...
December 28, 2007
Executive Summary: The Crisis in America's Emergency Rooms and What Can Be Done
By John S. O’Shea, M.D.
(Executive Summary #2092)
State and federal officials can reduce the burden on emergency departments by expanding patient access to private health insurance, separating emergency services planning from hospital ...
December 13, 2007
Health Insurance Reform: What Families Should Know
By Connie Marshner
(WebMemo #1739)
Citizens can help to achieve conservative reforms by learning about the best policies to advance their personal freedom.
December 13, 2007
How Congress Is Killing Competition: The Future of Specialty Hospitals
By Ashok Roy, M.D.
(WebMemo #1740)
Congress should refrain from imposing statutory or regulatory restrictions on specialty hospitals.
December 11, 2007
Medicare Reform: Cleaning Up the Physician Payment Mess
By John O'Shea, M.D.
(WebMemo #1730)
To improve quality and lower costs, Congress should replace administrative pricing with a system driven by consumer choice and competition.
December 11, 2007
SCHIP: Congress Must Stop Another State Bailout
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1732)
Lawmakers must avert a taxpayer bailout of states that have mismanaged their SCHIP programs.
December 6, 2007
Expanding SCHIP: Not the Best Option for States
By Edmund F. Haislmaier and Greg D’Angelo
(WebMemo #1725)
The congressional proposal to expand eligibility for SCHIP would aggravate budget challenges that state governments will face in the coming years.
December 3, 2007
SCHIP Bill Increases Illegal Immigrants' Access to Medicaid and Undermines Welfare Reform
By Robert E. Rector
(WebMemo #1714)
The SCHIP reauthorization bill increases opportunities for welfare fraud.
December 3, 2007
SCHIP Expansion: More Birth Control for Minors, Less Involvement by Parents
By Daniel Patrick Moloney
(WebMemo #1715)
This legislation would help make contraception available to millions of children while prohibiting doctors and schools from informing the children’s parents.
December 3, 2007
The SCHIP Negotiations: A Backdoor Approach to Expanding Medicaid to the Middle Class?
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1716)
Congress must prevent the expansion of welfare into the middle class by capping eligibility for both SCHIP and Medicaid.
December 3, 2007
The SCHIP Bill: Why the Premium Assistance Provisions Won’t Work
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1717)
Congress should create a premium assistance program that empowers parents to make decisions for their children with regard to health care coverage.
November 28, 2007
Health Care Tax Credits: The Best Way to Advance Affordability, Choice, and Coverage
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1711)
Health care tax credits coupled with other state reforms would go a long way toward improving affordability and reducing the ranks of the uninsured.
November 20, 2007
Health Care at the Crossroads: Personal Freedom or Government Control?
By The Honorable John Shadegg and Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.
(Heritage Lecture #1051)
The most important domestic policy issue in America today is how to get the best quality care for every American at the most reasonable price. ...
November 7, 2007
No Way Out: The Fruitless SCHIP Negotiations
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1698)
Efforts to reach a compromise on SCHIP are unlikely to resolve the fundamental problems with the House bill.
November 2, 2007
SCHIP Will Not Improve Quality of Kids' Health Care
By John S. O’Shea, M.D.
(WebMemo #1687)
SCHIP has not performed well in terms of stable coverage, access to primary care and preventive services, and the quality of care.
October 30, 2007
The More Children, More Choices Act of 2007: Middle-Class Tax Relief for Families with Kids
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1681)
Congress has a chance to accomplish the same level of health coverage without disrupting the existing coverage of families with children.
October 29, 2007
The Revised SCHIP Bill: Still Bad Health Policy
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1680)
The new version does not correct the deficiencies of the original.
October 1, 2007
SCHIP Plus a Tax Credit: A Compromise Health Insurance Plan for Kids
By Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1652)
Congress should fashion a bipartisan compromise that aims to expand coverage for the uninsured while preserving coverage for families that already have it.
September 24, 2007
SCHIP: Crafting a Better Compromise to Cover Kids
By Nina Owcharenko and Stuart Butler
(WebMemo #1635)
House and Senate leaders should negotiate a more balanced compromise that aims to expand access to private health coverage for uninsured children.
September 21, 2007
The Massachusetts Health Reform: Assessing Its Significance and Progress
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Heritage Lecture #1044)
Massachusetts has committed to restructuring its health system around the principle that individual consumers, not employers or government, should be the key decision-makers and owners ...
September 20, 2007
Why Families Should Be Concerned about SCHIP
By Connie Marshner
(WebMemo #1630)
Congress should keep SCHIP focused on uninsured children from low-income families and broaden the options available to middle-income families whose children are uninsured.
September 19, 2007
SCHIP and "Crowd-Out": The High Cost of Expanding Eligibility
By Paul L. Winfree and Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1627)
Expanding SCHIP to cover children in higher income families is not an efficient or cost-effective way to reduce the number of uninsured children.
August 29, 2007
The House SCHIP Bill: Enlisting States as Agents of Government Dependency
By Cheryl S. Smith
(WebMemo #1593)
For the sake of taxpayers and the truly needy, Congress must reject budget gimmicks that will turn SCHIP into a permanent, open-ended entitlement program.
August 27, 2007
The Administration's SCHIP Regulations: A Sound Prescription
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1591)
The Bush Administration moves to restore SCHIP's focus on low-income children.
August 14, 2007
Expanding SCHIP Will Challenge State Finances: A State-by-State Analysis
By Greg D’Angelo, Michelle C. Bucci, and Marcus Newland
(WebMemo #1586)
State-by-state numbers on how Congress's SCHIP expansion plans would hit state budgets.
August 1, 2007
The House SCHIP Bill: Cutting Medicare, Undercutting Private Coverage, and Expanding Dependency
By Cheryl Smith with Robert E. Moffit
(WebMemo #1580)
Congress should stake out an entirely different policy that centers on reaffirming the original intent of the law, expanding private coverage, and preserving choice for ...
July 31, 2007
Health Care Tax Credits: The Right Prescription for Expanded Health Care Coverage
By JD Foster
(WebMemo #1579)
Expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program would be a step toward a government-run health care system. Instead, Congress should consider tax policy changes that ...
July 30, 2007
State Health Reform: How to Fund a Statewide Health Insurance Exchange
By Greg D'Angelo and Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1573)
The five core financial components of a state health insurance exchange.
July 30, 2007
Senate SCHIP Bill Makes a Mockery of PAYGO Budget Rules
By Brian M. Riedl
(WebMemo #1576)
Turning their backs on a campaign promise, Senate Democrats have proposed a bill that would put into motion $60 billion in new deficit spending over ...
July 30, 2007
Beyond SCHIP: A Serious Proposal to Reduce Uninsurance
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.d.
(WebMemo #1577)
A bold and innovative proposal would reduce the number of uninsured by an estimated 24 million by eliminating the unfairness of the federal tax treatment ...
July 26, 2007
State Health Care Reform: The Benefits and Limits of "Reinsurance"
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1568)
When most people refer to “reinsurance” in health care, what they really mean is the related concept of risk transfer or risk-pooling arrangements. Although such ...
July 23, 2007
State Health Reform: How Pooling Arrangements Can Increase Small-Business Coverage
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1563)
By combining sound program design with other market-based reforms, state policymakers can create pooling arrangements that increase the number of insured workers and improve the ...
July 23, 2007
Redesigning SCHIP to Strengthen Private Health Insurance for Working Families
By Nina Owcharenko and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1564)
A proposal from the Senate Finance Committee to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program would displace private health care coverage. In legislation to reauthorize ...
July 16, 2007
The Phantom Economic Benefits of SCHIP Expansion
By JD Foster, Ph.D., and Michael Lumley
(WebMemo #1557)
An advocacy group's study showing economic gains from SCHIP expansion is based on faulty premises.
July 11, 2007
22 Million New Smokers Needed: Funding SCHIP Expansion with a Tobacco Tax
By Michelle C. Bucci and William W. Beach
(WebMemo #1548)
Rather than making SCHIP dependent on increasing the number of smokers, Congress should refrain from narrow government program expansions and work on a broader strategy ...
July 9, 2007
SCHIP Reauthorization: Congress Should Beware of Creating a New Entitlement
By Nicola Moore and JD Foster, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1540)
Congress ought to focus on addressing the entitlement spending problem it has already created. Expanding yet another federal healthcare program would be reckless, risky, and ...
July 9, 2007
The Crisis in Hospital Emergency Departments: Overcoming the Burden of Federal Regulation
By John S. O'Shea, M.D.
(Backgrounder #2050)
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act makes the hospitals and doctors that provide emergency care to the uninsured less able and increasingly less ...
July 9, 2007
Expanding SCHIP into AMT Territory: SCHIP Plan Would Extend Welfare to Wealthy Families
By Rea S. Hederman, Jr.
(WebMemo #1546)
A proposed expansion of the children's health care program would provide subsidies to families so wealthy that they pay the AMT.
June 27, 2007
The State Children's Health Insurance Program: High Stakes for American Families
By Connie Marshner and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1528)
Congress must strengthen private sector options in SCHIP to reduce dependency on government, restore parental responsibility, and protect taxpayers.
June 21, 2007
SCHIP and "Crowd-Out": How Public Program Expansion Reduces Private Coverage
By Andrew M. Grossman and Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1518)
As Congress considers expanding SCHIP up the income ladder, it should recognize that throwing more money into the program will increasingly "crowd out" private funding ...
June 20, 2007
State-Based Health Reform: A Comparison of Health Insurance Exchanges and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1515)
State officials should take the best features of the FEHBP and apply them to their own health insurance markets. A health insurance exchange accomplishes this. ...
June 13, 2007
Competition: A Prescription for Health Care Transformation
By The Honorable Tom Coburn, M.D., Joseph Antos, Ph.D., and Grace-Marie Turner
(Heritage Lecture #1030)
America is going to have either a government-run health care system in which politicians and bureaucrats make the key decisions or a consumer-driven system in ...
May 24, 2007
Children's Health: SCHIP Should Not Become a Welfare Entitlement
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1473)
To protect taxpayers and preserve private sector aspects of the program, Congress must prevent the State Children's Health Insurance Program from morphing into an extension ...
May 22, 2007
Reforming SCHIP: Using Premium Assistance to Expand Coverage
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1466)
Rather than displacing private coverage with a government-run plan, Congress should empower families to make their own health care decisions and set the stage for ...
May 21, 2007
The Future of SCHIP: Family Freedom or Government Control?
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1464)
Expanding SCHIP eligibility would be a big mistake, chipping away at private coverage and placing a great burden on taxpayers.
May 4, 2007
Toward Free-Market Health Care
By Grace-Marie Turner
(Heritage Lecture #1019)
For the past six years, the health sector has been introducing patient choice and competition into a system that had been largely dominated by top-down, ...
May 3, 2007
The 2007 Medicare Trustees Report: A Trigger for Reform?
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1442)
Congress should heed the trustees' funding warning and adopt the Medicare reforms in the President's most recent budget proposal.
May 2, 2007
Fixing SCHIP and Expanding Children's Health Care Coverage
By Nina Owcharenko
(Backgrounder #2029)
Instead of moving the State Children’s Health Insurance Program closer to becoming an entitlement, increasing the fiscal burden on the states and taxpayers and crowding ...
April 17, 2007
The Medicare Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007: A Step Towards Government Interference
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1426)
Government negotiation of drug prices would substitute regulation and access restrictions for market competition and consumer choice in Medicare.
April 11, 2007
The VA Drug Pricing Model: What Senators Should Know
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1420)
Not only would the VA pricing model reap little savings in Medicare, but it would also fail to meet the needs of beneficiaries.
April 4, 2007
The Massachusetts Health Plan: An Update and Lessons for Other States
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1414)
New estimates show that competition will help Massachusetts residents save on health coverage. Other states would do well to learn from Massachusetts's experience.
March 21, 2007
More Medicaid Means Less Quality Health Care
By John O'Shea, M.D., MPA
(WebMemo #1402)
Medicaid is expensive and rapidly becoming unaffordable in many states, while the quality of care it delivers is often substandard.
March 20, 2007
Health Care Reform in Maryland: Doing It Right
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Heritage Lecture #1002)
A health insurance exchange facilitates personal, portable insurance independent of the place of work; makes efforts to insure the uninsured more targeted and effective, breaking ...
March 8, 2007
After Walter Reed: How to Fix Military Medicine
By Daniel H. Johnson, Jr., M.D.
(WebMemo #1388)
Introduce competition into military health care to prevent tragedies like the one at Walter Reed from ever recurring.
March 5, 2007
Health Insurance for Uninsured Children: Doing Health Care Right
By Nina Owcharenko
(Heritage Lecture #997)
The lack of health insurance among children is important, as it is for all uninsured. Policy for children should be family-oriented, and one of the ...
March 5, 2007
The Truth About SCHIP Shortfalls
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1381)
Congress should resist rewarding states that have ignored SCHIP's intent and exceeded its scope.
March 1, 2007
The Health Insurance Exchange: Enabling Freedom of Conscience in Health Care
By Connie Marshner
(WebMemo #1377)
State-level health insurance exchanges present a promising opportunity to offer greater freedom of choice and freedom of conscience.
February 21, 2007
Medicare Malady #04-07: Making a Mess of the Medicare Drug Coverage
By The Heritage Foundation
(WebMemo )
John O'Shea doesn’t play a doctor on TV. He is one – a Harvard educated surgeon with first-hand experience in dealing with Medicare.
February 7, 2007
The President's Budget: Improving Medicaid and SCHIP
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1348)
The President’s budget for Medicaid and SCHIP provides policymakers with a rational and positive roadmap for the future for these programs.
February 6, 2007
The President's Medicare Budget Proposal: A Step Forward on Entitlement Spending
By Robert E. Moffit
(WebMemo #1344)
In his FY 2008 budget, the President has proposed a set of serious Medicare proposals that will begin to address the enormous fiscal challenge of ...
February 6, 2007
How Bush's Health Care Tax Plan Will Raise Wages
By James Sherk and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1345)
By limiting the tax relief for company-sponsored health coverage, the President’s health plan would encourage workers and their employers to review the structure of compensation. ...
January 30, 2007
Addressing Adverse Selection Concerns Under the President's Health Care Proposal
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1332)
To the extent that adverse selection becomes a problem, there are tools that could be used to address it within the context of the President's ...
January 25, 2007
A Predictable Mess: Medicare's Physician Payment System Offers Lessons Against Drug Price Negotiation
By John S. O'Shea, M.D., MPA
(WebMemo #1330)
Medicare's physician payment system is a mess. There's no reason to impose it on seniors' drugs with government price "negotiation."
January 22, 2007
Making Health Care Affordable: Bush's Bold Health Tax Reform Plan
By Stuart M. Butler and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1316)
A sound basis for a serious discussion on how the tax treatment of health care should be reformed, consistent with good tax policy.
January 22, 2007
Transparency in Health Care: What Consumers Need to Know
By Honorable Alex M. Azar II, Thomas P. Miller, David B. Kendall, and Walton Francis
(Heritage Lecture #986)
Consumer-driven health care begins to encourage more cost- and value-sensitive decision-making in decentralized, individual-level decisions. The health care market responds to economic laws just as ...
January 22, 2007
The Schwarzenegger Health Plan: A Great Leap Forward for Bigger Government
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1317)
The Governor's proposed health plan is a mélange of bad health policy, unwise tax increases, and missed opportunities.
January 12, 2007
Medicare Malady #03-07: You Call This "Negotiating"?
By The Heritage Foundation
(WebMemo )
Whether you are hammering out a union contract, settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or getting your five year old to eat vegetables, everybody in the world ...
January 11, 2007
Hearing on Prescription Drug Pricing and Negotiation for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Testimony )
Hearing on Prescription Drug Pricing and Negotiation for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
January 11, 2007
Medicare Malady #02-07: Government "Negotiation" = Higher Drug Prices
By The Heritage Foundation
(WebMemo )
The Congressional Budget Office yesterday threw cold water on House Democrats all ready to make the feds negotiate Medicare drug prices. Turns out, according to ...
January 11, 2007
H.R. 4: A Confusing and Contradictory Prescription for Medicare Drugs
By Greg D'Angelo, and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1306)
The federal government cannot really "negotiate" drug prices in the Medicare program; it can only "set"prices, harming seniors in the process.
January 9, 2007
Medicare Malady #01-07: Drug Negotiations No Cure for Medicare's Ills
By The Heritage Foundation
(WebMemo )
Medicare patients might be denied access to new or preferred drugs, if Washington bureaucrats deem them “too expensive.” The only way around that problem? Price ...
December 18, 2006
The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care
By David Gratzer, M.D.
(Heritage Lecture #982)
The most effective way to reform America's expensive and unstable health care system is to build on the free-market principles of individual choice and competition: ...
December 5, 2006
Keeping the State Children's Health Care Program Focused on Federal Objectives
By Nina Owcharenko
(Heritage Lecture #980)
During the upcoming SCHIP reauthorization debate, federal lawmakers have the responsibility to evaluate both the effectiveness of the program's funding and the soundness of the ...
December 5, 2006
The Urgent Need to Reform Medicare's Physician Payment System
By John S. O'Shea, M.D.
(Backgrounder #1986)
Congress should move toward a defined-contribution system in Medicare, at least for new retirees; reject any regulatory scheme that increases the already heavy regulatory burdens ...
December 1, 2006
Why the New Congress Should Not Fix Drug Prices
By Greg D'Angelo
(WebMemo #1270)
Fixing prescription drug prices in Medicare would likely raise costs and stifle innovation.
October 20, 2006
Building on the Successes of Health Savings Accounts
By Greg D'Angelo and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1239)
How to improve HSAs and make all health insurance more affordable and better tailored to consumers.
October 5, 2006
The Rationale for a Statewide Health Insurance Exchange
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1230)
Statewide health insurance exchanges give individuals and families the opportunity to secure the health plans of their choice without losing tax benefits.
September 22, 2006
High-Priced Pain: What to Expect from a Single-Payer Health Care System
By Kevin C. Fleming, M.D.
(Backgrounder #1973)
The problems of America's health care system can best be addressed through market-based solutions. The evidence indicates that under national health insurance, the promise of ...
September 22, 2006
High-Priced Pain: What to Expect from a Single-Payer Health Care System
By Kevin C. Fleming, M.D.
(Executive Summary #1973)
The problems of America’s health care system can best be addressed through market-based solutions. The evidence indicates that under national health insurance, the promise of ...
August 30, 2006
The Tax Equity and Affordability Act: A Solution for the Uninsured
By Nina Owcharenko
(Backgrounder #1963)
Congress should provide individuals with the ability to control their own health care decisions. The Tax Equity and Affordability Act, by giving individuals who do ...
August 7, 2006
The Baldwin–Price Health Bill: Bipartisan Encouragement for State Action on the Uninsured
By Stuart Butler, Ph.D., and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1190)
A new way to break free of the deadlock in health care reform.
July 25, 2006
The Effect of State Regulations on Health Insurance Premiums: A Revised Analysis
By Michael J. New, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #06-04)
Many health policy analysts who cite Census Bureau statistics argue for greater government intervention in health care as a way to cover a larger percentage ...
July 18, 2006
The Massachusetts Health Plan: Lessons for the States
By Nina Owcharenko and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1953)
Several features of the Massachusetts health plan could empower individuals to buy and own their own health insurance policies and take these policies with them ...
July 17, 2006
The Health Care Choice Act:
Eliminating Barriers to Personal Freedom and Market Competition
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #1164)
While interstate commerce in goods and services is routine in virtually every other area of the national economy, such as banking and financial services, it ...
June 19, 2006
A Health Policy Agenda for the House of Representatives
By Nina Owcharenko and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1133)
Last month, the United States Senate scheduled a "Health Week" to consider modest changes to the health care system. It failed to pass anything.
June 16, 2006
Health Care Information Technology: Getting the Policy Right
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1131)
While health care transactions generate an enormous volume of data, too much of it is disjointed and inefficiently used. Recent studies indicate that better management ...
June 15, 2006
The Voinovich-Bingaman Bill: Letting the States Take the Lead in Extending Health Insurance
By Stuart M. Butler, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #1128)
Last month's "Health Week" in the U.S. Senate, just like the national "Cover the Uninsured Week" also held in May, failed to result in any ...
June 14, 2006
Getting Health Savings Accounts Right
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1127)
The growing success of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) is a policy victory, but Congress should be cautious not to overstep the role of the government ...
May 15, 2006
Patients' Freedom of Conscience: The Case for Values-Driven Health Plans
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Jennifer A. Marshall, and Grace V. Smith
(Backgrounder #1933)
Because most Americans have little control over the terms or conditions of their health insurance contracts or the payment of premiums, policymakers should (1) allow ...
May 15, 2006
Patients' Freedom of Conscience: The Case for Values-Driven Health Plans
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Jennifer A. Marshall,
and Grace V. Smith
(Executive Summary #1933)
Because most Americans have little control over the terms or conditions of their health insurance contracts or the payment of premiums, policymakers should (1) allow ...
May 15, 2006
Doing It Right: The District of Columbia Health Insurance Market Reform
By Lawrence H. Mirel and Edmund F. Haislmaier
(Heritage Lecture #936)
Under the proposed D.C. Equal Access to Health Insurance Act, all of the incentives in the system would be aligned to put the needs of ...
May 11, 2006
Building on the President's Health Care Agenda
By Nina Owcharenko
(Backgrounder #1934)
The President's health care agenda would provide tax equity, promote portability, improve health savings accounts, and expand coverage options. Congress should build on these elements ...
May 5, 2006
Competition and Federalism: The Right Remedy for Excessive Health Insurance Regulation
By Nina Owcharenko, Edmund Haislmaier and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1060)
Open competition in health care markets would benefit consumers.
May 1, 2006
Medicare and Social Security: Big Entitlement Costs on the Horizon
By David C. John and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1054)
Social Security and Medicare have promised $37 trillion more in benefits to senior and disabled workers than the programs will be able to pay.
April 28, 2006
A Serious Senate Agenda for "Health Week"
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1052)
The Senate should consider policies that promote personal control over health care dollars, expand consumer choice and competition, and reduce health care regulations
April 20, 2006
Understanding Key Parts of the Massachusetts Health Plan
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1045)
Clear explanation answers many criticisms of the Massachusetts plan.
April 13, 2006
Health Policy in Maryland and Massachusetts: A Study in Contrasts
By Regina E. Herzlinger
(WebMemo #1037)
"Fair Share" is not the right way to address the problem of the uninsured.
April 11, 2006
The Significance of Massachusetts Health Reform
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
(WebMemo #1035)
Last week the Massachusetts legislature passed comprehensive health care reform legislation almost a year after Governor Romney first proposed the key elements of a reform ...
March 17, 2006
Proceed with Caution: The Unintended Consequences of Expanding VA Access
By Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #1018)
Expanding VA medical care is not the best way to help veterans.
February 8, 2006
The President's Modest Medicare Budget Proposal
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #993)
With Medicare costs set to explode, the President proposes minor savings.
January 31, 2006
State of the Union 2006: The Health Care Initiatives
By Robert E. Moffit and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #976)
The President wants to level the playing field for individuals buying health coverage. That's a good idea.
January 17, 2006
Code Blue: The Case for Serious State Medical Liability Reform
By Randolph W. Pate, J.D., M.P.H., and Derek Hunter
(Backgrounder #1908)
Access to affordable care is being compromised for millions of Americans. To address the medical malpractice crisis in a way that reflects their particular circumstances, ...
December 16, 2005
Vaccine Liability: Congress Should Give Vaccines a Shot in the Arm
By Randolph W. Pate, J.D., MPH
(WebMemo #946)
Extending the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to cover more vaccines will give vaccine manufacturers breathing room to innovate and bring their life-saving products to market ...
December 14, 2005
Congress's Budget Reconciliation Package Should Not Hinder Hospital Specialization
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #940)
Blocking specialization would take aim directly at high-quality medical treatment, to the detriment of millions of Americans.
December 6, 2005
Children's Health Insurance 