Medicare head Donald Berwick: rationing for thee, not for me
David Catron points out more ruling class elitism from Medicare & Medicaid head Donald Berwick:
Berwick praised the heavy-handed rationing methods of Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and said, “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care; the decision is whether we will ration with our […]
Will Colorado Authorities Push Anthem to be a Slumlord Insurance Company?
Will Anthem act like a slumlord health insurer if the CO Division of Insurance forbids them from increasing rates? The Denver Post reports that Colorado authorities are still deliberating about whether to permit Anthem to increase premiums. It’s taken as a given that government officials have a right to interfere with what should be private […]
FDA on your DNA: “You can’t handle the truth!”
From Paul Hsieh:
Recent advances in biotechnology have allowed private companies to offer affordable genetic testing directly to consumers, to help them determine their risks of developing problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and various forms of cancer. In response, the U.S. government has told these companies that their tests must be […]
Donald Berwick’s Five-Year Plan v. the iPhone
Paul Howard and David Gratzer, MD write
Last month, Apple released its new iPhone, a faster and more powerful version of its ever popular computer-phone. It’s a remarkable device – particularly remarkable given that its machine ancestors were large and expensive, often filling whole buildings yet able to crunch fewer numbers than […]
Bad Medicine: The Real Costs & Consequences of ObamaCare
A new analysis of ObamaCare (HR 3590) from the Cato Institute:
The length and complexity of the health care reform legislation, combined with a debate that often generated more heat than light, has led to massive confusion about the law’s likely impact. A new white paper by Cato senior fellow Michael D. […]
Ten Small-Scale Reforms For Pre-existing (Chronic) Conditions
Instead of more political meddling in insurance markets like guaranteed issue and community rating, the following free-market-oriented reforms would help alleviate the problems with pre-existing conditions. From John Goodman at the Health Affairs Blog:
Encourage Portable Insurance.
Allow Special Health Savings Accounts for the Chronically Ill.
Allow Special Needs Health Insurance.
Allow Health Status Insurance.
Allow Self-Insurance for Changes […]
Kagan: Constitution may authorize feds to mandate what you eat
From Michael Tanner at Cato:
Suppose that the federal government, in its infinite wisdom, decided that it would deal with the obesity crisis and improve the health and welfare of the American people — by mandating that every American eat three helpings of vegetables and three helpings of fruit every day. Anyone […]
Right to Health Care Choice Initiative: what will it do?
In a recent iVoices podcast Jon Caldara discusses an important issue in Colorado politics this year, the Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative:
We hear the questions everyday from folks who want to help us collect signatures or who support what we’re doing: what exactly will this initiative do? How in the […]
How to protect yourself against ObamaCare
The Objective Standard has published Paul Hsieh, M.D.’s article about how to protect yourself from ObamaCare (HR 3590). Here are the topic headings:
To the extent possible, arrange to pay for your medical care directly rather than through an insurancepolicy. – Health savings accounts- concierge medicine- medical tourism
Assume full responsibility for your personal health.- Eat Well […]
“Medical homes”: good idea, or politicized boondoggle?
David Hogberg at Investor’s Business Daily has written a nice critique of the so-called “medical homes” pushed by ObamaCare (HR 3590). A “medical home” sounds comforting, but if politicians are forcing you, or nudging you, into one with legislation, then you should be wary. A few excerpts from the article, Medical-Homes Model Pushed By Health […]
The AMA & biased legislation vs. health care mutual aid societies
Mary Ruwart nicely summarizes how the American Medical Association and legislation biased toward insurance companies crowded out health care mutual aid societies. Today their equivalents are health care cooperatives. The following is from The Liberator Online, June 24, 2010:
QUESTION: I think part of the problem with today’s health care system is the over-reliance on […]
Obama: government can’t & shouldn’t “run health care.” Whatever
Boston Globe Columnist Jeff Jacoby points out an what President Obama said in a 2009 address:
I don’t believe that government can or should run health care.
Yet, at a 2008 town hall meeting in New Mexico, Senator Obama said:
If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system.
A […]
