One thing that struck this writer when Obamacare was debated was how readily the liberals dropped the notion of universal health care covered by the government. Of course, I soon realized that Obamacare was a backdoor way of achieving that goal. By making it financially unfeasible for employers to offer insurance, for example, Obama and company knew full well these people would be dumped onto | Read More »
The Supreme Court released an opinion today in Knox v. SEIU. In California, public workers are not required to join a union. Those that do not are assessed a “fair share fee,” usually a payroll deduction remitted to the union for representing their interests in certain areas. The fee assessed is a percentage of the amount charged a union member. Under previous Supreme Court guidance, | Read More »
Among the fourth actor, suppliers, the biggest culprit is the pharmaceutical industry. To illustrate the nonsense of Obamacare, it is rather hypocritical that medical supply companies were hit with taxes while the drug companies were left alone in exchange for a promise to keep prices in check. Part of the problem with drug prices is the cost in developing new drugs. The FDA is charged | Read More »
The third actor in health care reform is the provider- mainly hospitals and physicians. During the 1990s, there was a general shift towards chain hospitals through mergers and acquisitions. Citing economy of scale, they were permitted unabated. Unfortunately, this tipped the balance towards hospitals in terms of bargaining power with insurers, especially HMOs which saw a decline in popularity after the 1990s. By nature, chain | Read More »
Yesterday, June 18th, the US Supreme Court announced four opinions, and three that involved the federal government and positions taken by the Obama Administration. The fourth decision was a Confrontation Clause case and DNA testimony involving a state trial in which the federal government was not involved. In the three cases- two involving Indian tribes, but having ramifications beyond Indian affairs- the federal government came | Read More »
Insurance companies are the demonized actor in health care. A realistic look at the situation reveals that they have to invariably work through a maze of government regulations and mandates that hamper their ability to service policy holders. There is no shortage of stories of insurance company abuses and policy holder sob stories before Congress. Looked at in isolation, the story is troubling. From 1998-2008, | Read More »
In 1960, health care accounted for 5.1% of GDP compared to 16.1% of GDP today. In 2009, health care costs were over $7,200 per capita in the United States. Being a more affluent society than our industrialized counterparts, we tend to spend more for quality. But for any market-based approach to work, one has to look at outcomes and on most metrics (like infant mortality, | Read More »
Assuming the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obamacare) in whole or part, it is necessary that the GOP have a working plan in place to address health care. The problems in health care did not go away with passage of the ACA and they will exist should it be struck down. When this whole mess was being played out originally, it | Read More »
In what can be a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court regarding the Fourth Amendment, a case out of Maryland regarding the collection of DNA samples is likely to land on the docket for consideration soon. First, some background. Every state and the federal government requires that those convicted of felonies or sex crimes submit a DNA sample to the government for placement in a | Read More »
As everyone knows, the election in November will boil down to a handful of states. Romney needs to take states that Obama won in 2008 obviously. We can quibble about this state or that state being in play, but that subject will be for another entry. Suffice to say, the likely swing states this year will be: Florida, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, | Read More »
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