MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'health care bill'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:26:24 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4124988&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FN0d3BALkRh8%2F By Michael D. TannerWith Tuesday’s election widely predicted to bring a near-historic shake-up of the political establishment, here are some things we can say for certain even before the first results are tallied: This election will be a win for economic conservatives, not social conservatives.  Not surprisingly given the economic climate, economic issues dominated the campaign, with social issues barely registering.  This was particularly helpful for Republicans, since economically conservative, socially moderate suburban voters, who backed Democrats in 2006 and 2008, switched to Republicans this year. There is a lesson here for Republicans in the future. In the months leading up to the election, we have heard a great deal about the so-called “civil war” in the Republican Party.�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4124988 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:13:22 +0100 4124988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822907&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYCk0EcGetrc%2F By David BoazAs Roger Pilon mentioned, yesterday’s Politico question was “Is Health Care Repeal Gaining Steam?” A timely question in light of Monday’s court decision allowing a lawsuit against the health care mandate to proceed. And perhaps an even more timely question today, now that 71 percent of Missouri voters have voted for a proposition to exempt the state from the mandate. Polls show continuing opposition to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi health care overhaul. It’s constitutionally dubious. And now, in the only popular vote on the bill, it received a full 29 percent of the vote. Just maybe this wasn’t a good idea. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822907 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:07:47 +0100 3822907 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3746724&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNeXbeeNyV2M%2F By Cato EditorsAt more than 2,500 pages and 500,000 words long, the new health care bill — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — is the most significant transformation of the American health care system since Medicare and Medicaid. The bill’s complexity has created confusion, frustration, false expectations, and conflicts about its coverage and impact. An incisive new report by Cato scholar Michael D. Tanner provides an authoritative and deeply revealing explanation of its provisions. The diagnosis: the bill is bad medicine. It is likely to make Americans less healthy, less prosperous, less able to direct their own health care decisions, and places huge burdens on our economy and already massive national debt. It is now certain that the debate over health care reform w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3746724 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:12:29 +0100 3746724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733053&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fshould-obama-bypass-senate-to-appoint-health-care-official%2F President Obama announced yesterday that he will bypass congress to appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The decision, called a “recess appointment”, is going through while senate is in recess, which many find surprising because it’s only in recess for a short amount of time. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said that the appointment is needed to carry out the new health care law, which calls for big changes in both Medicare and Medicaid, affecting about 1/3 of all Americans. The New York Times quoted his statement that “many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733053 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:33:41 +0100 3733053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3595572&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6BC7VK7vvEE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe polling firm Rasmussen Reports reports: Support for repeal of the new national health care plan has jumped to its highest level ever. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March. Prior to today, weekly polling had shown support for repeal ranging from 54% to 58%. Currently, just 32% oppose repeal. The new findings include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal of the health care bill and 25% who Strongly Oppose it. Repeal the bill. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3595572 Mon, 24 May 2010 16:50:27 +0100 3595572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515338&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FH78JrwFZ7EQ%2F By Michael F. CannonPopular discontent with ObamaCare extends even so far as the traditionally left-of-center Columbus Dispatch editorial page: Almost daily, the ill effects of the health-care overhaul passed by Congress last month are becoming apparent. As employers and government bureaucrats analyze the law’s effect on bottom lines for the private sector and for government, the alarm bells are ringing. The tragedy is that these ill effects could have been and should have been calculated before the law was passed, not after. In fact, many of them were prophesied before passage of the bill, but the prophets were ignored by President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress. That’s because their uppermost goal was not to pass the best health-care bill possible but me... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515338 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:05:13 +0100 3515338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3504893&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEpY0J8RzU2o%2F By Chris EdwardsMost people know about the individual mandate in the new health care bill, but the bill contained another mandate that could be far more costly. A few wording changes to the tax code’s section 6041 regarding 1099 reporting were slipped into the 2000-page health legislation. The changes will force millions of businesses to issue hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of additional IRS Form 1099s and related W-2s every year. It appears to be a costly, anti-business nightmare. Under current law, businesses are required to issue 1099s in a limited set of situations, such as when paying outside consultants. The health care bill includes a vast expansion in this information reporting requirement in an attempt to raise revenue for an increasingly rapacious Congress. In a recent... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3504893 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:57:54 +0100 3504893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494472&cid=t_242616_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FpzS21cduK8c%2F Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive rights is still being waged across America. Last month, President Obama’s health care bill just barely passed in the Senate, thanks in part to the support of Rep. Bart Stupak, who came to Obama’s side only after the President signed an executive order confirming the ban on federal funding for abortions. While the National Right to Life movement has had no trouble attracting young women, the pro-choice side that fought for and won abortion rights several decades earlier is seeing its membership age without much new blood coming in, according to National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) president Nancy Keenan, who was recently profiled in Newsweek. Keenan considers herself part of the “post-menopaus... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494472 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0100 3494472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3467738&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw1mT8tFucSU%2F By Michael D. TannerOver the course of the health care debate, the media often reported and editorialized — and sometimes it was impossible to tell the difference — quite favorably on the Democratic proposals running through Congress. While some upheld their journalistic responsibility to scrutinize and offer objective analysis of the legislation, many did not. It was not surprising to read stories almost daily about how Obamacare would lift millions of poor, elderly, sick, and generally down-trodden Americans out of financial and medical crisis, and even go so far as to singlehandedly save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans over the course of the next decade. (It would even provide one free turkey for Thanksgiving to every family living 400 percent below the pover... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3467738 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:06:33 +0100 3467738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424910&cid=t_242616_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F03%2F30%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-march-30-2010%2F There’s just a few days left in March and we’re heading straight for the spring season! Some of you may be busy preparing for Easter weekend while others are in the thick of spring break. Whatever you’re doing, we hope you’ll stop by and see what’s buzzing over at our blogs this week. I’ve scoured our blogs to find the best, most popular posts so that you can quickly click through and find your favorite ones. Happy Hunting! And make sure to come back later in the week for another round of, “Best of Our Blogs.” Music Education Helps Kids Brains With Sound Stimuli (Family Mental Health) – Music isn’t just all fun and games. Did you know it actually helps with communication skills? Hard to believe that all that noise in a music class... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424910 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:06:42 +0100 3424910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403862&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7qokWFmTTM0%2F By Chris Moody Too bad no one saw this coming: Social Security is now in the red. Now that the health care bill is law, you should know exactly how it’s going to affect you, your premiums, and your coverage over the next few years. Here’s a helpful breakdown. As the health care overhaul crosses home plate, global warming legislation steps up to bat. Appreciate this: Chinese currency rise will have a negligible effect on the trade deficit. For more, read the whole paper. Podcast:  “A Plea for Divided Government” featuring John Samples, author of the forthcoming book The Struggle to Limit Government. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403862 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:43:18 +0100 3403862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390728&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Ftodays-poll-health-coverage%2F Do you believe in universal health care? Or do you think people who don’t have health care coverage are lazy and should just get a job? Let’s hear what you think. Take our poll and comment below. #MicroPollDiv_242203 { width: 250px; margin: 0px auto; } photo: Thinkstock Post from: BlissTree (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390728 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:35:12 +0100 3390728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390736&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcontroversy-of-the-day-health-care-reform%2F Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Obama’s health care reform bill (without Republican support and by a slim three-vote margin), which Obama will sign into law this week. What are your thoughts on this historic vote? How will health care reform affect your life and the lives of those around you? Blisstree wants to know, so share your comments below. photo: Thinkstock Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390736 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:35:44 +0100 3390736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378452&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4qjvNf7eAlI%2F By David BoazNew York Times columnist David Brooks, President Obama’s biggest fan among self-proclaimed conservatives, has been plunged into the depths of despair by the latest machinations of Obama and his congressional allies: Deem and pass? Are you kidding me? Is this what the Revolutionary War was fought for? Is this what the boys on Normandy beach were trying to defend? Is this where we thought we would end up when Obama was speaking so beautifully in Iowa or promising to put away childish things? Yes, I know Republicans have used the deem and pass technique. It was terrible then. But those were smallish items. This is the largest piece of legislation in a generation and Pelosi wants to pass it without a vote. It’s unbelievable that people even talk about this with a straight ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378452 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:02:06 +0100 3378452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378456&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZ5r_O6He898%2F By Chris Moody Busy with an ambitious domestic agenda, the Obama administration has put trade issues on the back burner. Let’s hope it stays that way. A little lesson on how government works. (As opposed to how it’s supposed to work.) There has been talk that House Democrats are planning to “deem” the health care bill into law without calling for a vote. If you’re not sure how that process works, read this. Contrary to a growing belief in Washington, revaluing China’s currency will not cure the trade deficit. Podcast: “ObamaCare Threatens Innovation” featuring Michael F. Cannon. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378456 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:10:12 +0100 3378456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374109&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMK_fLiXDCMY%2F By David BoazToday’s question at Politico Arena is: Should Democrats be worried that health care could be subject to a successful court challenge? My response is: I’m the first in my family not to be a lawyer. But Mike McConnell’s article seems compelling to me. As he notes, Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution requires that a bill must pass both houses of Congress to become a law. Duh. And for those who have trouble with that concept, he goes on: “As the Supreme Court wrote in Clinton v. City of New York (1998), a bill containing the ‘exact text’ must be approved by one house; the other house must approve ‘precisely the same text.’” So the “deemed passed” rule doesn’t seem to be constitutional. Then the interes... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374109 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:04:10 +0100 3374109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370400&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9MDjQ3CZOvo%2F By David BoazRelated to my post below on whether last-second shots with time expiring, while good for basketball, might be bad for governance, Steven Horwitz offers a compelling hypothetical in academic governance at Coordination Problem: …Nonetheless, the leadership insists this curriculum change is crucially important to the future of the institution and if only the Faculty Senate would pass it and put it in place, the faculty and students would then realize just how good it is.  In fact, the faculty leadership, working with the clear approval of the president and VPAA, are now scouring Roberts Rules of Order to find a series of sure-to-be controversial parliamentary maneuvers to get the Faculty Senate to approve the new curriculum without it ever going to the full faculty, and p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370400 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:51:48 +0100 3370400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366180&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGsheUxAwmCM%2F By Michael F. CannonThe House leadership plans to hold a vote, more or less, on the Senate health care bill this week.  President Obama says he wants to “ge[t] rid of many of the provisions that had no place in health care reform — provisions that were more about winning individual votes…than improving health care.”  White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Democrats will “take the pot-sweetening out of the process.”  Yet Democrats have decided to retain the Senate bill’s $300 million subsidy for the state of Louisiana, commonly known as the “Louisiana Purchase,” and other state-specific bribes pot-sweeteners. On ABC News’s This Week yesterday, Obama advisor David Axelrod argued that the “Louisiana Purchase” is not targeted sole... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366180 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:21:14 +0100 3366180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358962&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FABQC4mmx4-k%2F By Michael F. CannonAccording to MSNBC, Democratic leaders have given up on trying to appease pro-life House Democrats: House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama’s health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in America. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House… Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee…predicted some of the anti-abo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358962 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:32:20 +0100 3358962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358963&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcTe5RcfvNgw%2F By Michael F. CannonEzra Klein quotes the Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimate of the Senate health care bill when he writes: “CBO expects that the legislation would generate a reduction in the federal budgetary commitment to health care during the decade following 2019,” which is to say that this bill will cover 30 million people but the cost controls will, within a decade or so, leave us spending less on health care than if we’d done nothing.  That’s a pretty good deal. But it’s not a very well-understood deal. Indeed, because that’s not what the CBO said. First, the CBO said the “federal budgetary commitment to health care” would rise by $210 billion between 2010 and 2019 under the Senate bill.  Then, after 2019, it w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358963 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:53:40 +0100 3358963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294567&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJHLF_KdSQt0%2F By Chris Moody Progressives are outraged that the Supreme Court overturned limits on corporate political advertising last month. Here’s why they should be rejoicing. Policy forum today at Cato: “Will the Senate Health Care Bill Keep the Poor Poor?” Click here to watch live from 12:00-1:30 PM EST. Idea of the day: Cut the Commerce Department to boost real business. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron: “Economists find weak or contradictory evidence that higher government spending spurs the economy. Substantial research, however, does find that tax cuts stimulate the economy and that fiscal adjustments—attempts to reduce deficits by raising taxes or lowering expenditure—work better when they focus on tax cuts.” Cato’s Ilya Shapiro wrapping up daily... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294567 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:19:30 +0100 3294567 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294570&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuS6K1FQoagw%2F By Michael F. CannonOr it may even be worse. This morning, President Obama released his latest health care blueprint, which he hopes will breathe life into his moribund effort to overhaul one-sixth of the U.S. economy.  The new blueprint is almost exactly the same as the House and Senate health care bills that the public have opposed since July.  It mostly just splits the difference between the two. One new element, however, is the president’s proposal to impose a new type of government price control on health insurance premiums.  I explain here how those price controls are a veiled form of government rationing that helped sink the Clinton health plan. If anything, those price controls make the president’s new plan even more bureaucratic and government-heavy.  The Senate bi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294570 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:49:03 +0100 3294570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193701&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FayJwHR5nDX4%2F By Chris Moody David Boaz on Obama’s first year: “From this libertarian, Obama’s first year looks grim. …He may well end up like Lyndon Johnson, with an ambitious domestic agenda eventually bogged down by endless war. But I don’t think his wished-for FDR model — a transformative agenda that is both popular and long-lasting — is in the cards.” The message from Massachusetts: “There can be no denying that this election was a clear cut rejection of the Democratic health care bills.” Attacks from all sides: See what happens when the Right takes on free enterprise. A new dictator in Iraq? Podcast: Daniel Ikenson discusses Obama’s trade policy. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193701 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:43:27 +0100 3193701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193706&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTNAsiNzS9LI%2F By Roger PilonToday, Politico Arena asks: The message from Massachusetts What now for the Democratic agenda? My response: Listening to Scott Brown’s long, barely scripted acceptance speech last night, you had the refreshing sense that you were listening to an ordinary American, not to some political cut-out.  Here’s a guy who campaigned in a pick-up truck with over 200,000 miles on the odometer, who listened to the voters and understood that they wanted not simply to block tax hikes but to lower taxes (and the last thing they wanted was for their taxes to pay terrorists’ lawyers bills!), who understood that even worse than the health care bill now before Congress were the back-room deals that brought it about, who’s served proudly for 30 years in the National Guard — in shor... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193706 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:22:12 +0100 3193706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171885&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIn435zpiq7c%2F By Chris EdwardsWe’ve got an IRS Commissioner who doesn’t even do his own taxes, and is not embarrassed about it. We’ve got complex deductions that nobody understands, including the government, as the Maryland nurse with the MBA found out. We’ve got a Treasury Secretary and other high appointees who apparently cheated on their taxes. And we’ve got the Democrats hell-bent on greatly increasing the power and responsibilities of the overwhelmed IRS with their health care bill. Now, more than ever, it’s time to scrap the current income tax and put in a flat tax. Or at least we could take a big jump in that direction with a “Simplified Tax,” as discussed in a new National Academies report. Get rid of all almost all deductions, exemptions, and cr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171885 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:21:59 +0100 3171885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171887&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbbdOwtOl6hM%2F By Michael F. CannonSuppose you’re a family of four at or near the federal poverty level.  Under current law, if you earn an additional dollar, you get to keep around 60-70 cents. Under the House and Senate health care bills, however, you would get to keep maybe 38 cents.  Or 26 cents.  Or maybe just 18 cents. The following graph (from my recent study, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums”) shows that under the House and Senate bills, the combination of (1) a mandate tax and (2) subsidies that disappear as income rises would impose implicit tax rates on poor families that reach as high as 82 percent over broad ranges of income. This graph actually smooths out some rather bumpy implicit tax rates that spike as high as 174 percent. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171887 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:55:10 +0100 3171887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171889&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqfHgYHyCgPg%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a new study titled, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums,” I show that the House and Senate health care bills would impose implicit tax rates on low-wage workers that exceed 100 percent.  Here’s the executive summary: House and Senate Democrats have produced health care legislation whose mandates, subsidies, tax penalties, and health insurance regulations would penalize work and reward Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance. As a result, the legislation could trap many Americans in low-wage jobs and cause even higher health-insurance premiums, government spending, and taxes than are envisioned in the legislation. Those mandates and subsidies would impose effective marginal tax rates on lo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171889 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:52 +0100 3171889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149036&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZDQ9ByXWiyo%2F By Michael F. CannonThat’s the conclusion of economist Glen Whitman and physician Raymond Raad, who write in Forbes: Unfortunately, the health care bills moving through Congress could curtail medical innovation. Imposing price controls on drugs and treatments–or indirectly forcing their prices down by means of a “public option” or expanded public insurance programs–would reduce the incentive for innovators to develop new treatments. Proposed reforms could also retard business model innovation–an area where innovation is weak. Congress has already used its control of Medicare to limit the growth of specialty hospitals. A nationally mandated insurance package would severely curtail innovation in payment methods and insurance products, which have the potent... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149036 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:06:45 +0100 3149036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3139026&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBY86I2qcA9M%2F By Chris Moody Michael Tanner says the difficult part of passing the health care bill has only just begun: “The bill must now go to a conference committee to resolve significant differences between the House and Senate versions. And history shows that agreement is far from guaranteed.” Get ready for Cash for Clunkers…the Home Edition. Gene Healy on the new decade: “Yes, it was a rotten 10 years for America. But cheer up: Things aren’t as bad as they seem, and there’s a good chance they’ll get better.” Will the market rise or fall? Richard Rahn: “The long-term outlook for the stock market is not good, and here is why. For the past 100 years, there has been an inverse relationship between changes in the size of government and the gr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3139026 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:23:23 +0100 3139026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3118855&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffl_ix-24x2k%2F By Tad DeHavenThe White House is hinting that its fiscal year 2011 budget due out in February will be “austere.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t provide any specifics but recently said that “it will not look as it has in the past.” Well that’s a relief because the FY2010 appropriations process finally wrapped up and spending continues to be anything but austere. The “minibus” appropriations bill signed by the President last week jacked up funding by a combined 8 percent for programs ranging from education to housing to transportation. And that’s at a time when inflation is low. Further, funding hasn’t been passed yet for the president’s recently announced troop surge in Afghanistan, which will cost around $40 billion per year. President Obama will ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3118855 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:28:57 +0100 3118855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105252&cid=t_242616_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F19%2Fhope-we-hardly-knew-ye%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Hope, We Hardly Knew Ye. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, compromise, health care bill, health care reform, obama, political cartoon, senate (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105252 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:19:19 +0100 3105252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096839&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaCbxPsbbYOI%2F By Michael F. Cannon So yes, enacting the Obama health plan would be an historic achievement.  But its supporters don’t know if it would be a good historic achievement or one of those bad historic achievements — like slavery, unequal suffrage, Jim Crow, etc. Oh, and they don’t care. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096839 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:29:06 +0100 3096839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3092674&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKJKti0Mgo5Q%2F By Michael F. CannonOn Day #179 of the ObamaCare Cost Estimate Watch, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) wrote in The Winchester Star of his involvement in the Senate health care debate: At the start of this debate I was one of eight senators who called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to post the text and complete budget scores of the health-care bill on a public web site for review at least 72 hours prior to both the first vote and final passage. This request was agreed to, affording proper transparency in the process. On the contrary, as I explain in this Richmond Times-Dispatch oped, Reid did not comply with Webb’s request. Indeed, a memo recently issued by the Congressional Budget Office suggests that Reid has been working very hard to conceal the legislation’s full cost all along.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3092674 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:43:35 +0100 3092674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089255&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEL7rZ51xm9Y%2F By Chris Moody Whether you’re insured, uninsured, get health insurance on your own or through an employer, own a small business or work for someone else,  this is what the health care bill means for you. An update on the hidden taxes in the health care bill. Why Obama should order the DEA to make more pot available for medical research. The U.S. Constitution mentions only three federal crimes (treason, piracy, and counterfeiting). Today, there are more than 4,000. Podcast: “Myths of Health Care Reform.” (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089255 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:05:45 +0100 3089255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089256&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSqRqgKHfyCA%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Democrats now appear to be jettisoning the idea of creating a new government program to snuff out compete with private insurance companies.  It was an audacious proposal from the start, as it made their health care plan even more left-wing than the Clinton plan, which voters soundly rejected for being too statist. Yet it was always a sideshow that helpfully distracted the Left, the Right, and the mainstream from what shrewd Democrats and their allies at AHIP have really wanted all along: an individual mandate forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance under penalty of law. As I argue in this Cato study, an individual mandate gives government more (and more immediate) control over Americans’ health care than even the so-called “public option&... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089256 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:08:14 +0100 3089256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089510&cid=t_242616_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F14%2Finside-the-health-care-reform-sausage-factory%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Inside the Health Care Reform Sausage Factory. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, health care bill, health care debate, health care reform, political cartoon (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089510 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:01:48 +0100 3089510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082390&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FetlyVD0kA70%2F By Chris Moody Health care insurance mandates: Why it is unconstitutional for the government to force you to purchase a product you don’t want to buy. Should malpractice reform be included in the pending health care bill? The end of globalization? Cato’s trade policy expert Daniel Griswold debates. Doug Bandow on the minaret ban in Switzerland: “Swiss voters underestimated the impact on religious liberty when they voted to ban minaret construction. But Muslims whose nations persecute Christians, Jews, and other religious minorities have no standing to complain. The Islamic world needs to respect religious liberty at home before lecturing the West about intolerance, racism, hatred and Islamophobia.” More debate over Hayek and spontaneous order at Cato Unbound... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082390 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:03:39 +0100 3082390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023105&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqe-aFuDa-I4%2F Leaders of the Church of Christ, Scientist, are pushing to get a provision into the health care bill that would mandate equal treatment for “spiritual healing,” such as Christian Science prayer treatments. Sens. John Kerry and Orrin Hatch are trying to get it inserted into the Senate bill, according to the Washington Post. Kerry’s spokeswoman, Whitney Smith, told the Los Angeles Times that insurers would not be forced to cover prayer. Instead, she said, “the amendment would prevent insurers from discriminating against benefits that qualify as spiritual care if the care is recognized by the IRS as a legitimate medical expense. Plans are free to impose standards on spiritual and medical care as long as both are treated equally. It does not mandate that plans provide... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023105 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:57:40 +0100 3023105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008069&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKau_XyoF57Y%2F Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has finally unveiled his massive 2,074-page health care bill.  The Congressional Budget Office reports that the insurance-expansion provisions would cost the feds $848 billion over 10 years.  To raise those funds, the bill would tax wages, medical devices, prescription drugs, sick people, health insurance premiums (twice), HSAs, FSAs, HRAs, and — why not? — cosmetic surgery.  The remainder would supposedly come from $491 billion of Medicare cuts, even though Medicare’s chief actuary says such cuts are “unrealistic” and “doubtful.”  But don’t worry.  Somehow, this thing’s gonna reduce the deficit. Of course, that $848 billion only accounts for part of the federal government’s share of t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008069 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:05:27 +0100 3008069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2989369&cid=t_242616_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F11%2F12%2Feverybody-lets-play-health-care%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily: Everybody! Let’s Play Health Care! Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, health care, health care bill, health care debate, health care reform, health insurance, political cartoon (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2989369 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:41:14 +0100 2989369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2974169&cid=t_242616_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F11%2F09%2Fhealth-care-reform-youll-learn-to-love-it%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up: I know you conservatives are upset about the health care reform bill clearing the House, but let me spin it another way for you. Gone are the days when you could pay the doctor with chickens and rutabagas, and those days are not coming back unless we’re in a nuclear winter (in which case our current problems will seem small). Who among you can say you haven’t looked at Medicare recipients and wished you too were 65 years old? Probably the first time in history that an adult longed for old age. Likewise, Medicaid for the poor may have looked like a pretty good deal if you earned too much to qualify but not enough to buy insurance on your own. A generation ago, Medicare and Medicaid were sufficient because most people had group health ins... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2974169 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:47:53 +0100 2974169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2970198&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8Jr4iSPVdIc%2F This morning, Politico Arena asks: Will the House pass healthcare this weekend — or not My response: In his post below, my colleague Michael Cannon links to his devastating analysis of the way House Democrats have buried the true cost of their healthcare scheme. This is legerdemain of the first order, but it is business as usual here in Washington. Here we have a Congress that cannot fix Medicare, which will go broke even before Social Security does, a Congress that still hasn’t met the October 1 budget deadline for the ninth year in a row, and it wants to fundamentally reorder healthcare in America with a scheme that no one understands and no one knows how to fund. Any private business that ran its affairs that way would long have been out of business. Given this record of i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2970198 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:14:52 +0100 2970198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2943758&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FX1NXb5M8pik%2F Over at Think Progress, Matt Yglesias takes me to task for saying that the so-called public option in the House’s health care bill “would all but eliminate private insurance and force millions of Americans into a government-run system.” Yglesias apparently still buys into the myth that the public option is, well, an option. For people who receive health insurance through their employers, which is to say the vast majority of the Americans who currently have health insurance, the House bill would change very little. Or, rather, the biggest change would simply be the confidence that if, in the future, you cease to get health insurance from your employer (maybe you’ll lose your job or want to change jobs) that you’ll still be able to get health care. What’s more, of the minority of... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2943758 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:37:15 +0100 2943758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939271&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwPFifq6VRsQ%2F Speaker Pelosi is set to unveil a health care bill today including yet another version of the so-called public option. This one would let providers “negotiate” reimbursement rates with the government-run program. That’s the health care equivalent of negotiating with Tony Soprano. But regardless of how much lipstick they put on this pig, it still is a government takeover of the health care system that would all but eliminate private insurance and force millions of Americans into a government-run system. Apparently the House leadership has decided that if at first you can’t get the votes by being honest about your true intentions, lie, lie, again. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939271 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:20:32 +0100 2939271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939277&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNgrfiHFqwnM%2F Let’s simplify things and say there are essentially two parts to the health care bills moving through Congress: an individual mandate that would effectively nationalize health care, and a government-run program that would explicitly nationalize it slowly, over time. One explanation for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) including the government-run program — supporters call it a “public option”; I prefer Fannie Med — in the Senate bill is that Fannie Med’s popularity is on the rise.  Another explanation is that Reid had to include it to remain majority leader and get left-wing Nevadans to work for his re-election. But a third explanation, not inconsistent with the others, is that the savvier Democrats know that all they need to nationalize health care is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939277 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:36:41 +0100 2939277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2890625&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMnmE0GBdNoI%2F The Senate Finance Committee votes today on Senator Max Baucus’ version of the health care bill. Cato health care experts have analyzed the bill thoroughly, and point out three vital components to the cost and reach of the legislation: 1) The real cost of the bill is in excess of $2 trillion. Chairman Max Baucus hoodwinked the CBO with a number of clever budgetary gimmicks, most notably by keeping about half of the cost off the federal books. The bill also assumes Congress will make cuts to Medicare payments, which has never once happened before. 2) The bill contains an enormous middle-class tax hike. The bill imposes a 40 percent excise tax on health insurance plans that offer benefits in excess of $8,000 for an individual plan and $21,000 for a family plan. Insurers would almost ce... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2890625 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:57:40 +0100 2890625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2876021&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fymn1_XTNQfs%2F The Congressional Budget Office released a report this week that revealed that the proposed health care bill would not increase the deficit.  But is it that simple? Cato health care policy experts have examined the bill and added up the costs. Here are a few things they have found: Congress has been cooking the books: “When it comes to the health care reform debate…honest budgeting is nowhere to be seen.” Costs will only decrease if we give market forces room to breathe. How some in Congress are hiding the true costs of the health care overhaul. Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It Podcast: Do You Smell the Books Congress is Cookin’? (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2876021 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:33:40 +0100 2876021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2842501&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsID2zzPRduw%2F Twenty inaccurate claims in Obama’s speech to Congress on health care. “If [members of Congress] yelled out every time President Obama said something untrue about health care, they would quickly find themselves growing hoarse.” Political tensions decreasing between Taiwan and China. How Americans misunderstand war: “America’s biggest mistake in Afghanistan and Iraq was to think its modern military would make winning easy.” Always read the fine print: There is a dangerous provision in the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill that could deny crucial health treatments for Medicare patients. Will the FDIC start borrowing from healthy banks to continue to provide relief to banks teetering on the edge? Podcast: Justin Logan explains why ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2842501 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:23:08 +0100 2842501 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2828180&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHFkWs3qR1Xo%2F Will Americans get “quality time” with proposed health care legislation before it passes? Some say no: The Senate Finance Committee recently turned back an effort to put Chairman Max Baucus’ bill online for 72 hours before the committee’s vote. The Committee is on the wrong side of history. Transparency shifts power away from the center, so it’s favored by those out of power. It’s no wonder that Republican representative John Culberson, a member of the minority party, is putting H.R. 3400 (a significant health care bill) online for comment, using a tool called SharedBook. Transparency won’t be a gift from government. It is something we have to take. That’s why I think the action lies in private efforts like OpenCongress, GovTrack, and (... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2828180 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:43:28 +0100 2828180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2807575&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOR0nsVjEuGI%2F A new T-shirt for Senator Baucus: I worked for six months with half a dozen members of the Senate Finance Committee, and all I got was this lousy 223-page summary of what I hope the new health care bill will look like. Why should evidence even matter in education policy? I mean, we’re doing this for the children. Videos reveal tax-funded organization being used to help those who want to open a brothel and illegally bring underage girls into the United States as “sex workers.” Meet the two 20-something who exposed it. It’s time to narrowly define the mission in Afghanistan. “The United States does not have the patience, cultural knowledge or legitimacy to transform what is a deeply divided, poverty stricken, tribal-based society into a self-sufficient, n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2807575 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:31:32 +0100 2807575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2709116&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7nvtIb_Ez3o%2F Politico reports that the so-called “public option” provision could be dropped from the highly controversial health care bill currently being debated throughout the country: President Barack Obama and his top aides are signaling that they’re prepared to drop a government insurance option from a final health-reform deal if that’s what’s needed to strike a compromise on Obama’s top legislative priority…. Obama and his aides continue to emphasize having some competitor to private insurers, perhaps nonprofit insurance cooperatives, but they are using stronger language to downplay the importance that it be a government plan. As I have said before, establishing health insurance co-operatives is a poor alternative to the public option plan. Opponents of a government ta... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2709116 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:33:11 +0100 2709116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610891&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpUTtm370xTY%2F As Mike Tanner has written, the health care bill means a big tax hike — indeed, a lot of tax hikes.  It also means a reversal of one of President Ronald Reagan’s great achievements, bringing down the top marginal income tax rate.  Reports the Washington Times: Small-business owners are warning that the economy would suffer under a health care bill proposed by House Democrats, which would drive tax rates for high-income taxpayers to levels not seen since before President Reagan’s tax reform of 1986. The top federal income tax rate, which Mr. Reagan and a bipartisan Congress lowered from 50 percent to 28 percent, would reach 45 percent in 2011 if Congress and President Obama enact the surtaxes that are part of the health care reform plan that House Democrats announced Tue... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610891 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:03:03 +0100 2610891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441164&cid=t_242616_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fbz5bpMFLQqA%2F Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun circulating drafts of his proposed health care reform legislation. Initial reports, including an op-ed in the Boston Globe by Kennedy himself, suggest that the bill will contain every one of the bad ideas that I outlined in my recent Policy Analysis on what to expect from Obamacare. Among other things, the Kennedy bill will call for: An employer mandate; An individual mandate; A so-called “Public Option,” a Medicare-like plan that will compete with private insurance; The use of comparative-effectiveness/cost-effectiveness research to restrain costs; Subsidies for families earning as much as 500% of the poverty level ($110,250 for a family of four). Insurance regulation, including guaranteed issue and community rating. (He would also establish a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441164 Fri, 29 May 2009 18:39:29 +0100 2441164