Recently, a 1,018-page health care proposal was introduced in the House of Representatives that would cost nearly $1 billion per page and still wouldn't solve the problem of providing coverage to all Americans. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, under the House bill, the number of Americans without health insurance would increase over the next three years.
To confront America's health care crisis, we do not need more spending, more regulations or more bureaucracy. We do need to liberate every American, including every doctor and every patient, to use their intelligence, creativity and innovative abilities to make the changes needed to create access to low-cost, high-quality health care.
Politicians lament the fact that the United States imports about 66 percent of its oil — about 9,000 barrels every minute. Yet Congress has done little to remedy the situation. Instead, it has all too often erected barriers to domestic energy production.
Politicians lament the fact that the United States imports about 66 percent of its oil — about 9,000 barrels every minute. Yet Congress has done little to remedy the situation. Instead, it has all too often erected barriers to domestic energy production.
Health care reform is definitely at the top of the domestic policy agenda. But before we move ahead on significant changes in the health care markets in the United States, it is critical that we flesh out our understanding of one of the leading rationales for reform. The argument goes something like this. Health care spending varies dramatically from region to region without producing commensurate variation in health outcomes. Indeed, higher health care spending per capita is not consistently associated with better health outcomes. The observed disconnect between health care spending and outcomes suggests that through a more efficient use of health resources, spending could be cut substantially.
Health care spending per person varies widely across the country, but greater spending does not appear to produce better quality. A natural inference is that some areas of the country are less efficient in the use of health care resources.
The Massachusetts experiment in health care reform offers many lessons that are applicable to the current debate in Congress. The goals of the Massachusetts plan are similar to proposals supported by Democratic congressional leaders and the Obama administration: universal health insurance coverage through greater access to health insurance.
The fresh news about Washington–the White House and Congress–is that things are not going very well. A new president in full command of public-policy matters is having problems, from health care to taxes to massive federal spending and now to the Waxman-Markey bill, one of the oddest and most far-reaching pieces of legislation advocated by the new administration.
Energy use is the largest source of greenhouse gases released by human activities. CO2 emissions from energy use – including transportation, electric power, heating and cooking – account for 82 percent of the country's total. In order to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, Americans must change the way they use energy.
Tomorrow's increase in the minimum wage will discourage employment growth even more than expected mainly because of the impact of health care costs, according to a new NCPA analysis.
On the cusp of President Obama's news conference tonight, the National Center for Policy Analysis points to evidence that the President's health care reform plan may result in denying care to a significant number of Americans, especially the elderly.
Notice The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) has sole access to the information you have voluntarily given us through this Web site. We will not sell, rent or otherwise …
The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) has sole access to the information you have voluntarily given us through this Web site. We will not sell, rent or otherwise divulge …
Listen to almost any diatribe against the health-care system and you will hear the same refrain: We are getting too little care and paying too much for it. And, more and more, we are hearing that the villains behind this are not oppressive government regulators or meddlesome insurance-company bureaucrats – but doctors.
Listen to almost any diatribe against the health-care system and you will hear the same refrain: We are getting too little care and paying too much for it. And, more and more, we are hearing that the villains behind this are not oppressive government regulators or meddlesome insurance-company bureaucrats – but doctors.
The conservative message on health care is simple: President Barack Obama's revamping of the nation's medical system will produce a costly government-run program that limits patients' choices.
The Democrats' health care reform bill under consideration in the House of Representatives creates a new government-run health plan that will undercut the private market and force as many as 119 million people to lose their private health insurance and be forced into a Medicare-like plan, according to National Center for Policy Analysis President John C. Goodman.
The Waxman-Markey bill to restrict carbon dioxide emissions would cost $846 billion in the next decade alone, in the form of required payments for emissions allowances, according to a June 5 report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Products intended for use by children may not contain lead amounts greater than 100 parts per million (ppm) starting in 2011. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has ordered manufacturers, distributors and retailers to reduce the lead content of children's products from the current standard of 600 ppm.
Rising prices and security concerns raise important questions about America's energy options. Currently, the United States imports 66 percent of its oil – about 4.7 billion barrels per year or 9,000 barrels every minute. However, there are vast amounts of oil shale – a type of rock rich in kerogen, an organic sedimentary material – which can be converted into high-quality liquid fuels.
The Heartland Institute, National Center for Policy Analysis, The Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Patients First, a project of Americans for Prosperity, invite you to an exclusive roundtable discussion The Future of Health Care in America in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.
John Goodman on America's News HQ with Eric Shawn on the Fox News Channel
The proposal by Congress and the Obama Administration to impose excise taxes on soft drinks and increase them on alcohol to fund health care reform and energy technology development won't accomplish their goal of changing unhealthy behavior or increasing revenue, according to a new report by the National Center for Policy Analysis. Instead, according to the NCPA report, it will inflict a burden on the poor.
Editor's Note: Readers are no doubt familiar with John C. Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). Often referred to as the "Father of Health Savings Accounts," Goodman also maintains a health policy blog where pro-free enterprise, private sector solutions to health care problems are routinely examined and debated by top health policy.
Some members of Congress want to raise excise taxes to pay for health care reform and energy technology development. Federal excises on tobacco and alcohol are often called sin taxes; others designed to pay for specific government services, such as gas taxes that fund road building and maintenance, are often called user fees.