It appears almost certain that the ACA (Obamacare) mandate will be eliminated. This actually means that Obamacare will correspond to Obama’s 2008 proposal which didn’t include a mandate. Obama claimed it would work (he was lying or, to be polite, playing 11 dimensional chess). Can ACA without a mandate work at all ? Can it […]
I have been doing my typical reading on healthcare in the US and ran across several articles which seemingly come together at various points in the dialogue and are written by different authors. I decided to tie them together into a much wider and telling story. An interesting point being was made by MedPage Today’s […]
The post below is silly. It is based on bending over backwards to take silly arguments for the GOP tax plan seriously. This older post is the one with some relevance to the real world. The silly argument is that lower taxes on profits imply a lower cost of capital for firms. Investors will demand […]
Paul Krugman has been explaining (very slowly and clearly) that if the US attracts foreign investment by cutting taxes on profits, then it will have to pay the foreign investors. The Tax Foundation appears not to have noticed that loans are not gifts. First he quoted Stephen Rosenthal’s observation that the direct effect of cutting […]
The PayGo law forbids bills which increase the national debt. Unless it is repealed or waived, the Republican tax cuts would cause automatic sequestration of, among other funds $ 25 billion from Medicare. This is an excellent as usual Vox Explainer by Tara Golshan It all comes down to the “pay-as-you-go,” or PAYGO, rule — […]
News Editor Joyce Frieden at Medpage Today offers up an excellent review of President Trump’s head of HHS selection Alex Azar. If you do not read MedPage Today, it is a good site to get information on healthcare and healthcare policy. Orrin Hatch of Utah: “The leader of HHS will be at the tip of […]
In Virginia, Gilespie has lost. Trump claims it is because Gilespie did not embrace him. New jersey elected a Democrat for a Governor also. In both Virginia and New Jersey these were not close races as both Democrats won by good margins of 9% and 13%. The Virginia House of Delegates picked up 14 more […]
This is just a conversation between two people of a similar age, looking at what happened, and what changed. Worthy of posting. esmensetoo: There are women who fear a loss of privilege and an increase in expectations, and economic responsibility, for women from “feminist” striving. “If she can do that maybe I’ll be asked and […]
I have been getting quite a few alerts on proposed changes happening behind the scenes with the ACA. I also found a couple of new places with some intelligent writers who have explained things in greater depth than what I knew. The CMS is proposing a rule allowing states greater authority in defining the ACA. […]
Everyone is reporting a 2018 Budget has been passed. Tucked away inside the 2018 Budget is a Tax Reform Resolution which allows the House to write the bill. The House has passed the Senate Tax Reform Budget Resolution creating a $1.5 trillion deficit with a 216-212 vote. What this means in the Senate is a […]