Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Republican Dilemma on ACA: the Good Parts Take Money

This will be short and sweet, consider it a Health Care Open Thread. ‘Repeal and Replace’ is a pipe dream. Because all the good parts of ACA including guaranteed issue, coverage of pre-existing conditions and inclusions of young people on their parents’ policy actually cost money. At least up front. Which has to come from […]

Health Care Thoughts: Obamacare Fail

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Obamacare Fail When I mention problems with Obamacare implementation in the blogosphere, I am pummeled. Liberals think I am overly cynical, too focused on the practical, and I fail to understand the power of good intentions. Ok. The S.H.O.P. program for small businesses has been delayed until […]

Healthcare Reform; Socialism or Fascism?

by Run75411 Healthcare Reform; Socialism or Fascism? Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in 2009 originally called President Obama’s healthcare plan a form of Socialism while writing an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” Margaret Thatcher” and added to Thatcher’s statement: “While […]

Raising the Price of Pizza 10 to 14 cents. . .

by Bill aka run75441 Raising the Price of Pizza 10 to 14 cents. . . Will pizza and food prices really have to increase to cover healthcare costs for the mostly young employees of the Olive Garden’s, Denny’s, and Papa John’s restaurants? A 10 to 14 cents increase per pizza is being proposed by Papa […]

Via Barry Ritholtz’s  Big Picture comes this PBS six minute video on why health care costs so much. Watch Documentary: Why Does U.S. Health Care Cost So Much? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

The CBO Wants to Discuss Healthcare and the Deficit?

The CBO Wants to Discuss Healthcare and the Deficit?(from run75411) Someone struck a nerve, “The Lady Doth Protest Too Much: CBO Director Asks for A Chat . . .”. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism received an interesting email after a voice mail from the Associate Director of Communications for the CBO: Greetings, Susan.I am following […]

Health Care Thoughts: Reform Status According to Really Smart People

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Reform Status According to Really Smart People So after two days in rooms full of top notch front line experts, and two nights sleeping on a couch in a hospital waiting room, I offer a list of key take-aways.. This is reporting only, not advocacy. Some of my […]

Health spending growth in the US

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism brings us news of an important study addressing the issues of determining the costs of medical care, delivery, and insurance: A remarkably important and persuasive paper that calls into question the need for “reforming” Medicare has not gotten the attention it warrants. “An Examination of Health-Spending Growth In The United […]

Universities and ‘think tanks”

Via Naked Capitalism comes a heads up from reader Paul Tioxon: Propaganda on the Rise on the Health Care Policy FrontReader Paul Tioxon sent the following sighting by e-mail. By way of background, it’s important to keep in mind that pretty much every place that professes simply to read research and translate into stuff journalists […]

Uwe E. Reinhardt on health spending

Uwe E. Reinhardt offers his viewpoint on trends in US health spending.  Following are excerpts from two articles in the NYT’s Economix  concerning the costs of our system and how they are apportioned in the big picture, and the impact on family budgets.  Reading the charts is actually important. There are trends in our health care […]