Most of the time “the three Rs” mean reading, writing, and arithmetic. But for healthcare, what comes to mind are risk adjustment, reinsurance and risk corridors. These are risk-sharing mechanisms for insurance companies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. Taxpayers need to pay very close attention to the risk corridors because they are not functioning as planned due to the badly designed ACA. Some politicians want to supplement the risk corridors with taxpayer dollars in order to bail out insurance companies.
Running Down the Clock on Internet Taxes
Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do something important. That is exactly what is happening on the Hill this week. The Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) is set once again to expire at midnight on December 11, 2015. Since 1992, when the general public was given access to the Internet, the use of […]
Night of the Walking Corporate Welfare
It’s similar to a zombie movie: just when you thought they were gone, they come lumbering back in their inexorable (and voracious) death march. Case in point: the Export-Import Bank died in June, but, like most zombies, it didn’t stay dead. A provision in the gas-guzzling Highway Bill, signed by Obama last Friday, December 4, […]
Gas Guzzling Highway Bill Chugs to the White House
Late on December 3, 2015, the Senate passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act with a vote of 83-16. Needing only a signature from the President to become law, the FAST Act is a hasty solution to a long-term problem without concern for the amount of taxpayer money it wastes. The FAST Act is […]
Congress Impounds Obama’s Cadillac Tax
Yesterday in the Senate, legislators voted 90-10 in support of the Heller Amendment that would preemptively repeal the so-called ‘Cadillac Tax’ on employee health plans. CAGW spoke out in November on some of the unfair taxes on individuals and families in the ACA. The Cadillac tax is a 40% tax on health insurance plans over […]
“I Am Sorry, This is Silly”
On Wednesday, December 2, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on a draft bill entitled the “National Park Service Centennial Act.” The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the legislation, which would establish a fund in the Treasury to finance signature projects and programs for the National Park System’s […]
IAB Report Finds IP Infringement Costs Economy Billions
There are some individuals who view intellectual property (IP), particularly movies, videos, and music as free for the taking; illegally posting and distributing content online without any regard to the impact such actions have on the creators and owners of the IP. This sad state of affairs was detailed last year in Citizens Against Government […]
A Pro Forma Forum?
On Friday, November 20, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) held a conference entitled, “HHS Pharmaceutical Forum: Innovation, Access, Affordability and Better Health.” The purpose of the forum was to bring together various stakeholders to “share information and discuss ideas to increase access to information, drive innovation, strengthen incentives and promote competition.” But […]
The Spectrum Dilemma
An April 1, 2015 Pew Research Center study found that 64 percent of Americans own a Smartphone, and 19 percent “rely to some degree” on their Smartphones to access online services and information. The study also found that 7 percent of Americans owning a Smartphone do not have either traditional broadband access at home or other “easily available alternatives” for going online. On October 29, 2015, Pew released its report, “Technology Device Ownership: 2015,” which found that 68 percent of U.S. adults now own a Smartphone.
A Baffling Ban on Selling Bottled Water
The most essential nutrient for people is water. This is particularly true when someone is exercising or otherwise engaged in activities that require more than a “normal” amount of water. Those activities would include strenuous walking or hiking, such as one might do while visiting one of America’s national parks.