Once there was a time when 30-page college papers were typed on portable electric typewriters, research was done in library stacks, and job applications were filled out by hand. Taxes were filed on paper and mailed (postmarked no later than April 15th) at the local post office, and shopping meant going to the local market […]
Not So Fast — How Many Have Paid? How Many Were Previously Insured?
“ACA Total Blows Past 7 Million!” “Obamacare Comeback?” “More Than Seven Million Have Enrolled Under the Affordable Care Act, Whitehouse says!” blare numerous April 1, 2014 newspaper headlines. The president gave a speech in the White House Rose Garden stating, “Last night, the first open-enrollment period under this law came to an end. And despite […]
Medicare Fraud: All Talk, No Action
The Medicare Trust Fund, which is in the red and on track to reach insolvency by 2026, needs every penny it can get. Thanks to the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program, $8.2 billion in improper Medicare payments has been recovered since its nationwide implementation in 2010. RACs operate on a contingency fee basis, so their work does not cost taxpayers a dime. Rather than celebrate this successful program, members of Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and special interests, particularly the hospital trade associations, are conspiring to kill it.
Showdown at Medicare Part D Corral
Medicare Part D is one of the few government-created programs that has consistently cost less than the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) original estimates. Every fall, seniors get to choose from a variety of plans for their drug coverage. Pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBM), and pharmacies know this and they compete vigorously for seniors’ business. A PBM is a third party administrator of prescription drug plans (Well-known PBMs are Catamaran, CVSCaremark, Express Scripts, Humana Pharmacy Solutions and USScript). PBMs negotiate drug prices, establish formularies, process, and pay prescription drug claims in private insurance, as well as Medicare. This robust competition among private sector entities is the major reason that Medicare Part D costs less than originally anticipated; rather than employing heavy-handed government edicts or price controls, market forces keep prices low and satisfaction high. So, why would the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suddenly move to “fix something that ain’t broke”?
Obamaloans: The Bank of ACORN
After the public humiliation of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in late 2009 and its subsequent dissolution (at least at the national level) by early 2010, one might have thought that the national shakedown group was dead and buried. But like a decapitated hydra, another beastly head has already taken its […]
Don’t Expand Government Broadband
On March 18, 2014, I had the opportunity to attend the Free State Foundation’s Sixth Annual Telecom Policy Conference. Keynoted by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, former acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Federal Trade Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, the conference covered the continued need for spectrum, broadband deployment in the U.S., the use of TV whitespaces for wireless use, and updating the Communications Act of 1934.
Murkowski’s Folly
The first rule of communications is crafting an effective message.
A March 11, 2014 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt provided a unique glimpse into how messaging used by politicians can shift over time. The editorial detailed the push in the 1990s by former Senators Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to build a 38-mile road connecting the Alaskan towns of King Cove and Cold Bay. Opposed by the Clinton administration, the idea was to expedite the movement of seafood from the salmon canneries in King Cove to the airport in Cold Bay for distribution.
Happy Birthday for Obamacare?
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) into law. The healthcare reform law is also known as the Affordable Care Act. President Obama and Vice President Biden gave brief remarks during the signing ceremony. Below are some of the statements and promises made by the president to the […]
Murkowski’s Folly
The first rule of communications is getting the message right. A March 11, 2014 op-ed by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt appearing in the Los Angeles Times provided a unique glimpse into how messaging used by politicians can shift over time. The editorial detailed the push in the 1990s by former Alaska Senators […]
ObamaCare = Slouching Toward the PIIGS
PIIGS is the acronym for the European countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. These countries represent the most at-risk economies in Europe, particularly after the European sovereign debt crisis in 2009 and 2010. Their fiscal conditions, which include astronomically high debt and large social-welfare states, should be a warning to the United States.